The "Betrayal" of the Nurse

In the play Romeo and Juliet we can appreciate one of the most significant characters—besides the two lead ones: this is Angelica, the nurse who has spent all Juliet’s life with the Capulet family. Such a strong bond almost mother-daughter like, since Angelica even breastfed Juliet, full of love, trust and care remained between them; what really matters for Angelica is her girl’s happiness and this is why she helped her to marry Romeo in spite of their families’ disapproval and keep this relationship as a clandestine romance. However, there is a moment in this drama in which, after Juliet’s father communicated her she would join in matrimony with Paris, Angelica has a conversation with her:

Nurse: “Faith, here it is.

Romeo is banished, and all the world to nothing

That he dares ne’er come back to challenge you,

Or if he do, it needs must be by stealth.

Then, since the case so stands as now it doth,

I think it best you married with the County.

O he’s a lovely gentleman.

Romeo’s a dishclout to him. An eagle, madam,

Hath not so green, so quick, so fair an eye

As Paris hath. Beshrew my very heart,

I think you are happy in this second match,

For it excels your first, or if it did not,

Your first is dead – or ’twere as good he were

As living here and you no use of him.”

The nurse suggests Juliet to accept her father’s pronouncement; nonetheless, Juliet does not take this well and sees it as a betrayal. Given this situation, Juliet decides not to entrust her judgments to Angelica anymore and her secrets would remain as secrets without considering her “deserter” in her decisions. However, wouldn’t this be an overreaction from Juliet if what Angelica intended was not to be disloyal to her but to lead her to a virtuous path? In my opinion, Juliet took the words of the nurse too seriously and maybe she was saying that just because she was afraid of her girl getting into trouble with her father. I think that this was not really a betrayal; it was just the words that Juliet did not want to hear from her protector in that particular moment.