Romeo & Juliet- Nurse

          My favorite character in Romeo and Juliet is the Nurse. Although she (I'm assuming) was paid to take care of Juliet, she loved her with the fierceness of a birth mother. She wanted the best for her. This was shown when she encouraged Juliet to wed Paris. She expressed that she'd be secure as the wife of a wealthy, powerful man who sought her out. She probably knew Juliet might've been reluctant in marrying Paris, being that he was older than her yet, the Nurse sought for the best for Juliet, even if her own emotions at the time didn't agree.
          Even Lady Capulet realized how important and influential the Nurse was to Juliet. When she spoke to her daughter of Paris' proposal,  "This is the matter- Nurse, give leave awhile. We must talk in secret. - Nurse come back again." (1.2 Lines 8 and 9). Lady Capulet intended to shut the Nurse out of the discussion, but after seeing that the Nurse was necesarry because of her connection to Juliet, she called her back.
         The Nurse's relationship with Juliet was similar to Aibileen's relationship with Mae Mobley in "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. Aibileen was employed as a maid and nanny, but she still loved her. Mae Mobley said that Aibileen was her actual mother at one point. The Nurse was close to Juliet, even though they weren't related. They loved and care for one another, and the Nurse wanted Juliet to be happy and taken care of.