Right from the beginning of the play we see how intimate the relationship between Proteus and Valentine is, with phrases such as “my loving Proteus”, “sweet Valentine”, “sweet Proteus”. Valentine’s disapproval of Proteus staying in Verona because of love seems to propose that the two characters evidently have had a deep bond, but Proteus’s love for Julia we see has affected this. So from the beginning the male-male friendship is not as idealised as Valentine desired. We see in Proteus’s next speech that he admits to given up everything, (1.1.65-69) “friends and all”, ‘These complaints reflect more than the standard melancholy brought on by love; they point toward a radical, and degenerative, change of character’ (Hunt, 1982 p5).
The scene where Proteus and Julia are saying their goodbyes is very brief, as is their reunite at the end. With this scene been so short it could be seen as the love between them is not that strong, although Proteus says more words than Julia does, it is the shortest conversation he has with anyone in the play, to say that she is his lover this is quite a surprise. This maybe indicates that Proteus is not all for love.
When we see Valentine in Milan, he is already in love with Silvia, which makes his name seem more fitting. He is blind to the idea that other people know he is in love. Speed mocks Valentine in lines (2.1.17-30) “marry by these special marks...” Speed mentions that Valentine has been “metamorphosed” which shows Valentine’s feelings, are the same feelings that he once mocked Proteus about. When Proteus and Valentine first meet again we see that Valentine has talked much about Proteus letting the audience know that he still sees Proteus as a good friend, Sylvia says is ‘this be he you oft have wish’d to hear from” (2.4.99) Valentine actually seems interested in how Proteus has been keeping, and even of his love affairs with Julia, (2.4.118-25). We also see in this conversation that Valentine admits that his idea of love has been altered. But this time it is Proteus who is telling Valentine that the love he feels for Silvia is a bit extreme, “what braggardism is this?”. As Proteus once described Julia as “heavenly”, we see Valentine describing Silvia as “divine” and a “heavenly saint” and he asks Proteus to admit this. Proteus remarks she is just an “earthly paragon”, and that he will not “flatter her”, and that he prefers his own “mistress”. Valentine goes as far as arrogantly saying to Proteus that he should prefer Silvia over Julia “let her be a principality, sovereign to all the creatures on the earth” (2.4.51-52.) Valentine then says at the end of his speech “for love, thou know’st is full of jealousy”, and therefore Proteus wooing of Silvia is doing what Valentine asked, and maybe as Valentine states that with love can come jealousy. Maybe Proteus is jealous of Valentine and Silvia’s love for each other, he could feel left out because his lover is at home, or just because Valentine is actually showing someone else affection. But on the other hand we could argue that this is not just a jealous friend, but a disloyal friend. He may want what his friend has, just because he has it, some rivalry competition, but Proteus goes as far as getting Valentine banished from the court of Milan. Thus it cannot be seen on Proteus’s part as a sustaining traditional friendship. We do see Proteus have a bit of a conscience in what he is doing, his soliloquy in the whole act 2 scene 6 sees him battle with it, and ultimately choose Silvia over Julia and Valentine. Proteus is wicked to bring friendship up to the Duke when telling him of his daughter’s and Valentine’s plan, “the law of friendship bids me to conceal” (3.1.5). He knows exactly how a friend is suppose to be yet he betrays his friend on the worst levels, proving here that his friendship at this point in time means nothing to him, his own wants means more to him than friendship. When Valentine tells Proteus of his banishment, Proteus deceivingly walks him to the gate, promising that if he writes letters for Silvia and addresses them to Proteus he will deliver them for him. He then tells the duke the best way for Silvia to forget the love she has for Valentine, “slander valentine with falsehood, cowardice, and poor descent” (3.240-41). This clearly shows that the relationship between Proteus and Valentine is nothing on Proteus’s part, not one part of him feels guilt at what he has done, he still persists in bringing his friend down.
Although Valentine does not see how treacherous his friend is, Silvia does. She remains loyal to herself, her lover, and females in general. She knows how Proteus’s name fits him well in his ever changing mind “I know that they are stuf’d with new-found oaths; which he will break as easily as I do tear this paper” (4.4.129-30). She is empathetic towards Julia and will not take the ring Proteus offers her, showing that loyalty not only remains because of love, but because of dignity and respect, something that Proteus has lost.
When we see Proteus rescue Silvia from the outlaws, we see that his words do not change her point of view; she knows how deceitful Proteus is. She mentions how Valentine is a “true friend” and tells him that he is “counterfeit[ing]” him by pursuing her. Showing us once again that even other people can see how true a friend Valentine is to Proteus. To which Proteus remarks, “Who respects friend?” (5.4.55). It is proven clear once again that Proteus does not cherish male-male friendship, choosing his love for a woman over the love for his friend. Proteus trying to rape Silvia shows us that he has no respect for the ones he apparently loves, let alone any for his “sweet Valentine”.
