Proteus

Play

The Two Gentlemen of Verona

Summary

Proteus is one of the two titular gentlemen, whose name — drawn from the shape-shifting sea-god — encodes his defining trait: mutability of faith. He abandons his beloved Julia to pursue Silvia, betrays his best friend Valentine to the Duke, and nearly commits sexual violence against Silvia before Valentine's forgiveness and Julia's revelation prompt his swift repentance. His arc makes him among Shakespeare's earliest explorations of male inconstancy and the conflict between friendship and desire.

Notable Quotations

"To leave my Julia, shall I be forsworn; / To love fair Silvia, shall I be forsworn; / To wrong my friend, I shall be much forsworn." *(2.6)*

"Is it mine eye, or Valentinus' praise, / Her true perfection, or my false transgression, / That makes me reasonless to reason thus?" *(2.4)*

Cross-references

• The Two Gentlemen of Verona — the play
• Comedies
• character_valentine — his best friend whom he betrays
• character_julia — the beloved he abandons
• character_silvia — the woman he pursues in Milan