The Stronger by August Strindberg is a play that is filled with irony. One of the first things noticed in this play is that the characters have no names, nor are they labeled by any type of status. Rather than having names like most plays, the two characters are differentiated by the letters "X" and "Y." Another ironic thing about this play, is how it is written; the dialogue of the play is not evenly spoken. Instead of the two characters conversing between one another, the play is written almost
How do the authors, Strindberg and Ibsen, portray the theme of superiority in “Miss Julie” and “A Doll’s House”. In both “Miss Julie” and “A Doll’s House”, August Strindberg (1888), and Henrik Ibsen (1879) present the theme of superiority in various ways. Superiority can be seen from many sides, Social superiority, the superiority of men over women and at different points the superiority of women over men feature in both plays. At the time both plays were written, the naturalistic movement was
August Strindberg was undoubtedly a contemporary writer, but where gender issues were concerned, he preferred to support the past. His work reflected the cultural and societal environment around him in 1887; this suggests themes throughout Miss Julie, such as gender inequality and women’s’ rights, were inflicted by his own struggle between classes and promiscuous relationships with women. It becomes apparent in the play that Miss Julie, a self-portrait of Strindberg, typifies Strindberg’s creative
Scandinavia, as well as experiencing The Modern Breakthrough, was also dealing with its own political struggles for national identity. For Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg the early woman’s movement was to influence their writing greatly. Many associate both playwrights with playing key roles in the rise of feminism. However, were Ibsen and Strindberg attempting to write about the emancipation of women in the 19th century as a feminist issue? To explore this issue this essay will consider key play texts
In the production of The Stronger staring Therese Jean Kibby the screenplay writer, Steve Cleberg took the opportunity to interpret what Arthur Strindberg originally wrote. In watching the play, it is very obvious that there are some major differences from the original version. The most obvious deviation from the original is the fact that the play has scenes that were not ever depicted in Strindberg’s play. This includes the scene in which we actually see Mr. X and Miss Y together at the rehearsal
August Strindberg’s naturalistic tragedy Miss Julie, plays on the shifts in power and authority. Whether staged between the Count’s influence over his servants or his daughter, the aristocrat Miss Julie over Jean, the Count’s valet, or more interestingly the vice versa of the latter relationship. The playout of the dominant character in the relationship is constructed not only by the constraints of class, social status, and often gender within context but also the fluidity of dialogue and tone within
August Strindberg's A Dream Play August Strindberg wrote A Dream Play in 1901, a time in which women had few rights and a long road yet to travel in the fight to acquire equal rights with men. Given that Strindberg himself was a notorious misogynist, it is interesting to analyze the presentation and evolution of A Dream Play’s principle character: Indra’s Daughter. She travels from “the second world [and into] the third” (147, 17) by accident, but enters with optimism and faith in finding
answered. Literature has been a great source in which to address the complexity of such a horrific self-act. Two exemplary dramatic literary authors tackled this subject head on within two years of eachother in Henrik Ibsen’s 1890 “Hedda Gabbler,” and August Strindberg’s 1888 “Miss Julie.” A woman’s life in the late 19th century was very difficult. James McFarlane frankly generally describes a middle and upper class women’s dilemma during this time period in his introduction to Henrik Ibsen Four Major
Miss Julie by August Strindberg was published in 1888 yet was soon censored for it’s, what was then, ‘scandalous’ content with its frank portrayal of sexuality. In the preface of the play, Strindberg refers to Miss Julie as a ‘man-hating half women’ who seems to be the result of a power struggle between her mother and father. Miss Julie is already the dominating figure within the play showing a disregard for gender and class conventions, these themes and the idea of a power struggle that forms tension
of humanity, transformed into and treated as an animal. Indeed, Woyzeck, far from being a simple tale of a village murder, shows us the systematic debasement, even intellectual and spiritual "murder," of the protagonist and all his class. Like August Strindberg's Ghost Sonata, Woyzeck identifies most of its characters only by professions or descriptions, not by names. Franz Woyzeck and Marie are surrounded by a whirl of anonymous figures: the Captain, Doctor, Drum Major, Barker, Grandmother. Perhaps
