Do we like them?

Do we like Juliet Capulet?

A character from Romeo and Juliet (c. 1595)

Our score: 8 out of 10. Yes, we'd back her. She's brave, sharp and loyal, and her worst choices come from a feud and a family that leave her no good options.

Juliet is the only daughter of the wealthy Capulets of Verona, who are locked in a long feud with the Montagues. She is just shy of 14 and sheltered. Her father is already arranging a marriage for her to the respectable Count Paris.

At a masked ball she meets Romeo, and they fall for each other quickly. Over the play she grows from an obedient girl into a bold, clear-headed young woman. Several study guides call her the youngest character but also the boldest and most sensible. She speaks plainly about love and refuses to be defined by a family name.

We score her 8 because she is honest in her feelings, brave when everyone around her is bullying or scheming, and a victim of the feud far more than a cause of it. She loses a point for impulsive, secretive decisions that make a bad situation worse.

When her father threatens to force the marriage to Paris, she resists and turns to Friar Laurence for help. Her fatal mistake is to trust a risky plan with poor communication. The deaths of the two lovers finally end the feud between the families.