#it’s that score

[cto10121]

R&J vs. RetJ: The Nurse’s Betrayal

So this meta of the Nurse’s betrayal of Juliet in RetJ got me thinking of how Presgurvic et al. translated that scene—the Nurse advising Juliet to marry Paris—from the Shakespeare, and how the characterization of the Nurse has changed as well.

In Shakespeare’s original, the Nurse goes on a mini tangent in which she reveals her reasons for wanting Juliet to marry Paris. I’m too lazy to reproduce it here, so here’s a quick and nasty paraphrase:

Paris is great, and Romeo sucks compared to him. It’s an upgrade!!!

Romeo would have to sneak into town to see Juliet and be a husband to her, and that’s not really tenable in the long run

Ergo, Juliet is as good as not married, leaving her free to start anew and marry Paris

Juliet, of course, manages to hold it together and waits until the Nurse leaves before cursing her a blue streak and resolving never to trust her again.

Notice how Shakespeare doesn’t allow the Nurse to give substantial reasons why Juliet should forget Romeo. Number 2 and 3 are merely practical while Number 1 is purely superficial, if consistent with the Nurse’s character and her remarks (liking Paris better than Romeo).

In Presgurvic’s musical, however, the Nurse does offer (1) substantial reason why Juliet should forget Romeo and marry Paris: As in, Romeo killed Tybalt. In the Original French, she has this key lyric:

Juliette, comment peux-tu encore (Juliette, how can you still)

L’aimer quand ton cousin est mort? (Love him, when your cousin is dead?)

Je t’en supplie, tu dois dire “oui” (I beg you, you must say yes)

À ce marie qu’on t’a promis (To this fiancé they have promised you to)

Why this change?

Well, for one thing, the context is amid the very dramatic Demain. Whereas in Shakespeare’s play this scene came in the aftermath of Lord Capulet’s ultimatum, the musical has the Nurse answer Juliette and decide right then and there.

For another, for better or for worse, the Nurse is a much more serious and less comically superficial character in the musical than in the play. In short, Presgurvic’s nurse is a de facto mother figure. Her love for Juliette is well-established in Et Voilà, which is heartbreaking in pretty much every version, but the French is particularly grieving. And sure enough, during Demain that we see French Nurse pacing, conflicted.

So when it comes to her betrayal of Juliet, the reason definitely need to be better than “Paris>>>>Romeo” as if this were a YA love triangle and the Nurse were choosing Team Paris. Hence, Romeo killing Tybalt being a dealbreaker.

Also, also notice that French Nurse says “your cousin” instead of Tybalt, emphasizing family ties. The feud in the musical is a lot more intense and consequential than in the play, so it makes sense that the Nurse would use that as a crutch for her argument—and for it to hold water.

Whether the Nurse truly believes that Romeo is no longer deserving of Juliette’s affections because of his killing of Tybalt (there is a bit of Anita’s “A Boy Like That” from West Side Story) or is merely using that as an incentive for Juliette to move on depends largely on the direction and actress. Hell, it can even be a bit of both.

Other versions either follow the French lead or, well, worse. Russian Nurse tells Juliette: “You killed love yourselves / Your cousin, Tybalt, is dead” and shares her verse with the Capulets. Italian Nurse clutches pearls: “My God, how can you tell me / You’ll go against your father?” and stands with the Capulet parents to form a trio (at least French and Russian Nurse stood apart!!!). Austrian Nurse is as diplomatic as the French Nurse, but once again she shares her verse with Lady Capulet and they duet.

And then there’s Hungarian Nurse.

The Strange Case of the Hungarian Nurse

The Hungarian Nurse is much thornier case, imo.

Throughout the musical she is a consistently warm and affectionate mother figure towards Juliette, if retaining key elements of Shakespeare!Nurse’s bawdiness and materialism. Whereas most Nurses scold Juliette for her “I want both” line, Hungarian Nurse is only affectionately amused and gently corrects her. She plays the protective Mama Bear with Rómeó, although it’s clear she approves of him.

Then Holnap/Demain comes. Hungarian Nurse is visibly worried, no doubt conflicted. She strokes Júlia’s face, but then flinches when Júlia embraces her. And her lyric is much harsher than in any of the versions so far:

Nurse. Mondd, hogy tudnád szeretni azt, ki képes volt ölni? (Tell me, how can you love a killer?)

Az Istenért, ne ellenkezz! Menj Páriszhoz, és ne kérdezz! (For God’s sake, don’t protest! Just marry Paris and don’t ask questions!)

Hungarian Nurse calls Rómeó a killer and not only exerts her to marry Paris, but to shut up and not ask any more questions.

So this is beyond the original French or even Shakespeare Nurse’s coldness. Even so, Hungarian Nurse doesn’t join the Capulet chorus but exits shortly afterwards. Why, Hungarian Nurse?

