Customer Reviews

Miss Julie (Methuen Student Editions)

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A previous reviewer (annalait@apia.vlk.fi) commented that Miss Julie is a true story about Strindberg, his 16 yr. old lover and his wife Harriet. This is not entirely correct. It is based on one of his marriages - to his first wife Siri von Essen. He married Siri in 1877. Miss Julie was written in 1888 and was first put on stage in 1889 with Siri acting out the role of Julie. He divorced Siri in 1891 and did not meet Harriet (who was actually his third wife) until 1900. They married in 1901. Strindberg identifies with Jean in the play. Strindberg felt inferior to Siri (a Baroness). Jean was also inferior to Julie but he triumphed over her in the end.

Definitely one of the better plays I have read in my survey of late 19th century European drama. While there are slight flaws in it, such as frequent mood swings by the characters, the overall writing is fabulous. Jean is a perfectly portrayed Machiavelli, doing what is necessary for him to succeed at whatever costs. Julie, on the other hand, wavers between the strong and self-confident seductress of the beginning, to the weak and manipulated wronged woman at the end. Definitely a cornerstone in the history of modern drama.

"Miss Julie," by August Strindberg, is a play with three speaking parts: Miss Julie, a nobleman's daughter; Jean, a young valet; and Christine, a cook in the household. The Dover Thrift Edition version is translated by Edwin Bjorkman. A brief introductory note states that the play first appeared as a printed text in 1888, a year before its first staging.

The play's title character is bold and flirtatious; her behavior, unsurprisingly, leads to controversy. "Miss Julie" is a fascinating glimpse at a society that is rigidly ordered around class stratification, gender roles, and sexual conduct; the play looks at the consequences when people resist this rigid order. The play has some really startling, thought-provoking dialogue.

Recommended companion texts: "Hands Around," by Arthur Schnitzler; "Daisy Miler," by Henry James; and "Cuckoos," by Giuseppe Manfridi. Each of these three literary works shares at least one significant theme or motif in common with "Miss Julie."

While keeping faith with August Strindberg's original intent, French's take on this classic repartee emphasizes the arguments used by the main characters in a subtle twisting of gender vs. class. There are three main characters: Miss Julie, daughter of a count; Jean, the count's manservant; and Kristin, the cook, who provides a dispassionate social commentary to the exchanges between Miss Julie and Jean, her rigid morality and sense of place indisputable.

From the start, Miss Julie, although from a superior class to the servants, is described by them as "emotionally unstable", her actions on Midsummer's Eve "inappropriate". Although she enjoys the distinction of her position, Miss Julie's power is tempered by the fact that she is female and given to behavior that simply is not perceived the same way as a male in a patriarchal society. In that sense, Miss Julie is destined to be the loser in any confrontation, regardless of the fact that Jean, her seducer, is a servant.

In a class-based world, the servants live strictly proscribed lives, their own hierarchy governed by acceptable and unacceptable mores. Jean is acutely aware of this state of affairs; although he is the culprit, giving into his male nature and taking advantage of Miss Julie's confusion and inexperience, it is she who suffers, she who is akin to a baby bird fallen from the nest with no instinct for survival.

Running the gamut of emotions, from desire to jealousy to dominance, Jean's behavior is all the more shocking for his blasé manipulation of the situation. Having had his satisfaction, he toys with his victim before falling back into the more comfortable role of manservant. It is Miss Julie who will be harshly judged by society, including the servant class who observes her activities with relish. This shocking social commentary exposes the fallacies of class and gender, acted out between two people who can bridge neither, their very humanity rendered irrelevant. Luan Gaines/2006.

Strindberg's classic play follows the downward spiral of an aristocratic young woman whose break-up with her fiancé is quite the talk of the estate. Miss Julie pursues her father's valet, and seduces him, without thought for the repercussions. Unfortunately for Julie, these consequences must be faced. Controversial at its debut, "Miss Julie" also was highly original in form and structure, and while its subject matter isn't as shocking today, the palpable drama does resonate.

Strindberg is, in my view, one of the greatest tragedians of modern times, an heir to Aeschylus and Sophocles. His characters, multi-dimensional and tortured souls, wedge an almighty war against each other. More disturbingly, they wedge a war against their inner selves, a war which they both win and lose. Julia and Jean are as cruel as they are tender, with their masculine and feminine elements locked in a deadly embrace. A class war and the war of the sexes, is ultimately a war of instincts. No wonder, Eugene O'Neill, in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech said: `Without Strindberg there wouldn't have been me'. I think that `Miss Julia' is Strindberg's best play, not least because of its extraordinary economy of expression (worthy of Aeschylus).

This play was pretty entertaining all the way through. There's a bit of anti-woman propaganda in there, but everyone knows August Strindberg wasn't a big fan of women. Looking past that, the dialogue is great and the story is pretty interesting. These characters are actually three-dimensional and have a depth of feelings that would be great to see on stage. A good actor could really create an awesome piece with this play. Definitely recommend it as a quick read and there's a few monologues in there. A 20-25 year old woman could do a Miss Julie monologue, and a 25-35 year old man could do a Jean monologue. Check it out.

How can this be a great "modern" playwright when
the views and themes of this major play have a better part
for the 17th century than the 20th?
I thought about it and if it was produced in San Francisco
even with it's respect for the arts, on merits
the play would be jeered.
Woody Allen thought that Strindberg hated women,
but I think he just lacked any understanding of them.

The first time read this play was in summer school when I had to play a part of Julies role. After I got home read the whole play and in school I got the chance to participate a cource that followed the paractices of Miss Julie. August Strindberg was a weird or very unlucky man. Whole his life he looked for the woman of his life and everytime ended up with strong women that he end up hating. Strindberg was also a woman hater in allmost every meaning of the word. I think that he had fun while playing whith Julies life. The play is based on a true story. Jean is Strindberg, Julie is his 16 yrs old lover from his summer place and Kristen is Strindbergs wife Harriet. I like the play, but I can't help that Strindbergs life and ideas offected me very much. This play made me sick and charmed.