Everyone knows that Juliet is not an historic character... she was not a 'real' person... she is a figment... a figment of William Shakespeare's imagination. It's no secret... Shakespeare did not deny or disguise this fact... she is simply a concoction of words to entertain the miserable serfs seeking an imaginary escape from cold damp London in 1597 into exotic far off shores where clean and pure virgins sparkle in the evening moonlight. Everyone knows that.
Nonetheless, Verona makes a financial 'killing'... trading on misrepresentation... the biggest draw card in town is a balcony where the fictitious theatrical character (Juliet) did not live... and the bustling crowd (mostly teenage girls)... show born-again euphoria faces that would have pleased Billy Graham... for them, this was a religious experience.
There are two acts of devotion expected of the believers. One of these acts makes some sense... the other is bewildering. A wall decorated with reinforced steal wire (as used by concreters) has been erected so that lovers can symbolically place a lock around a piece of wire... that is supposed to represent the eternal nature of their love for each other... crazy, but it makes some sense... given the literary love existing between Romeo and Juliet. (We can ignore the fact that once a month a council worker drags away the reinforcing wire full of locks and replaces it with an empty sheet of wiring... how permanent is that?)
The second devotional act is weird. The teenage girls have their photos taken (usually mother takes the photo) while placing their hand on the breast of a statue of a young girl (presumably Juliet)... probably to bring good luck with matters of the heart. The statue is made of bronze... so constant hand rubbing makes the statue's breast shine in the sunlight. If the young men were doing the breast rubbing... the activity would make more sense. I tended to agree with a comment I heard from a young Australian guy who was leaving the scene... "This is a load of old crap".
But the part that confuses me... why are the teenage girls paying homage to the fictitious theatrical character who made such a mess of managing her emotions, she chose to do herself in! Romeo's fictitious house is a couple of blocks around the corner. Wouldn't it make more sense to have the young girls idolised him... he had so much appeal that made girls do crazy things... although he didn't manage things very well either.
So much for Verona... a great seat of Roman power... a great tourist destination.
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