Valentine's Forgiveness

Valentine's Forgiveness The final scene of a work of fiction has the gifted ability to impact the audience to remember the fictional story long after it has ended. Two Gentlemen of Verona by Shakespeare proceeds this statement; leaving the audience to cling onto the final scene, however, for all the wrong reasons. Valentine choosing his friend over his love, effortlessly forgiving Proteus for his betrayal and attempted rape, compels the audience to speculate Shakespeare's intent in wrapping up a play so abnormally. Raising the question of friendship and love, the ending pins them against each other deciding which is the greater force, ultimately preferring friendship. Yet, all of the plays events leading up to the final scene give in to

Every chance he gets he will speak lengthily about her usually describing her with divine qualities. From scene 2.4.127 to 2.4.173 Valentine expresses his admiration near obsession of Silvia with such phrases as, "Is she not a heavenly saint(2.4.143)", "If not divine, yet let her be a principality, sovereign to all the creatures on the earth(2.4.150-151)", and "To her whose worth makes other worthies nothing; she is alone(2.4.163-164)". To him, Silvia is unlike anyone he has ever seen; no one else can compete with Silvia for she is celestial. Valentine, of course, has never said anything like this about Proteus. When Valentine leaves to Milan he bids Proteus farewell, but when he is banished from Milan, unable to see Silvia again, he speaks as if his very soul has been taken away from him. "To die is to be banish'd from myself; and Silvia is myself: banish'd from her is self from self(3.1.171-172)". Valentine holds Silvia with higher regard compared to Proteus, thus proving his forgiveness speech to be contradictory with his relationships to the other characters. Furthermore, Valentine's character as a whole strengthens this argument by looking at his written character traits to observe if he would condone Proteus's

His lines are typically written in verse with adoring imagery peppered throughout. When joining the bandits he specifically says, "Provided that you do no outrages on silly women or poor passengers(4.1.73)", establishing his moral stand point that he will not associate himself with people who hurt the less fortunate or women. Faithfulness is a key trait of Valentine, he is dependable to his friend Proteus as to avoid slandering him, devoted to his lover Silvia in every way and even loyal to the bandits that aided him. "These banish'd men that I have kept withal, Are men endued with worthy qualities; Forgive them(5.4.153)" His formal language illustrates that's he's an educated gentlemen that knows how to bend words to suit his passion. Going along side his name Valentine often uses loving words to express himself, such as, "tender", "exquisite," "beautiful", and "enthralled". All of this put together further supports the idea that Valentine wouldn't forgive Proteus for his un-gentlemanly, dishonest action of hurting a women. Proteus is Valentine's opposite on the spectrum, a villain meant to serve as an obstacle. Thus, Valentine's acceptance of Proteus's amoral actions are mind-boggling as it goes against his entire