SOURCE: “Love Delights in Praises: A Reading of The Two Gentlemen of Verona,” in Philosophy and Literature, Vol. 13, No. 2, October 1989, pp. 231-47.

In the following essay, Girard studies the role of mimetic desire in the relationships among the four lovers in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and argues that Proteus's desire for Silvia is generated by his predisposition to favor whatever Valentine desires.

I

Valentine and Proteus have been friends since their earliest childhood in Verona, and their two fathers want to send them to Milan for their education. Because of his love for a girl named Julia, Proteus refuses to leave Verona; Valentine goes to Milan alone.

In spite of Julia, however, Proteus misses Valentine greatly and, after a while, he, too, goes to Milan. The two friends are reunited in the ducal palace; the duke's daughter, Silvia, is present and Valentine briefly introduces Proteus. After she...