Proteus: The Traitor in the Friendship
First appears: Act 1, Scene 1
Proteus is named for the sea-god who could change shape at will. He changes shape throughout the play: devoted lover of Julia, traitor to Valentine, would-be seducer of Silvia, and eventually repentant friend.
He knows what he is doing. He tells himself in soliloquy that he cannot help it, that love overrides his loyalty, that he regrets everything but will do it anyway. This self-awareness makes him worse, not better.
His attempted rape of Silvia in Act 5 is the play's most uncomfortable moment. Valentine's immediate forgiveness of him, in the same scene, is the play's most controversial.
Key Scenes
Famous Quotes
“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;”
Proteus — Act 2, Scene 6
Themes
Other Characters in The Two Gentlemen of Verona
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