Title: How and why does Juliet's relationship with the Nurse change in Romeo and Juliet? Is Juliet justified in her feelings toward the nurse?  - eNotes.com
Headings: How and why does Juliet's relationship with the Nurse change in
Romeo and Juliet
? Is Juliet justified in her feelings toward the nurse?

Romeo and Juliet
How and why does Juliet's relationship with the Nurse change in Romeo and Juliet? Is Juliet justified in her feelings toward the nurse?
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Content: The world of Romeo and Juliet is one where religious devotionalism would have had a great deal of power (Early Modern Europe was a profoundly Christian world, far more so than what can be observed today in the modern secular west), and this sort of second marriage would have been understood as being a grave sin. Indeed, note the sense of shock and horror present in Juliet's response to the Nurse's suggestion; Juliet's reaction is "Ancient damnation! O most wicked fiend!" There is a genuine sense of moral outrage here on Juliet's part, and, given the religious factors at play (and the context these factors introduce), this moral outrage makes a great deal of sense: when seen from a traditional Christian perspective, the Nurse's suggestion of taking a second husband, even as the first marriage remains fully in effect, would have been considered an abomination. It should not be surprising, then, that this turn of events would have greatly shaken Juliet's opinion of and relationship with the Nurse. Last Updated by eNotes Editorial on April 15, 2021
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The Nurse is Juliet's closest companion and confidante in Shakespeare's Romeo Juliet. Juliet confides in the Nurse about her most intimate secrets, especially her love for Romeo. She is, in fact, closer to the Nurse than her own parents, as evidenced by the discussion with Lady Capulet in Act I, Scene 3, which is dominated by the Nurse.