name of Julie's dog, Diana, alludes to the Roman goddess of hunting. According to legend, when a man saw Diana bathing, she set her hounds on him to tear him apart. This rejection of men by the goddess Diana parallels Julie's own behavior. Another allusion appears in the church sermon Kristine plans to attend, which discusses the beheading of John the Baptist. In the Biblical narrative, John the Baptist was beheaded by King Herod Antipas of Palestine, who was manipulated by his wife, Herodias, and her daughter, Salome, into executing the follower of Jesus Christ. The death of John the Baptist is mirrored in both the killing of Julie's bird and Julie's own demise.

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing involves using words, symbols, or events to hint at future occurrences. The sexual encounter between Julie's dog Diana and the gatekeeper's dog, which appalls Julie, foreshadows her own intimate act with Jean and her subsequent feelings of shame and horror. Additionally, Jean's beheading of Julie's bird foreshadows Julie's own death.

The Unities

The three classical unities—unity of time, unity of place, and unity of action—are a Renaissance interpretation of ancient Greek drama rules as described in Aristotle's Poetics. Unity of time requires that the drama's events occur within a twenty-four-hour period. Unity of place stipulates that the play's action must happen in a single location or in locations close to each other; for example, one scene cannot be set in Paris while another is in Rome. Unity of action mandates that all incidents in the drama follow a logical sequence. Strindberg adhered strictly to these classical unities when writing Miss Julie.

Structure

The structure of Miss Julie diverges from the typical late-nineteenth-century drama. Strindberg, believing that intermissions disrupted the audience's focus, chose to write a shorter play. He envisioned Miss Julie as a single-act play rather than the traditional three-act format so that the audience could experience the drama in one sitting. Nonetheless, the play maintains a traditional structure with three distinct parts. Instead of being divided by intermissions, the first and second parts are separated by a mime scene featuring Kristine alone on stage. The second and third parts are divided by the servants' ballet, which occurs on stage while Jean and Julie are alone in Jean's room.

Symbol

A symbol represents something beyond itself. In Miss Julie, the Count's boots and bell symbolize his offstage presence and his ongoing power over Julie and Jean. When Jean hears the Count's bell, his aspirations for social mobility vanish, and he reverts to being a servant. Similarly, the dreams of Jean and Julie symbolize their desire to escape their current reality.

Naturalism

Naturalism is a literary movement that originated in France during the mid-1800s. The French author Émile Zola, known for his Rougon-Macquart series of novels, is regarded as the most pivotal figure in defining the movement's principles. Naturalists were influenced by the theory of social Darwinism, which posited that the human struggle for social survival paralleled the animal struggle for physical survival, often described as "survival of the fittest." In Naturalism, individuals are governed by social and biological factors, heredity, and environment, rather than by their own willpower and character. Miss Julie is widely acknowledged as the most significant naturalistic drama.

1888: Though published in 1859, Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species remains controversial. Many religious individuals feel threatened by Darwin's discoveries and the implication that humans are merely animals.

Today: Darwin's theories are broadly accepted, and the majority of people acknowledge that humans are biologically classified as animals. Few religious individuals feel that their faith is undermined by the concept of evolution.

1888: The role of women is undergoing rapid transformation as they achieve greater legal equality with men. Nevertheless, husbands still retain certain legal rights over their wives, sparking widespread debate about the appropriate role of married women.

Today: Women in Europe and America enjoy nearly full legal equality with men, but many believe there is still significant progress to be made. In some developing countries, there remains substantial gender inequality.

1888: Social Darwinism is gaining traction as a theory, with many observing the principle of "survival of the fittest" in societal contexts.

Today: Factors beyond individual control, such as circumstances and genetics, are now recognized as greatly influencing who attains status and wealth. The acceptance of social Darwinism has significantly diminished.

1888: Sweden is experiencing social reforms aimed at increasing workers' rights, including demands for higher wages and shorter workdays. However, a law requiring a minimum income for voters prevents many workers from voting.

Today: The condition of workers worldwide has markedly improved. In Sweden, a robust government welfare system ensures that all citizens enjoy a relatively high standard of living.

The setting of "Miss Julie" is a complex tapestry of social hierarchy, personal ambition, and cultural tensions, woven together on a Swedish country estate. Through powerful symbols and strategically utilized spaces, August Strindberg's play explores themes of authority, class, and the struggle for personal agency. The characters, settings, and objects on stage serve as a microcosm of the society they inhabit, providing a rich backdrop for the unfolding drama.

The Country Estate

At the heart of the play is the grand country estate of an unnamed Swedish count, an imposing symbol of aristocratic power. The estate, possibly situated near Stockholm, is not just a home but also an emblem of the social order that governs the lives of its inhabitants. The count, though unseen, exerts his authority even in his absence, notably through items as simple as a pair of riding boots displayed prominently in the kitchen. His daughter, Julie, is a twenty-five-year-old woman caught between societal expectations and personal desires, highlighted by her broken engagement and complex relationship with her father's servant, Jean.

