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GENRE: Naturalistic Tragedy
SETTING: Midsummer Eve, in the kitchen of the Count.
Later, midsummer morning, same.
THEMES:
JULIE: “Arent you my friend?”
JEAN: “Yes. Sometimes. But dont rely on me.”
“What! I fancied I saw the bell move! – No! Shall we stuff it with paper? – Fancy being so afraid of a bell! – Yes, but it isnt only a bell – theres someone behind it – a hand that sets it in motion – and something else that sets the hand in motion . . .” (JEAN).
DRAMATIS PERSONAE:
Miss Julie, 25, daughter of the Count
Jean, 30, a valet
Kristin, 35, a cook.
Chorus of peasants
Roles for 1 man and 2 women plus chorus.
SYNOPSIS:
It is midsummers eve and the servants of the Count are busy with their revelry. Jean enters to report to Kristen the unseeming behavior of Miss Julie. Miss Julie enters and forces Jean to return to the peasants dance and dance with her. Later, Jean returns to the kitchen, with Miss Julie coming quickly behind. Over drinks, Jean tells her of his love for her. They exit to Jeans bedroom and have sex, while the peasants storm the kitchen and dance. Jean and Miss Julie return from their encounter, and he tells her of his grand plan to start a hotel, to be run by him and funded by her, as the first step toward his becoming a nobleman. Miss Julie checks her funds and reveals that she hasnt enough money to help him. Jean then reveals that his professed love for her was a lie, and tries to convince her that the only recourse is for her to run away. They discuss their options into the night, and the next morning, Miss Julie goes to prepare herself to go. She steals money from the Count to fund their journey and (presumably) the hotel. She returns to the kitchen dressed for travel and carrying her birdcage. At Jeans insistence, she agrees to leave the bird if and only if Jean will kill it. He does, and Miss Julie is enraged and rescinds on her plans to travel with Jean. On the return of the Count, they are both paralyzed; Miss Julie by her fear, and Jean by his almost Pavlovian conditioning regarding servitude. In a panic, Miss Julie begs for death and asks Jean to order her to kill herself. He is at first unable, but finally relents and she leaves, presumably to kill herself.
DRAMATIC ELEMENTS:
Point of Inciting Interest: Jean reveals his love to Miss Julie
Major Crises:
*Miss Julie and Jean have sex.
*Jean convinces Miss Julie to run away.
*Jean kills Miss Julies finch.
Climax:
Jean orders Miss Julie to go kill herself, and she does.
Denouement:
None, as Jeans command to “Go!” ends the play.
REACTION/ANALYSIS:
As Strindberg is a master of Naturalism, and as Miss Julie was a piece intended to demonstrate the genre, I feel that the plot and theme of the piece, while poignant, are secondary to the representation of reality that the piece presents.
The first item of interest, I believe, is that Strindberg was quite specific in his description of the set. (I am acting under the assumption that the set description was written by Strindberg himself and not by a SM. I feel that this position is justified, given the nature of the genre and the attention to detail that Strindberg brought to his Preface to Miss Julie.) Many plays give only a brief description of the locale of the play, but Strindberg goes into great detail, outlining everything from the arrangement and design of the flats, to the placement of the dressing.