Romeo and Juliet: It's Everywhere!

     There are many similarities and references to  Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in modern culture. In the novel The Luxe by Anna Godbersen, the main character is in a situation similar to Juliet. Juliet's parents want her to marry the wealthy, respectable Paris. But they don't know that she is secretly in love with Romeo and longs to marry him instead. Juliet knows she could never marry Romeo because he is the son of her family's greatest enemy. Similarly, in The Luxe, when Elizabeth discovers that her family's money has run out, she is pressured to marry someone wealthy so she can support her family. But she is also in love with someone else, someone her mother would never approve of. She is forced to make the decision to either marry for love or marry for money to take care of her family. Both girls secretly go against the status quo and the desires of their families. This novel captures a major theme  in the play that love conquers social status and wealth.