The Two Gentlemen of Verona Violence Quotes

Julia dons a disguise while she travels to Milan in order to ward off "lascivious" men who might attack a woman travelling alone.

The Third Outlaw reveals something peculiar when he explains to Valentine why he was banished from the court – he got kicked out for trying to "steal away a lady." There are a couple of ways to read this. On the one hand, we can assume that the outlaw was planning on eloping with a woman (like Valentine was planning to elope with Silvia). On the other hand, we could read the phrase "to steal away a lady" as a confession of an attempted assault.

Valentine agrees to be the outlaws' leader, on the condition that that they "do no outrages" on women. What kind of "outrages" is he afraid they'll commit, exactly? Robbery? Rape? Something else? No wonder Julia was so afraid to travel alone.

This is one of the first hints of Proteus's capacity for sexual violence. He says that he'll try to put his desire for Silvia in check, but, if he can't, he'll use his "skill" to "compass" her. As a verb, "compass" can mean a few things. The editors of the 2008 Norton Shakespeare gloss this word to mean that Proteus intends to "win" Silvia. But, "compass" can also mean to "to seize" and it can also mean "to encircle, or surround something" (Oxford English Dictionary). In other words, it seems like Proteus's intention to "compass" Silvia is a lot more aggressive than a simple desire to "win" her heart. Keep reading….

Here's that word "compass" again. At 2.4.18 (above), Proteus used the term to suggest that he would use his "skill" to "compass" (win, seize, attain) Silvia. Here, his use of the word is even more tricky. On the one hand, Proteus suggests that he wants to "compass" (win) Silvia's good "will." (He wants to win her affection.) On the other hand, Proteus could also be suggesting that he intends to "compass" Silvia's free "will." This latter meaning seems to anticipate his attempt to rape Silvia, which is an act that aims to deprive her of all free choice and free will.

When the outlaws take Silvia captive, the First Outlaw promises that his "captain" will not assault her. This speaks to the fact that Valentine (the outlaws' "captain") isn't the kind of guy who goes around raping women (unlike Proteus). It also speaks to the fact that the forest is a pretty dangerous place for women – otherwise, why would the First Outlaw go out of his way to put Silvia's potential fears to rest?

When Valentine gets kicked out of Milan for trying to elope with the Duke's daughter, he bums around a forest, where he finds a sense of peace bemoaning his sadness in harmony with the mournful sounds of the nightingale. As literary scholar Jean Howard reminds us, Valentine's reference to the nightingale recalls the mythic story of Philomela, who was raped by Tereus and eventually transformed into a nightingale – whose sad tune mourned the loss of Philomela's virginity. OK, we know what you're thinking. What does the mythic story of Philomela's rape and transformation into a bird have to do with Valentine hanging out in the forest missing his girlfriend? Well, it can't be a coincidence that moments after Valentine mentions the nightingale, his pal Proteus tries to rape Silvia in the very same forest, can it? Keep reading…

When Silvia refuses to love Proteus, he says he'll take her by "force," which is another way of saying that's he's going to rape her. He never completes the assault, however, because Valentine steps in and puts a stop to it.

Literary scholar Jean Howard points out that if Proteus had raped Silvia, the play would have been transformed from a comedy into a tragedy. But, because Valentine stops Proteus, Two Gentlemen of Verona escapes the genre of tragedy by the skin of its teeth.

OK, when Valentine stops Proteus from assaulting Silvia, we're expecting him to say something different here, right? But, instead of being angry that Proteus was going to violate Silvia, Valentine lectures Proteus about being a disloyal friend. What's going on here?

After he's caught trying to rape Silvia, Proteus apologizes to Valentine, but not for his crime against Julia. Here, he apologizes for being a lousy friend to his guy pal, as if trying to rape Valentine's girlfriend was a crime against Valentine, and not Silvia.