Here's a tidbit from Wikipedia (yay!) which I like, and it helped me see what seems to be a very possessive, unloving act in a different context:
..."All that was mine in Silvia I give to thee" (5.4.83). Many critics (such as Stanley Wells for example) interpret this to mean that Valentine is indeed handing Silvia over to her would-be rapist, but another school of thought suggests that Valentine simply means "I will love you [Proteus] with as much love as I love Silvia," thus reconciling the dichotomy of friendship and love as depicted elsewhere in the play.
Is the other cast treating the ending differently? I think it would be interesting and worthwhile to see what happens if we give each show a different ending in regard to this line.
The Arden intro offered similar thoughts about that line. I think juxtaposing different interpretations is a great idea, so yeah, I wonder how the other cast is handling that moment...
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't think, though, that they're at all using this cleaner, tidier interpretation, based on some things Maria has said about her experience so far rehearsing 5.4. I could be wrong, though.
I know that I'm looking at it more in that light. I think we're allowing Proteus' position to be slightly more ambiguous, but I'm trying for Valentine to just make the two great loves of his life get along. Not a great way to do it.
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