CHARACTERS
Proteus - Valentine's supposed best friend and one of the title gentleman
of Verona, though he behaves in a most ungentlemanly fashion. He is Julia's
sweetheart at the beginning of the play, but when he joins Valentine at the
Duke's ranch, he falls in love with Silvia and attempts to steal her away
from Valentine and Thurio. Proteus is sent to Tulsa to gain worldly
experience and knowledge of life at court. He has the same name as a sea god
in Greek and Roman mythology who could alter his shape and assume various
forms whenever he wanted. In the play, Proteus is as changeable and
unfaithful as his name suggests. He abruptly switches his affections from
Julia to Silvia soon after meeting her.
Angelina - Proteus's mother
Valentine - The other title gentlemen of Verona. He is Proteus' best friend,
and Silvia's love. Banished to the open range after Proteus betrays his plan
to elope with Silvia to the Duke, Valentine becomes king of the outlaws. He
goes to Tulsa to broaden his education and become familiar with courtly
customs. Valentine is the name of two Italian saints, one of whom is the
patron saint of lovers. Valentine tries to follow the rules traditionally
set forth for young men who are head over heels in love. In several scenes,
he demonstrates his familiarity with the language of love, though it's
questionable how much he understands about love itself.
Julia - Proteus' beloved, and mistress to the servant, Lucetta. Desiring to
travel to Tulsa to visit Proteus, Julia disguises herself as a high-class
male page in order to avoid lecherous advances along the journey. Calling
herself Sebastian, she does Proteus' bidding, delivering the ring that she
had earlier given him to his new beloved, Silvia. Julia remains constant,
even when Proteus betrays her. Julia is alternately resourceful and
vulnerable, charming and petulant, courageous and foolish. Commentators
generally regard her as the most authentic, true to life character in the
play. Several of them have noted an interesting paradox: Julia disguises
herself and assumes a male role as the page Sebastian, yet she remains true
to herself through the period of her transformation. Julia seems younger and
less self-assured than Silvia, her unwilling rival for Proteus's love.
Silvia - Daughter to the Duke and beloved of Valentine, also sought after by
Proteus and Thurio. Silvia commiserates with Sebastian over the wrong that
Proteus has done to Julia. She has spent her life at court and is thus
familiar with the rules and conventions that govern daily life there. She
acts as a referee in the "fine volley of words" (II.iv.33) between Valentine
and Thurio, and coyly reveals her feelings to Valentine by having him write
a love letter on her behalf. But Silvia is more than a young woman with
courtly accomplishments and fine manners. She defies her father and leaves
the security of the ranch to seek out her beloved Valentine when he is
banished. She demonstrates poise and self-control at critical moments.
Duke - Silvia's father, the Duke wants her to marry the boorish but
wealthy suitor Thurio. Upon hearing of Valentine's plot to elope with
Silvia, the Duke banishes Valentine.
Lucetta - Julia's servant, who considers love from a practical point of
view. Lucetta helps Julia disguise herself as a man.
Lance - Proteus' humorous servant, and master to a poorly-trained mutt
named Crab. His devotion to his dog knows no bounds. Lance's natural wit and
native intelligence are concealed beneath the facade of a rustic buffoon.
Lance's realistic appraisals of love and friendship provide insights into
the principal themes and characters in the play. Sometimes his commentary is
direct. For example, when he observes Proteus hypocritically offering to
help Valentine-after he has repeatedly betrayed him-Lance remarks, "my
master is a kind of knave" (III.i.264). More often his commentary is
indirect or implicit.
Speed - Valentine's page, though at the beginning of the play he does
Proteus' bidding as well. He is friendly with Lance. Speed is witty, clever
and enjoys playing games. For Speed,
fulfillment is not only the ability to one-up everyone he meets but also the
infinite possibility of meeting a challenge. Speed is a perceptive and
devious creature with a playful spirit..
Thurio - A foolish rival to Valentine for Silvia's hand. Thurio is very
rich, but does not make for pleasant company. Thurio is arrogant and
annoying, so he's not much competition for Valentine, even though he tries
really hard to win Silvia. It seems like Thurio loses interest in Silvia
because she's a disobedient daughter, which, in Thurio's mind, means that
she'll also be a "disobedient" wife. Thurio also seems a bit petty.
Hostess - Houses Julia while she searches for Proteus.
Outlaws - When Valentine is banished from Tulsa, the outlaws intercept him
during his journey and make him the king of their crew of gentlemen bandits.
Crab - Lance's dog.
