can't marry him—at least not openly—because he's from the rival Montague family. All the same, Juliet can't avoid Paris completely; she has to at least meet him before they get married, even if it is to be an arranged marriage.

But Juliet's really not in the mood for a chinwag with her intended. As well as the little matter of not actually wanting to be in the same room as him, she's still grieving over the recent loss of her kinsman Tybalt. To make matters worse, her beloved Romeo, who killed Tybalt in a violent street brawl, has been banished to Mantua as a punishment. So it's not surprising that Juliet doesn't feel up to being Chatty Cathy at this precise moment in time.

Although she might not say much in her terse, uncomfortable exchange with Paris, what little she does say speaks volumes about her true feelings towards him. Paris tries to get Juliet to proclaim her love for him, but she pointedly refuses. She then goes on to say that the tears she's shed for Tybalt have made no difference to her face, because it looked bad enough to begin with. Paris is none too pleased at hearing this; as far as he's concerned, Juliet's practically his wife already, and so her face, like every other part of her body, belongs to him. As Juliet has just slandered that face, Paris feels personally insulted by her remarks.

The ever-stubborn Juliet, however, is unmoved. She ignores Paris and turns to Friar Lawrence, asking him if he has time to see her. Paris automatically thinks that Juliet seeks spiritual counsel and so leaves her alone with the Friar. In reality, however, she needs his advice as to how she can get out of her forthcoming marriage to Paris.