Romeo and Juliet Introduction (Book)

House of Capulet

Age: About 30

Main Characteristics: Cold, Vengeful

Associates: Lord Capulet, The Nurse, Members of the Capulet family

Description: Lady Capulet is the matriarch of the house of Capulet, and Juliet's mother. She plays a larger role than Montague's wife, appearing in several scenes. In Act One, Scene three, she refuses to talk to her daughter about marriage, as she feels uncomfortable about it, but in Scene four, she is pleased about Count Paris's "interest" in her daughter. When Tybalt is killed in Act Three, she expresses extreme grief and a strong desire for revenge on Romeo. In Act Three, Scene 5, she becomes very angry with Juliet for refusing to marry Paris, and she coldly rejects her, saying "Talk not to me, for I'll not speak a word; do as thou wilt, for I am done with thee". By the final act, she is nearly overcome by the tragic events of the play. We know that Juliet was born when her mother was 14, thus she is about 28 years old, and her husband is many years older than her. Calling her "Lady Capulet" is a modern convention; it is an echo of Juliet's form of address in 3.5.65: "my lady mother". In the first quartos the stage direction and speech headings can be "mother", "wife", or even "old lady", but nowhere "Lady Capulet"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characters_in_Romeo_and_Juliet#Capulet.27s_Wife