The Gender Power: The Representation of Juliet in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (2013)
Abstract
This research examines how gender power is represented through the character of Juliet in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (2013), directed by Carlo Carlei, employing a qualitative analytical methodology grounded in feminist theory. The study utilizes Judith Butler's concept of gender performativity, Simone de Beauvoir's existential feminism, and Michel Foucault's theoretical framework of power relations to deconstruct the complexities of female subjectivity within patriarchal structures. The findings reveal that gender power constitutes not merely a system of oppression but a complex network of relations that simultaneously produces and constrains female subjectivity. Juliet emerges as a multifaceted protagonist whose acts of resistance manifested through her clandestine marriage, deliberate refusal of parental authority, and ultimate self-determination represent subversive reperformances of prescribed femininity. These transgressive acts expose and challenge the contingent, constructed nature of gender norms within Elizabethan patriarchal society. The analysis demonstrates that although Juliet's resistance ultimately proves untenable within the film's rigid patriarchal framework, it nonetheless illuminates how gender identities are constructed, enforced, and contested through repeated performative acts. The examination of secondary female characters particularly the Nurse and Lady Capulet reveals how gender power operates differentially across intersecting dimensions of class, age, and social position, demonstrating that female subordination is neither monolithic nor predetermined. In conclusion, the film portrays gender power as dynamic, contested, and fundamentally dependent upon the continued repetition and reperformance of normative gender behaviors. Shakespeare's portrayal of female characters exposes how patriarchal power maintains subordination through linguistic regulation, embodied discipline, and institutional authority, while simultaneously suggesting possibilities for subversion and resistance within these constraining structures.
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