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Foil
Explanation and Analysis—Juliet vs. Rosaline:
Rosaline and Juliet can be considered foils with diverging paths in the play. Both women are the objects of Romeo's love, though Romeo's obsession for Rosaline comes to seem superficial compared to his love for Juliet, which affords him the strength to defy their families' ancient rivalry.
Rosaline is mainly characterized by her rigid insistence on staying chaste and preserving her virginity—as young, unmarried women of the era were expected to do. Juliet, by contrast, seems less bound to convention and more sexually adventurous. Though she only makes her sexual desires entirely explicit after marrying Romeo, before they marry, she continually hints at her own lust for him. For example, in Act 2, Scene 2, she calls out to Romeo from her balcony: "Romeo, doff thy name, / And, for thy name, which is no part of thee, / Take all myself." In Act 2, Scene 1, Mercutio unknowingly comments on Juliet's sexuality when he compares the virginal Rosaline to a hypothetical woman who is sexually available and thus preferable, expressing his wish that Rosaline were more promiscuous.
Though Juliet is a far more complex character than Rosaline, Rosaline also serves an important narrative purpose. She helps set the plot in motion by providing an impetus for Romeo to attend the Capulets' ball: Mercutio persuades Romeo to gatecrash the event in order to find a new woman who will make him forget his love for Rosaline. In this way, Shakespeare suggests that women are not merely sexual objects or status symbols, but individuals with power of their own. Even from afar, Rosaline exerts power over Romeo by leading him to commit an act of outright rebellion. However, it is Juliet—and not Rosaline—who clearly claims and exercises her autonomy by articulating and pursuing her own desires rather than upholding traditional values.
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