Who She Is
The Nurse is the one who nursed Juliet. She tells in Scene 3 of Act I that she weaned her on the day of the earthquake, eleven years before, and calls the girl her little lamb and her ladybug. She is the confidante of the secret marriage and the go-between for the lovers.
Her speech, full of digressions, wit and coarseness, is for much of the play the prose that contrasts with the lovers' verse.
Trajectory
In Scene 3 of Act I, she loses herself in memories of Juliet's childhood while her mother tries to talk of marriage, and she praises Paris when he is introduced.
In Scene 5 of Act I, she interrupts the lovers' kiss to tell Juliet that her mother is calling her, and tells Romeo that Juliet's mother is the lady of the house: it is through her that he discovers Juliet is a Capulet. Then, at Juliet's request, she gives the name of the stranger: Romeo, a Montague, the only son of the great enemy.
In Scene 4 of Act II, humiliated by Mercutio in the street, she nonetheless delivers the message. She warns Romeo that taking Juliet to a fool's paradise would be very coarse behavior, receives from him the message that Juliet should be at Friar Laurence's cell in the afternoon, and the order to wait behind the abbey wall, where his servant will bring the ropes. On leaving, she says that Paris wants Juliet, but that she would rather see a toad.
In Scene 5 of Act II, she makes Juliet wait three hours and dawdles before giving the answer, between complaints about her back and praise for Romeo. In the end she sends her to Friar Laurence's cell, where a husband awaits her, and goes to fetch the ladder.
In Scene 2 of Act III, she arrives with the ropes and, bewildered, lets Juliet believe that Romeo is dead. Only afterward does she tell that it was Tybalt, "the best friend I had," and that Romeo was banished. In Scene 3 of Act III, she finds Romeo lying on the ground, tells him to get up on Juliet's behalf, and hands over the ring.
In Scene 5 of Act III, she warns the lovers at dawn that the mother is coming to the room. When Capulet attacks his daughter, she defends Juliet before him and hears from her master to hold her tongue. But when Juliet asks for comfort, she advises marrying Paris: Romeo is banished, Paris is more handsome, and Romeo is a dishrag beside him. Juliet swears that from then on the Nurse and her heart will be two.
In Scene 3 of Act IV, she is sent away for the night. In Scene 5 of Act IV, she is the first to find Juliet motionless in bed, after trying to wake her with jokes. She leaves after the lament and does not return to the play: she is only mentioned by the friar, who tells the Prince that she knows of the marriage.
Themes Embodied
The same person who carries the marriage message, who defends Juliet before her father and who mourns Tybalt is the one who, at the moment Juliet most needs her, says the second husband is worth more than the first. In Scene 4 of Act II, she had already told Romeo that the girl would rather see a toad than Paris.
The Nurse thinks of marriage as a practical arrangement, which is why her affection is real but does not help. For Juliet, who had already married, hearing her repeat what her mother and father say means losing her last confidante, and what wounds her is said once she is alone, after the Nurse has gone. The Nurse's greatest sin is speaking ill of Romeo with the same tongue with which she so often praised him.
Relationships
- Juliet: the girl she nursed, whom she leaves aside at the end of Scene 5 of Act III.
- Romeo: the young man she distrusts at first and whom she serves as go-between.
- Mercutio: the young man who humiliates her in the street.
- Tybalt: the one she mourns as the best friend she had.
- Friar Laurence: the friar whose advice she admires and who later names her as an accomplice.
- Capulet: the master she answers to, who tells her to be quiet.
- Paris: the suitor she praises to Juliet, though she knows Juliet refuses him.