“Why is not this better now, than groning for loue; now art thou sociable, now art thou Romeo: now art thou what thou art, by art as well as by nature.”
Romeo’s romantic temperament naturally leads him into a love affair of a sufficiently compromising character to need being kept from the knowledge of his parents. Brooke narrates Rosaline’s reception of Romeo’s passion:
“But she that from her youth was fostred euermore,
With vertues foode, and taught in schole of wisdomes skillful lore:
By aunswere did cutte of th’ affections of his loue,
That he no more occasion had so vayne a sute to moue.”
And Shakespeare gives to Romeo almost similar words:
“And in strong proofe of chastitie well armd,
From loues weak childish bow she liues uncharmd;
Shee will not stay the siege of louing tearmes,
Nor bide th’ incounter of assailing eies,
Nor ope her lap to sainct seducing gold.”
A note in the Irving stage-version, referring to Mercutio’s words, “stabd with a white wenches blacke eye,” states that “a pale woman with black eyes” is suggestive of a wanton nature. Is this Rosaline’s character? If we are to accept seriously Mercutio’s words as being the poet’s description of Rosaline’s personal appearance, we may also give a literal interpretation to the following lines:
“I conjure thee by Rosaline’s bright eyes,
By her high forehead, and her Scarlet lip.”
In Charlotte Brontë’s opinion, a high forehead was an indication of conscientiousness; she could get on, she would say, with anyone “who had a lump at the top of the head.” The reproaches of the Friar are, in my opinion, levelled against Romeo, and not Rosaline. Romeo says:
“Thou chidst me oft for louing Rosaline.”
And the Friar replies: