Sunday, June 4, 2017

At the beginning of act 3, scene 2, Juliet wants time to move quickly. Why is she so impatient for the night to come?

At the beginning of act 3, scene 2, Juliet cannot wait for the night to arrive so that Romeo can sneak into her bedroom and consummate their marriage. During the daytime, Juliet cannot openly express her love for Romeo because of the social pressure and feud between their families. Under cover of darkness, the young couple's love thrives as they express their desire for each other without fearing the consequences. Juliet is also a virgin and is focused on spending her wedding night with Romeo. Unfortunately, the Nurse interrupts Juliet's musing about her night with Romeo to inform her that Romeo has murdered Tybalt. The Nurse also informs Juliet that Romeo has been banished from Verona. After Juliet laments about not consummating her marriage and dying a virgin, the Nurse assures her that she knows where Romeo is hiding and will see to it that Romeo visits her for their wedding night.


Juliet is impatient for night to come because Romeo, her new husband, cannot come to her until night.  During the day, it seems, there is too much of a chance that he will be seen and they will be found out.  So, on one level, she is simply anxious to be with him because she loves him. 
Juliet is also very much looking forward to consummating her marriage with Romeo; in other words, she is anticipating having sex with him.  She says, in part, "O, I have bought the mansion of a love / But not possessed it, and, though I am sold, / Not yet enjoyed" (3.2.28-30).  She is eager to learn to submit to her husband, to become fully his, and to learn how to be a wife in the carnal sense.  This isn't just about lust, though.  She sort of sweetly wants to lose her virginity in a way that is proper, for her, still modest and still innocent. 

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