There are several ways to look at Friar Lawrence, some more fit than others. I found three of these, but first the basic facts about him. He is Catholic, when Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet, England was a Protestant country. Many writers of the time made fun of Catholics in their plays, but Friar Lawrence is treated respectfully, and has perfection and faults like everyone else. As a member of the Order of St. Francis, …showed first 75 words of 676 total…

…showed last 75 words of 676 total…arouse Romeo to action. He only gives Juliet the potion because she's desperate and threatens suicide, and although he flees from the tomb, he's willing to tell the whole story, even if it condemns him. In the second and third views, Friar Lawrence understands the lovers' problems and it changes him through the course of the play. For this you can almost call Friar Lawrence a "maturing character," and how he changes throughout the story.