A Brilliant Idea

Act 3, Scene 4: Things have not been going well in Verona lately and they just got worse. My dear nephew, Tybalt, was killed by a Capulet that I once had respect for. His name is Romeo. The whole family has taken it pretty hard, but I feel as if Juliet has been the most upset about it. The murder of Tybalt did not stop County Paris from coming to my home late at night to speak to me about him and my daughter getting married though. I just simply had to tell him that now was not the best time. He went home after that, but gave Juliet his regards. He's such a nice young man. I would not mind one bit for him and Juliet to get married. In fact, Lady Capulet and I agreed to ask Juliet her feelings about it in the morning. We thought in the morning she might be a bit better. Lady Capulet and I thought that maybe her getting married to Paris would help get her mind off things and give the Capulet family something to be happy about. That way we would get over our grief. The idea of Paris and Juliet getting married sounded better and better as I thought about it, so I came to the conclusion that I would tell Juliet in the morning that she is to marry County Paris. I am quite confident that Juliet will do as I tell her, for I am her father. I also had Lady Capulet tell Juliet about the love Paris has for her to warm her up to the idea so that it would be a little easier to break the news.