Romeo and Nomatophobia
Well -read people are up in arms
because of a name, ‘Anti-Romeo Squad’ for it defames ‘poor Romeo’, ‘celebrated
the world over as the archetypal lover’, ‘the supremely sacrificing lover’ etc.
They agree that the UP Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath’s purpose is noble but they cannot bear
the tarnishing of Romeo. While girls are raped, killed, hurled with acid; forced
to leave school and college to avoid molestation; erudite people split hairs
over a name, the very name which is meant to protect women.
It is not as if Yogiji’s police have mastered the art of taking Romeo’s name in a negative way. Oxford Living Dictionaries define the word Romeo as, ‘an attractive, passionate male seducer or lover.’ Synonyms for Romeo are: gigolo, playboy, womanizer, seducer, philanderer, flirt etc.
Similarly, Eve teasing is a term
used throughout South Asia for sexually harassing or molesting of women by men.
But then Eve teasing does not seem an outright inapt tag to learned people,
even though Eve is a Biblical character.
Romeo cannot be called a one-woman man even with an ample scholarly view of English literature. His main attribute is he has an over-active libido. His friend Mercutio describes him, ‘You are a lover.’ In the first act Romeo whines and groans because Rosaline has rejected him and he bleats,’under love’s heavy burden do I sink.’ It was more lust than love because the libidinous Romeo Montague moans that Rosaline rejected him because, ‘…she will live chaste.’ He is advised by his friend Benvolio to forget her and ‘examine other beauties’. Romeo takes the advice very seriously and promptly falls in love with a thirteen-year-old girl, Juliet Capulet and realizes, ‘For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.’ By the time we reach Act 1, scene V he is besotted with Juliet.
Both fall in love. Romeo seeks Friar Laurence’ help to sanctify their love into holy matrimony. A staggered Friar asks Romeo, “Is Rosaline whom thou didst love so dear, so soon forsaken?”He further laments, “Young men’s love then lies not truly in their hearts but in their eyes.” He calls Romeo, ‘young waverer.’ Nevertheless, he gets them married.
Romeo is a weak character shedding ‘womanish tears’, always stressed, unable to control his adrenaline-rush. In a vengeful mood he kills Juliet’s cousin Tybalt. The Prince banishes Romeo from Verona. Romeo, true to his character of fight-and-flight, hides in Friar Lawrence’ cell, swinging from one intense emotion to another: grief for losing Rosaline, unbridled love for Juliet, intense anger for Tybalt, and now cowardly fear.Friar Lawrence calls him, ‘fearful man’ and chides him, “Thou fond mad man…” and tries to drum up some sense in him. Romeo and Friar Laurence make plans for Romeo’s reunion with Juliet. When Juliet is included in the plan, the just-teen girl says robustly to Friar, “O tell me not of fear.’ The gritty girl prays, “Lord, give me strength.”The reunion fails, thanks to Romeo’s impatience and lack of foresight. He hastens to Verona from Mantua, without waiting for Friar Laurence’ intimation, kills Count Paris and commits suicide. His crazy act drives Juliet to kill herself .Romeo is the cause of his mother’s death as his father says, “Grief of my son’s exile hath stopp’d her breath.”
Romeo has all the qualities of a rich lad gone astray. He can’t restrain his wild love nor his rampant rage, the very qualities of a molester. He is not gainfully employed, loafs around with his friends, gatecrashes into parties, trespasses into forbidden territory by climbing walls, forgets his former love quickly and is overzealous of the current one, goes underground when chased by law.
It’s true Romeo lived for love
because he being a rich father’s son, did not have to earn his living. He died
for love is also true but he took many lives with him. Before Yogiji’s police
could sully Romeo’s name it was already sullied in the play. An exasperated
Friar Laurence rebukes Romeo, “Art thou a man?”Lady Capulet and Tybalt call him
a villain. Juliet describes him as ‘an honourable villain’, ‘O churl’. Even
Juliet’s nurse advises her to marry Paris because ‘Romeo’s a dishclout to him.”
Friar Laurence describes Romeo
and a typical roadside molester aptly, “Thy wild acts denote the unreasonable
fury of a beast.”He advises a delinquent Romeo, “Take heed, take heed, for such
die miserable.”
New India has no place for such Romeos. As several interviews on TV channels have shown that girls in Uttar Pradesh are breathing easy because of Anti-Romeo squads. Very soon girls in other parts of India will cry out, “O Anti-Romeo squad, anti-Romeo squad, wherefore art thou anti-Romeo squad?”No doubt it will be a tragedy for the womanizers who wait for their prey outside girls’ schools and colleges or waylay innocent women in parks or secluded lanes.
