Lady Capulet has come to Juliet's room to let her know that Paris seeks Juliet's hand in marriage. Lady Capulet asks Juliet about marriage and Juliet responds "It is an honor that I dream not of." She is basically saying Thanks, but no thanks. This polite refusal of the idea of marriage to her mother shows that Juliet is not a weak female character. She has the strength to tell her mother no, all while being polite. It is also interesting though that this also helps to characterize Juliet as impulsive. She tells her mother she's not interested in marriage before she even knows who her mother wants her to marry. However, later on that evening after the party, she is sending Romeo off to make marriage plans the next day for the two of them.
Act One -- and the entirety of the play -- is set in Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which was settled by Governor John Winthrop and around seven hundred Puritans in 1639.
