Lady Montague expresses her maternal love by being protective of Romeo and concerned for his physical safety and emotional well-being. When she and her husband arrive at the scene of the street fight, she asks Benvolio if he has seen Romeo today. She says, "Right glad I am he was not at this fray" (1.1.119). She is worried about him because, as Lord Montague says, he has been so sad lately that he just cries and shuts himself away in his bedroom, even closing the curtains so that the sunlight cannot get in.
Lady Capulet expresses her maternal love in a somewhat less obvious way. She speaks to Juliet about the fact that Count Paris wants to marry her, saying that many girls are made mothers by the time they are her age. She seems to feel that getting Juliet married is her primary duty, as it is really the only topic we ever see them discuss. Lady Capulet is the one to present Juliet with the news, after Tybalt's death, that Lord Capulet has scheduled her wedding to Paris for later that week, and when Juliet refuses this plan, her mother attempts to wash her hands of her. After Lord Capulet promises to allow Juliet to starve in the streets should she continue to disobey him, Lady Capulet says, "Talk not to me, for I'll not speak a word. / Do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee" (3.5.214-215). Therefore, her maternal love seems a great deal weaker than Lady Montague's.
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