Julia Kicks Ass

Surprisingly enough, the women in Two Gentlemen of Verona are actually awesome. I say surprisingly because the male characters, with the exception of one fucking douchebag, are fairly standard and flat. Valentine is a good guy and it’s cool that he decides to join a tribe of bandits and become Robin Hood, but he doesn’t stand out as a particularly deep character. The same goes for the general cast of the Duke of Milan, Thurio (the preferred rich suitor for Silvia’s hand), Antonio and the rest.

Our first introduction to Julia is not a shining one. She is, quite frankly, rather annoying in her first scene, where she harasses her Lucetta, her maid, protesting that she hates Proteus and has no interest in him or his letters. Immediately after Lucetta is driven away, she begins fawning over him to herself. It’s the sort of quick emotional change scene that actresses would probably enjoy and probably plays out well on a stage, but it’s tedious to the extreme to read. Like Proteus before her, Julia does at least express some awareness of her insanity, chalking it up to, of course, love. One interesting aspect of this scene, though, is the beginning – Julia begins listing off suitors, comparing their various advantages and flaws to Lucetta. The conversation itself isn’t remarkable, what is interesting is that Julia portrays an attitude here of being entirely in charge of her destiny. She is choosing which one of these men she wants. Unlike most Shakespearean women, there is no mention of parental leanings, there is no passivity – until her love for Proteus blossoms out of the letter, Julia seems to be going about the process in a very modern, independent frame of mind.

In act 2, scene 7, we start to see what Julia’s made of. The same ardor which drove her to her abusive treatment of Lucetta is better channeled into a scheme to dress up as a boy and travel to Milan, all to surprise Proteus. In this day and age, it doesn’t really seem like much, but for a woman of Julia’s age and position, it’s actually a very bold and dangerous idea. It is here that we become fully aware of Julia’s passion: unlike Proteus, her feelings do not change after a moment’s notice. Also, unlike Proteus, she is not tied to her home, and afraid to leave (because, no matter how much Proteus lingering in Verona is chalked up to his love for Julia, I really have to think that part of it was not being ready to grow up and venture into the world). Julia shows here her adventurous spirit, as well as a practical bent – she plans her journey, maps out a route, formulates a disguise (and even goes so far as to formulate a disguise which allows her to keep her long, feminine hair. I can respect that sort of prioritizing in a girl.) Her spirit here is more typical masculine than Proteus’ – her virtues are a bold nature, inventiveness, passion, and methodological nature; her flaws are the same passion, and an impatience which drives her to seek out Proteus. She is not content to sit about and let life happen to her; like it or not, Julia shows herself as a woman that is in charge of her own destiny.

In addition to her bravery, Julia’s actually quite witty and strong. She happens upon a circumstance that would crush a lesser woman – she arrives in Milan to find Proteus has completely abandoned her and is now head over heels in love with Silvia. This sucks for her. For whatever reason (probably to torture herself by being near him. That seems just about right for someone actually in love) Julia sticks around and enters into Proteus’ employ as her doppelganger, Sebastian. Even though she is crushed and dejected; even though she has risked her reputation on this journey, Julia still manages to be amusingly witty. I’ve been heartbroken a time or two, and I really respect a woman who can keep up on her quips and wordplay while she’s watching the guy she loves serenade some chick he just met.

Of course, it doesn’t end well. That’s one of the most frustrating things about this play – throughout this whole play, Julia is the strong, intelligent, passionate woman. Like most strong, intelligent, passionate people she can be a little bit obnoxious at times, but she seems like the kind of person you’d actually want to get to know. She chooses her destiny and she pursues it… but, then, once she realizes that Proteus is actually a total fucking douchebag, she does nothing. Moreover, she leaps back into his arms after he goes so far as to try and rape Silvia in front of her. It’s mind numbingly frustrating, but, even at that, somewhat realistic. Julia is the half of the couple where you’re constantly asking yourself, why is she with this guy? Does Shakespeare think that all strong, independent women deserve to end up with spineless douchebags? (In all seriousness, this is the idea that makes the most sense to me… in a twisted way, he might think that a woman who’s like a man deserves someone like the worst stereotype of a weak fickle woman).

In conclusion, Julia is the shit. She is a cool, strong, decisive woman who’s not afraid of dressing up in drag and going out into the forest. In a play full of otherwise flat characters, she is one of only a few standouts. Even though I have yet to complete my tour through the giant red book of complete Shakespeare, she’s already one of my favorite female characters (favorite meaning ones that I would like to go out for a drink with. I may think Goneril and Regan are well written, but I hardly want to have a margarita and dish with them.) It’s just a shame that she has to end up with captain idiot, but it could be worse. She could be a woman in a tragedy…