Occam’s Razor? Attila misconstrued the original French as harsher than it was and translated accordingly. Or he decided that it needed to be more ✨dramatic✨.

In-universe, though, Hungarian Nurse could be opting for some really tough love à la French. She recognizes the danger Júlia is in, what with being married secretly but without any of the protections of such a marriage, and wants to make sure she is provided for. She recognizes there is nothing she or Júlia can do to stop this wedding, so she is as harsh can be. Anything to break Júlia off of Rómeó.

Still, it’s a character break. French Nurse and other Nurses has at least been shown to be disciplined with Juliet for what she thinks is important (“Love is not marriage”). And even then her lyric is couched diplomatically. Hungarian Nurse seems too indulgent with Júlia to opt for such a slash-and-burn tactic.

I guess this is what happens when productions mix up both Shakespeare and Presgurvic canon. The Hungarian production wanted a version more in line with the Shakespeare characterization, which retains the social commentary of the feud and the rationale for the tragedy. It just happens to go against the softer Presgurvic characterization.

Either way, no matter how justified, both Shakespeare and Presgurvic achieve the same effect: It is a de facto betrayal of Juliet in a scene where the adults in her life fail and abandon her.

[worldwide-wendy]

[slightlyartist]

Tate deserves to punch Ford so I drew it, felt really therapeutic <3

[seratlantisite]

Nice try Bioware, but I know the state of Southern Thedas better than you do.

First off, it matters if the Hero of Ferelden is alive or not. When the First Warden recalled all wardens, our hero knew that was a bad call and refused, finally splitting off from Weisshaupt after years of mismanagement and taking scores of wardens with them. Their presence and leadership makes all the difference, rallying southern Thedas once more against the blight. If you have only an Orlesian Warden Commander in Amaranthine they’re less inspiring, but as long as you’ve done Awakening they are a boon nonetheless. There is someone to lead the fight against the darkspawn while other focus on the Venatori.

If you 100% completed Awakenings and also Soldier’s Peak, the Ferelden wardens have never been so prepared. They’re organized, they’re outfitted and they’ve been ready for this for years. Also, if you allied with the Architect then you have scores of strange research to give you an edge.

If Merrill completed her Eluvian then she moves south once again and joins the effort. She’s managed to cleanse the blight before and she’s ready to try it again. And her knowledge of the crossroads gives the south an edge on their movement and supply lines. If Hawke’s sibling is a Warden they accompanied her.

If the Inquisitor let Briala have power in any way, the Dales become the leaders in the war against the Venatori, forming a formidable alliance with Ferelden, Orzammar and the Marches, the likes of which have never been seen. And if you completed Jaws of Hakkon then their alliances with the Avvar and Chasind are stronger than ever.

Of course, if the Inquisitor kept the Wardens around after Here Lies the Abyss then their numbers are bolstered. It may cost Wiesshaupt later, but that’s Rooks problem. And if you completed the Descent, then the Inquisitor and Warden had a much better idea of what was coming and spent ten years getting ready.

They will not be broken.

They will weather this storm.

[millificent]

Every Nico Di Angelo fan focusing more on the background of the episode than the actual plot

[389]

Wendy Carlos pictured with the Moog System 55 a staple in her solo projects and iconic film scores, including for Stanley Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange' (1972)

One of electronic music's most important figures, Wendy Carlos is a true pioneer of the craft with countless influential albums and scores. She provided technical advice and insights to Robert Moog during the development of the Moog Synthesizer, an instrument that would revolutionize the music landscape. ⁠⁠Her album 'Sonic Seasonings' (1972) is an early example of an ambient record, blending the then-new synth with field recordings to create an entirely new listening experience — years before the term "ambient" was even coined!⁠

[great-and-small]

Wow! Look at all those sticks! That’s exactly what I need for my nest and they’re all perfectly sized omg. How lucky they just fell on that big log like that! Just gonna grab these bad boys for the nest and hop on ov-

[fabelyn]

Art I commissioned from @re-unknown for my fic Theoxenia.

(Which in turn was inspired by @nekophy's comic lol)

[vietsoul]

Blade Thompson & Chad Knight Score 10, 1991 - Huge Studios, dir. Matt Sterling

[seatoss]

It's not diving underwater, but he still looks pretty good swimming and burrowing up like a mole.

[deaderthandoubledead]

Love how in the AU the dads play darts (?) and Vander is apparently absolutely shit at it

[aleatoryw]

we poke fun at obi-wan for saying "sith lords are our specialty" and then getting his ass kicked by dooku, but in fairness, he was at the time the only person in living memory to have actually killed a sith. he showed remarkable humility honestly.

[supine-ly]

this is my first time drawing Piper is it obvious

[baltharino]

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

[genevawrenn]

Return of the boop is upon us