MISS JULIE BY AUGUST STRINDBERG

Miss Julie by August Strindberg

Miss Julie by August Strindberg

Introduction

August Strindberg wrote the naturalistic tragedy Miss Julie, which is recognized as one of the playwright's greatest, for André Antoine's avant-garde Theatre Libre in Paris. Strindberg's power, complexity, and originality of technique and vision have led such later writers as Eugene O'Neill to see him as the most progressive and influential playwright of his time. To underline his themes and characterizations, Strindberg uses recurring animal imagery that links human beings with their animal nature, a technique that may be seen in the dreams of Julie and Jean, the foreshadowing effect of Julie's mother, Julie's attitude toward her dog, and the brutal death of Julie's beautiful, caged bird (Valency 1963)

Thesis Statement

Jean's Fate was sealed before he crossed the boundaries of lust and class.

Discussion

Miss Julie is a naturalistic tragedy that follows the Aristotelian concepts of pity, fear, and catharsis. Pity is aroused in the viewer by the characters' inherent weaknesses and the social class structure they inhabit; fear is aroused when they realize that the same fate could overcome any of them; catharsis results when they realize that the old, decaying order must give way to the newer and stronger order if life is to continue (Törnqvist 1982).

Jean of Miss Julie

Jean is the manor's thirty-year old valet, chosen as Miss Julie's lover on Midsummer's Eve, and the second major character in the play. He grew up working in the district and, although Miss Julie does not know this, he has known Miss Julie since she was a child. Initially Jean talks coarsely and disparagingly about Miss Jean with his fiancé, Christine. Later he plays the gallant while seducing of Miss Julie, honorably hesitating before her advances, telling a heart-rending tale of his childhood love for his mistress, recounting his longtime ambitions, and generally making her believe in his gentleness. Upon the consummation of their romance, when Jean finds that Miss Julie is penniless, he rejects her and confesses that he has deceived her, cruelly leaving her to her disgrace (Gilman 1974).

Jean dreams of grandeur, vaguely imagining someday opening a hotel in northern Italy and becoming a count like Miss Jean's father. However, he remains subjected to authority throughout the play. Indeed, the reminders of the Count—his boots, the speaking tube, Jean's livery, and, most importantly, the ringing bell—automatically reduce Jean to a lackey. Jean's relationship to Miss Julie is complicated ...