Veronese WomenWomen lucky enough to be born into the upper class or nobility of Verona enjoyed a rather liberal life, compared to their lower-class sisters. They might be taught to read and write, but education beyond that level was unheard of. Highborn women were instructed in the art of entertainment: playing a musical instrument was an absolute must, and woe to the girl with a bad singing voice. Cleverness and a quick wit were highly praised qualities, though the wit should end with jokes. Women were actively excluded from any talk of politics or strategy.
The daughter of a wealthy house could expect to be kept in seclusion until her teenage years. Noble young women were not allowed to go out unaccompanied. Even with a chaperone, milling about the piazza was out of the question for the daughter of a lord. She would be kept mainly in her family’s own palazzo, occasionally visiting the homes of other families. The only real exception to this was the church. The Veronese, like the rest of Italy, were devoutly Catholic. Pious young women would often venture out – though still with a chaperone – for confession or scripture services. The marriage for women averaged about 16; once a woman hit 25 she was considered an old maid. A girl’s father would spend these nine years bargaining courtships and, hopefully, an engagement for his daughter. Marriage for love’s sake was really out of the question. Matrimony was used by the nobility to seal political alliances and to create relationships between powerful families. As the child of an influential family, Juliet's marriage has probably been considered since her birth. As the Capulets' only child, her marriage arrangement must be superb. When Lady Capulet tells her of Paris's interest, she dutifully replies that she will look to love him. It is unlikely that Juliet has ever held a conversation with Paris, nor any other man not related to her. When Romeo approaches her at the party, it can be assumed that this is the first time she's received such flirtatious attention from a man. |
Veronese MenMen born to the upper class of Verona were in the best position in society. They would receive more education, more opportunity, and more independence than men or women of any other status. Though education before the early 1400s was slim, after the mid 1450s, young men began receiving a classic education. Education started at the age of six, when they were taught to read and write. Private tutors would instruct young men in logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, philosophy, and Greek and Latin. When young men hit adolescence, they were schooled in riding and swordplay. These young men would grow up to run their cities: it was exceedingly important that they received a well-rounded education.
Unlike their walled-in female counterparts, rich young men were free to roam about town. Groups of teenage boys would converge in the town’s piazza, searching for something to do. Too often, hot-blooded young men with too much time on their hands would fill their days with fighting. Duels, usually amicable affairs between friends, were quite common. When not dueling in the streets or wandering about the piazza, Verona's young men could often be found in the company of lower class women. It expected that unmarried young men of means would visit prostitutes: this was neither encouraged nor discouraged by their fathers or the nobility, it was simply fact. Men were expected to quit these habits - fighting with friends, loitering about the piazza, visiting prostitutes - when they married, usually around the age of 25. A young man's marriage was brokered by his father, though he might have some say in his eventual bride. If our average young man spends his days on the streets of Verona with his friends and cousins, Romeo is a bit atypical. Instead of sticking with his kinsmen, he wanders the city alone in a lovesick fog. Instead of satisfying his passions in a brothel as his peers do, he moons over a woman who has sworn to remain unmarried and chaste. |
Information Drawn From:
Bowd, Stephen D. Venice's Most Loyal City: Civic Identity in Renaissance Brescia. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2010. Print.
Brown, Alison. The Renaissance. London: Longman, 1999. Print.
Hale, J. R. Renaissance Venice. London: Faber, 1973. Print.
Humfrey, Peter. Venice and the Veneto. New York: Cambridge UP, 2007. Print.
"Women in the Renaissance." The Victoria and Albert Museum. Web. 23 July 2013.
Brown, Alison. The Renaissance. London: Longman, 1999. Print.
Hale, J. R. Renaissance Venice. London: Faber, 1973. Print.
Humfrey, Peter. Venice and the Veneto. New York: Cambridge UP, 2007. Print.
"Women in the Renaissance." The Victoria and Albert Museum. Web. 23 July 2013.