The ending after the rape seems very unclear. Here we see Valentine actually show us how much he actually cared for Proteus, and how it hurt to see his friend act in such a way, “the private wound is the deepest; o time most accurst; ’mongst all foes that a friend should be the worst!” (5.4.75-6). The audience would have no reason to distrust Valentine’s feelings here, not once throughout the play as Valentine acted treacherous towards anyone. Yet Proteus’s apology does not seem true, throughout the play his ever changing nature towards his friends and lovers has proved inconstant, he has lied and cheated the whole time so it is hard to accept his apology. Valentine is completely naive to accept his apology too, (yet he still does not know it was Proteus who told the Duke about his plans to escape with his daughter.) Valentine’s line “and, that my love may appear plain and free, all that was mine in Silvia I give thee” (5.4.87-88.) Many critics have previously said before that it is Valentine offering Silvia to Proteus, Carroll states not only is it because of the male friendship, but because Valentine sees Silvia as a possession (Carroll, 2004 p26), Paris and Rubin also believe it was because of ‘the code of male friendship’ (Paris & Rubin, 1991 p218). Even some productions of the play have left this line out such as ‘Benjamin Victor in 1762’ (Hyman, 2006 p2). But to me it does not actually seem so. It seems as though Valentine is saying all the love I have for Silvia I give you also, Maurice Hunt agrees with this understanding of the lines too (Hunt, 1982 p16) as does Hyman he believes ‘Valentine [is] wishing a kind of parallel happiness to Proteus-that is, what Valentine has in Silvia, he hopes Proteus might find in Julia’ (Hyman, 2006 p2).
In male-male friendship plays before like Titus and Gisuppus we have seen this offer of a lover; it does not seem to be the same in TGOV. This is because although Julia swoons when she hears Valentine say this, Proteus does not say anything about it. Plus if Valentine had offered his lover he probably would not threaten Thurio so much when he says Silvia is his “Thurio, give back, or else embrace thy death” (5.4.135), and also Valentine’s last lines “our day of marriage shall be yours; one feast, one house, one mutual happiness” does not suggest that he wanted to give away Silvia, it suggests that he wants Proteus to share his happiness with himself and Silvia:
‘The idea that blind love must necessarily win a victory over rational friendship...ran side by side in the middle ages with the contrasted idea that the wise man, however tempted, will always value friendship over love’ (Blakemore Evans 1997, p178).
But we have seen ‘Of the two gentlemen, Proteus is, throughout the play, false in both love and friendship’ (Small, 1933 p3). Therefore on his account TGOV undermines male friendship for selfishness in love. We see Proteus twice choose love over his best friend. But by the end of the play it could be said to say that:
‘Proteus finally understands that love is not an abstraction to be sought in every beautiful woman, but only to be found in a permanent commitment to one’ (Godshalk, 1969 p181).
But on the other hand in Valentine’s case he is true a friend from the beginning right until the end. He not once slanders Proteus, he remains loyal throughout not just to Proteus, but to himself and Silvia. ‘Valentine's journey becomes an education in love’ (Godshalk, 1969 p178) because he has already got an education in friendship. He cherishes both love and male friendship and this is why he forgives so easily. Therefore the question that Shakespeare seems to put forward of ‘Who, they asked, deserved greater truth and trust, the lover or the friend?’(Lee, 2008 p28), the answer here seems to be that ‘the idealisation of male friendship is as superior to male-female love’, (Carroll, 2004 p15.)
Bibliography
Carroll, William C, edited 2004. The Two Gentlemen Of Verona, The Arden Shakespeare: China.
Godshalk, William Leigh, 1969. “The structural unity of “Two Gentlemen of Verona””, Studies in Philology, Vol 66,iss 2, pg168-181.
Hunt, Maurice, 1982. “The Two Gentlemen of Verona and the Paradox of Salvation”, Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature”, vol 36, iss 1, pg5-22.
Hyman, Eric, 2006. “Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, The Explicator Washington: Summer, vol 64, iss 4, pg198-202.
Lee, Bruce C, 2008. The Utah Guide to The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Utah Shakespearean Festival: Cedar City.
Paris, Bernard, and RubinTheodore, 1991. Bargains with Fate: Psychological Crisis and Conflicts in Shakespeare and His Plays,Plenum Press: New York.
Shakespeare, William, 2007. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Midpoint Press: India.
Small, Asa, 1933. “The ending of The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, PMLA, vol 48, iss 3, pg767-776.
