In Act Three, Scene Five of Romeo and Juliet, Lady Capulet visits Juliet very early in the morning to deliver some unpleasant news: the Capulets have decided that Juliet will be married off to Paris next Thursday morning at Saint Peter's Church. While Lady Capulet believes her daughter should be a "joyful bride," Juliet does not take this news with grace, proclaiming:
I will not marry yet. And when I do, I swear
It shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate,
Rather than Paris...
This is a stunning display of disobedience from Juliet, who has otherwise exhibited extreme filial duty--if not in private, then at least to her parents' faces. When Lord Capulet learns of Juliet's dissent, he flies into a rage over the idea that his daughter would reject such a worthy suitor. He tells Juliet that she will marry Paris whether she likes it or not, even if it will mean dragging her all the way to the church himself. Lord Capulet works himself up into such a fury that he even promises to disown Juliet entirely if she does not obey his wishes:
An you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets,
For, by my soul, I'll ne'er acknowledge thee,
Nor what is mine shall never do thee good.
When her parents tell her that she will marry Paris she asks them not to make her do it.
When she does this, Lord Capulet, in particular, goes crazy with anger. He starts saying all kinds of horrible things to Juliet. He tells his wife to throw Juliet out of the house. He tells Juliet he will drag her to the church on a hurdle (like people were dragged to a place of execution). He even goes so far as to say to his wife that he wishes they had never had a child. So he is pretty furious.
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