"All happiness bechance to thee in Milan!"
As the two best friends prepare to part – Valentine leaving for Milan, and Proteus remaining in Verona – Proteus wishes his best friend nothing but happiness on his new adventure. Proteus's words are, of course, deeply ironic, as it is Proteus who winds up destroying whatever chance of happiness Valentine finds when he falls in love with Silvia.
"I leave myself, my friends and all, for love.
Thou, Julia, thou hast metamorphosed me,
Made me neglect my studies, lose my time,
War with good counsel, set the world at nought;
Made wit with musing weak, heart sick with thought."
Here, Proteus declares his love for Julia at the beginning of the play, before he leaves for Milan. He suggests that his feelings of love have entirely transformed his character, distracting him to the point where he cannot study and rendering him combative to sage advice. While the play continues to acknowledge that love has transformative power, this quotation suggests that to be overcome with these feelings is not necessarily beneficial for one's well-being or soundness of mind.
"I think Crab my dog be the sourest-natured dog that
lives: my mother weeping, my father wailing, my
sister crying, our maid howling, our cat wringing
her hands, and all our house in a great perplexity,
yet did not this cruel-hearted cur shed one tear."
While The Two Gentlemen of Verona was not one of Shakespeare's popular plays, it did feature one character who allegedly "stole the show" at the time of the original performances: Crab, the servant Launce's unruly dog. Audiences delighted in watching Crab torture his owner while Launce remained loyal and devoted to the ill-behaved dog, a comic bond that serves as a foil for the fickle behavior Proteus exudes toward Julia.
"I knew him as myself; for from our infancy
We have conversed and spent our hours together."
Here, Valentine explains how he and Proteus have grown so close: they have known each other since they were born, and have thus shared many years together as best friends. When Valentine says "I knew him as myself," he suggests that he and Proteus are not two separate entities but are indeed one person, so fused by their bond of friendship that they come to represent one another.
"Then let me go and hinder not my course
I'll be as patient as a gentle stream
And make a pastime of each weary step
Till the last step have brought me to my love,
And there I'll rest, as after much turmoil
A blessèd soul doth in Elysium."
There are plenty of male characters in the play who express their doubts over female loyalty. Indeed, it was a common misogynistic conception of the time that women were naturally and biologically more fickle and deceptive than men. Here, however, audiences can see a direct challenge posed to that idea, as Julia announces her intentions to travel to Milan with nothing but "patience," emphasizing her continued loyalty and love for Proteus.
"Know, noble lord, they have devised a means
How he her chamber window will ascend
And with a corded ladder fetch her down;
For which the youthful lover now is gone,
And this way comes he with it presently,
Where, if it please you, you may intercept him.
But, good my lord, do it so cunningly
That my discovery be not aimed at;
For, love of you, not hate unto my friend,
Hath made me publisher of this pretence."
In this quotation, Proteus has approached the Duke – Silvia's father – to tell him about Valentine's plan to run away with Silvia. He explains how the Duke might "intercept" Valentine and prevent him from marrying Silvia. Notably, Proteus asks the Duke not to implicate him, saying that it is love for the Duke rather than hate for Valentine that has inspired his confession. Proteus invokes this notion of love and hate as equally strong, competing emotions in order to justify his actions against his best friend.
"The more shame for him that he sends it me;
For I have heard him say a thousand times
His Julia gave it him at his departure.
Though his false finger have profaned the ring,
Mine shall not do his Julia so much wrong."
When Julia – dressed as Sebastian – conveys the ring that she gave Proteus to Silvia on Proteus's behalf, Silvia responds by saying that Proteus should be ashamed. Silvia knows about Proteus's betrayal of Julia and refuses to wear the ring out of deference to the woman whom Proteus left behind (or so she thinks). Here, the play gestures toward the possibility that women can develop friendships that are equally as strong (indeed, stronger, given Proteus's happy betrayal of Valentine) as their male counterparts.
"I am my master's true confirmèd love,
But cannot be true servant to my master
Unless I prove false traitor to myself."
When Proteus asks Julia (disguised as the page boy, Sebastian), to bring the ring to Silvia, Julia is distraught with the knowledge that she will be aiding Proteus in his pursuit of another woman. Here, Julia acknowledges that though she plans to carry out the task that has been asked of her, her continued service to Proteus is actually a betrayal of herself. Julia suggests she feels compelled to reveal her true identity to free her from the obligation of having to further drive her and her beloved apart.
"And I will follow, more to cross that love
Than hate for Silvia, that is gone for love."
As Proteus announces that he will go after Silvia for love rather than out of hate for Eglamour (who has helped Silvia escape), Julia – disguised as the page boy, Sebastian – announces privately that she will also follow Proteus. For Julia, her desire to follow Proteus is expressed in similar terms, as she declares that she loves him more than she hates Silvia, the woman Proteus is currently pursuing.
"O, Proteus, let this habit make thee blush.
Be thou ashamed that I have took upon me
Such an immodest raiment, if shame live
In a disguise of love.
It is the lesser blot, modesty finds,
Women to change their shapes than men their minds."
At the end of the play, Julia faints and reveals her identity as Proteus's former lover. Here, she warns Proteus to think twice about judging her for her deception and betrayal through disguise, suggesting that her deceit was done out of love while his was done selfishly and maliciously. She announces that it is far less of an infraction for women to change their "shapes" (i.e., their outward appearance) than men to change their "minds," emphasizing how Proteus's betrayal was deeper and more hurtful.
