Julia decides to follow Proteus to Milan by disguising herself as a boy page named Sebastian. She enlists Lucetta's help to dress her in men's clothes, including the essential codpiece. Despite fears about scandal, Julia is determined to pursue her love, trusting in Proteus's constancy and swearing that no obstacle will stop her journey to Milan.
This scene transforms Julia from a passive, love-struck girl into an active agent of her own story. Her earlier hesitation about love—the teasing exchanges with Lucetta in Act 1, Scene 2—has crystallized into decisive action. Julia doesn't wait for Proteus to return; she pursues him. This reverses the play's typical gender dynamics: while Valentine and Proteus debate love as an abstract ideal, Julia lives it by risking her reputation and safety. Her willingness to cross-dress signals both practical necessity and theatrical boldness—on Shakespeare's stage, this means a boy actor plays a girl playing a boy, layers of performance that expose gender itself as costume. Julia's constancy stands in sharp contrast to Proteus's already-wavering loyalty, though she doesn't yet know his heart has turned toward Silvia.
The dialogue between Julia and Lucetta is intimate and knowing, revealing the subordinate but crucial role of the waiting-woman. Lucetta doesn't just obey; she teases, advises, and insists on practical details like the codpiece—a moment of earthy humor that grounds the romance in physical reality. Julia's fears about scandal are real and historically grounded; a woman traveling alone, especially to follow a man, risked her honor. Yet Julia's argument—that love's intensity justifies the risk—overwhelms Lucetta's caution. The scene ends with Julia's impatience ('I am impatient of my tarriance'), her energy barely contained. She has moved from wondering whether to act to action itself, trusting her love so completely that she surrenders all her possessions to Lucetta's care, betting everything on Proteus's worthiness.
Why, then, your ladyship must cut your hair.
Well, then, your ladyship will have to cut your hair.
Lucetta · Act 2, Scene 7
Lucetta is coaching Julia on how to disguise herself as a boy so she can follow Proteus to court, and she points out that Julia will need to cut her hair. The line matters because it identifies hair as the marker of femininity—once cut, Julia becomes a page, a boy. It tells us the play understands gender as costume, something a woman can shed and resume at will.
Original Shakespeare alongside modern English. Synced read-along narration in the app.
