What personal freedom did women have in Romeo and Juliet?

Answer 1

That's an interesting question, and not as simple as it sounds. The play itself basically asks that question. In terms of what was expected of women, Juliet's interactions with her father shed some light on that. The ideal woman (as set out by a male perspective, of course) is silent, chaste and obedient. Juliet is expected to unquestioningly obey her father in basically every regard. Now, the extent to which women conformed to this "ideal" is a different story, as Juliet shows. If she would have been this submissive and obedient woman, she would have ended up marrying Paris and Romeo would have found another girl the next day (as he tends to do apparently). She does not though. She takes it upon herself to choose her own hubby. Even after her father's explosive reaction to just a little bit of defiance, she sticks to her guns.

Also, if you look closely at the relationship between Romeo and Juliet, SHE'S the rational one making all the decisions. The proscribed female behaviour is that a woman should be obedient to her father, then once married - to her husband. The reality, however, is much more of a grey area, as the fantastic Juliet shows us.