Idealized LOVE

"Romeo and Juliet” like numerous love stories portrays an image of ‘the ideal love’. Like all love stories, Romeo and Juliet need to overcome barriers to finally be together. Romeo and Juliet’s love story is similar to Jane Bennet’s love story in “Pride and Prejudice”.

In both the play “Romeo and Juliet” and the novel “Pride and Prejudice” the characters fall in love when they meet for the first time at a ball. Unfortunately society does not allow them to develop a relationship. In the case of Romeo and Juliet their families have been long, time enemies. For them to fall in love was not an option. On the other hand, Jane and Bingley were not encouraged to get into a relationship. They were in different positions on the social ladder; a marriage would have been looked down upon. Yet Romeo and Bingley both threw away society’s expectations and pursued a relationship with the woman they loved. Juliet and Jane responded willingly to their lover’s beckoning call, unfortunately they still had to face love with no hope. Juliet had to face the trial of Romeo’s banishment from Verona, while Jane had to face Bingley’s lack of devotion.

Despite the numerous similarities between the two love stories, Romeo and Juliet’s love affair differs significantly from Bingley and Jane’s love affair. While Romeo finds it very easy to show his love for Juliet, Bingley struggled with expressing his thoughts. As a result Romeo and Juliet’s love is very passionate, they fall in love and get married within a few days. They take drastic risks such as death so they can be together keeping their affair shrouded in secrecy. Bingley and Jane however have a public but mellow love affair. Their love affair slowly grows into something deeper, yet it is full of ups and downs. While Juliet knows exactly how much Romeo loves her, Jane was very unsure of Bingley’s love for her.

In “Pride and Prejudice” Jane and Bingley do not need to sacrifice their love or lives to make the world around them better. Rather, their marriage actually benefitted the society around them. In contrast, Romeo and Juliet had to give up their lives so that their families could come together and make peace.

Although both these love stories shows an idealized form of love, we can see that the plot differs to an extent, but in every love story, love is always tested, enabling to love to grow and develop into something stronger and more beautiful.