Psychological Breakdown in Strindberg's The Father *Works Cited Not Included In Strindberg's The Father, we witness a string of actions that brings a sane and happy man to the point of utter lunacy in the span of twenty-four hours. While I think the play as a whole is less convincing in terms of its naturalism (perhaps very much due to the way it immediately dates itself), it does very fluidly connect the actions bringing about this psychological breakdown. To begin, the Captain lives in a house
Letting go of childhood memories that hold such deep remorse for how a person life structure is develop provides evidence of past hardship. In the poem “The Minefield” written by Diane Thiel, provides an outline of Wartime tragedy that leads to haunting memories. The speaker in poem is a young man who witness a tragedy of an extreme event during War, when even simply playtime for children required caution of dangerous surrounding. For instance, the speaker elaborates on the meaning of one word minefield
In the modern period a common topic used amongst the arts was alienation. The notion of feeling distant from others or an activity to which one should be part of or be involved in was reflected in many pieces during the modern period. Two pieces that were fascinating to me, because of the way they utilized alienation as a part of their visual and literary arts, were “The Scream,” by Edvard Munch and “The Metamorphosis,” by Franz Kafka. Munch and Kafka both used forms of formal elements to get the
In the book “Juliet” by Anne Fortier, the main character Julie Jacobs, also known as Giulietta Tolomei, undergoes a series of events that include character growth in the story. This includes Julie is allowing her twin sister Janice to be apart of her life again and becoming a better judge of character when debating Eva Maria, Umberto, and Janice. An example of this is when she continues to investigate what her past can tell her about what she needs to know or learn quickly. On page 211 of the book
Franz Kafka's The Judgement depicts the struggle of father-son relationships. This modernistic story explores Georg Bendemann's many torments, which result from the bonds with both his father and himself. Furthermore, the ever-present and lifelong battle that Georg has been fighting with his father leads him to fight an even greater battle with himself. Ultimately, Georg loses the struggle with himself by letting go of his newly found independence and instead, letting external forces decide his
Strindberg's "The Stronger" In 'The Stronger' Strindberg focuses upon the role and importance of women at the turn of the 20th century. This is portrayed through a conversation of two women who have different lives and social statuses. Mrs. X is married and therefore socially stronger. Miss Y is unmarried and rather poignantly, doesn't speak. At the turn of the 20th century, women were seen as 2nd class citizens to men. However, this entire play is set in a women's café where Strindberg's
Evolution or Revolution? Recurring themes, ideas and conventions in the dramas of Ibsen, O'Neill and Shepard. Throughout the history of drama, playwrights have appropriated the ideas of their predecessors for their own use, sometimes building on them and making the idea their own. American drama is no exception. American drama has its roots firmly entrenched in modern European drama, this is illustrated through the influence of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen on American playwright Eugene O'Neill
Morphing Into a Feminist; Feminist aspects in Franz Kafka’s Story Although Franz Kafka’s reading are not known to be sexist, some of the characters in his book “The Metamorphosis” reflect the views of the time in 1917. The female characters of the book present the stereotypical view of women as weak caregivers whose only value to their family lies in their ability to marry wealthy men. There is evidence to prove these statements throughout, such as Gregor being the only means of income for his
Have you ever wondered what makes a family unique and different from everyone else's? There are many similarities and differences between many families. In the story, The Metamorphosis, written by Franz Kafka the protagonist Gregor Samsa awakes to find himself alienated from the rest of his family and from his role as a salesman. Throughout Gregor's life, he has sacrificed a lot to create a better life for his family. My life is In some ways similar to Gregor's life and the samsa family is both
While James Wright’s poem “Lying in a Hammock” accentuates the hopelessness in the quickly fleeting moments in time, and Franz Wright’s poem “Flight” exposes the consequences of a distant father on a son longing for a relationship he never had, the two poems are linked by the underlying theme of detachment. It is evident, by juxtaposing these two works, divided by literary devices such as style or syntax, the underlying themes are circumstantially shared and induced by the hardship of life itself