The estate, with its community of tenant farmers, becomes a focal point during the Midsummer Eve celebrations. This night, the shortest of the year in Scandinavian tradition, is marked by festivity and a temporary blurring of social boundaries. Peasants mock their superiors through bawdy songs, and Julie herself challenges societal norms by commanding Jean to dance with her on the village green. Through these actions, Julie's internal conflict and the play's thematic tensions are vividly expressed.

Jean’s Tree

The dream of Jean, the count's valet and Julie's lover, reinforces the play's exploration of social stratification. His recurring dream involves a towering tree, emblematic of his aspirations to rise above his humble status. As a child, Jean had a humiliating experience at the manor house, where he stumbled upon a pavilion that turned out to be an outhouse. His escape through its hole left him filthy, but this incident also marked his first sighting of Julie, a vision of unattainable beauty and privilege.

Jean's dream of climbing the great tree to reach the clouds among birds of prey echoes his desire to transcend his social position. However, his inability to grasp the first branch symbolizes the insurmountable barriers he faces. This vertical imagery is central to the play, underscoring the rigid social hierarchy that confines both Jean and Julie.

Julie’s Column

Mirroring Jean's dream, Julie's own recurring vision involves being stranded atop a pillar, a place of isolation and vulnerability. Her dream portends an inevitable descent, reflecting her simultaneous desire to exert control over men and her fear of personal degradation. Julie's interactions with Jean on Midsummer Eve begin this downward trajectory, as she wrestles with her burgeoning sexual impulses and the societal constraints that bind her.

The Kitchen and Side-Rooms

The play's singular scene is set in a modest kitchen, a space seemingly at odds with Julie's social rank. At Midsummer Eve, this kitchen becomes a nexus of activity and emotion, as commoners from the adjacent celebrations draw near, prompting Julie and Jean to leave to avoid detection. During this brief interlude, the revelers mockingly sing, drink, and dance, providing a backdrop for Julie and Jean's off-stage consummation.

Upon their return, the dynamic between them has shifted irrevocably. Julie recognizes that their encounter cannot lead to marriage due to the rigid class distinctions that divide them, nor can she continue as Jean's mistress without sacrificing her dignity. The kitchen, infused with the heady scent of summer flowers, becomes a crucible of social and personal transformation, though the results are far from harmonious. The rigid environment prevents true fusion of character and class, leaving the protagonists trapped in a cycle of self-destruction.

The Ticino Fantasy

Amid the societal turmoil, Jean and Julie entertain fantasies of escaping to Ticino, a picturesque resort town in southern Switzerland where they dream of opening a hotel. This vision of a utopian future is alternately embraced and ridiculed by Julie, who half-heartedly attempts to enlist the skeptical cook, Kristin, in their plans. Kristin, astutely aware of the shifting social dynamics, perceives Jean's ambition as forgivable but views Julie's actions as self-degrading and inexcusable.

For Kristin, the manor's reputation, once again tarnished by scandal, represents the cyclical nature of authority and rebellion. Despite the characters' dreams of escape and reinvention, the weight of social expectations and personal shortcomings ultimately anchors them to their fates, weaving a narrative that highlights the inescapable tensions of class and desire.

Miss Julie was adapted into the 1951 Swedish film Froken Julie, directed by Alf Sjoberg.

In 1965, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) produced a television version of Miss Julie. Directed by Alan Bridges, this adaptation features Stephanie Bidmean, Ian Hendry, and Gunnel Lindblom.

Another version of Miss Julie was directed by John Glenister and Robin Phillips in 1972. This rendition stars Helen Mirren, Donald McCann, and Heather Canning.

Sources

Carlson, Harry G. Strindberg and the Poetry of Myth, University of California Press, 1982, pp. 61-64.

Ferns, Lesley. Acting Women: Images of Women in Theatre, New York University Press, 1989, pp. 121-24.

Jarv, Harry. "Strindberg's 'Characterless' Miss Julie" in Gradiva, Vol. 1, 1977, pp. 197-206.

Lamm, Martin. August Strindberg, translated and edited by Harry G. Carlson, Benjamin Bloom, 1971, pp. 216-17.

Meyer, Michael. Strindberg: A Biography, Seeker & Warburg, 1985, pp. 203-04, 515.

Steene, Birgitta. The Greatest Fire: A Study of August Strindberg, Southern Illinois University Press, 1973, p. 55.

Ward, John. The Social and Religious Plays of Strindberg, Athlone, 1980, p. 62.

Further Reading

Ferns, Lesley. Acting Women: Images of Women in Theatre, New York University Press, 1989.
This book offers an insightful introduction to the portrayal of female characters in drama from ancient Greece to contemporary times.

Hawkins, Mike. Social Darwinism in European and American Thought: 1860-1945, Nature As Model and Nature As Threat, Cambridge University Press, 1997.
This work provides an essential overview of the theory and history of social Darwinism, particularly as it was understood during Strindberg's era.

Morgan, Margery. August Strindberg, Macmillan, 1985.
This book delivers a concise biography of Strindberg along with an introduction to his literary works.

Sprinchorn, Evert. Strindberg As Dramatist, Yale University Press, 1982.
This book categorizes Strindberg's work into different periods, integrating an analysis of his growth as a dramatist, including biographical details and critiques of his plays.