Similarly, in Miss Julie, Julie also shows her character as a New Woman by flaunting her sexuality. On multiple occasions, she tries to seduce Jean, the valet. Jean refrains from flirting with Julie at first because he is engaged to Christine, Julie's cook, and knows that he is of a lower class than Julie; however, this only makes Julie bolder and leads her to try and flirt more. She even attempts physical contact with Jean by feeling his biceps: "a big, strong fellow like you! And with such arms!" (Strindberg 10). Jean warns her that "[she is] not a child, and when lady is seen alone with a man, drinking--- no matter if he's only a servant - and at night - then." (Strindberg 8). Despite more of his warnings, Julie continues to flirt intensely with Jean. This eventually leads them to have sexual intercourse with Jean, leading them to participate in sexual intercourse. After having sexual intercourse, Julie realizes the consequences of her actions and begins to panic about a public scandal: "The people know, and Christine knows!" (Strindberg 25). She panics because she knows that her actions are irreversible and asks Jean, “Can you think of any escape?” (Strindberg 24) because she desperately wants to escape from the situation. Thus, both Hedda and Julie reveal themselves as New Women when they flaunt their sexuality and seduce male characters in the plays.
Hedda tries to gain independence by manipulating others. Having General Gabler as a father, Hedda is permitted a life of independence and entertainment; however, her luxurious life comes to an end after her marriage to Tesman, a bourgeoisie, and her father's death. She realizes that as a bourgeois woman, she has to sacrifice her freedom; but Hedda is unable to sacrifice her freedom like most women usually do in her society. Hedda thinks the only way to achieve independence is to gain power, and that individuals gain no power unless they manipulate the group. So, she attempts to manipulate characters like Løvborg and Mrs. Elvsted. Løvborg and Mrs. Elvsted have a special relationship because Mrs. Elvsted is helping Løvborg with his manuscript. Hedda thinks that Mrs. Elvsted "has had her fingers in a man's destiny" (Ibsen 263). This bothers Hedda, so she decides to ruin their relationship by burning Løvborg's manuscript because she wants to have the same power over Løvborg that Mrs.Elvsted has. The loss of Løvborg's manuscript leaves him vulnerable and without a will to live. Hedda also encourages Løvborg to commit suicide by handing him her pistol. She thinks that death is the only way to be free and wants to experience freedom vicariously through his suicide. Despite all of Hedda's efforts, Brack finds out what Hedda did to manipulate Løvborg and Mrs. Elvsted and indirectly blackmails her into having sexual intercourse. Hedda does not like the fact that somebody, especially a man, has control over her: "All the same, I'm in your power. Tied to your will and desire. Not free. Not free, then! No---I can't bear the thought of it. Never!" (Ibsen 302).
Like Hedda, Julie tries to be in control and gain independence through the manipulation of others. Julie, as the daughter of a Count, does not have much freedom because of her social status. She tries to accomplish independence and self-fulfillment by manipulating others, especially men, because she "would never become a man's slave" (Strindberg 22) At the beginning of the play, she whips her fiancé, "ma[king] him lead over her horse-whip the way you teach a dog to jump" (Strindberg 2). She tries to control him and even degrades him like a dog, as if she wants a complete obedience from him. She also tries to control Jean by asking him to kiss her shoe. This is a very strong sign of her desire to be in power since kissing a person's shoe is a sign of complete loyalty and obedience; however, she loses any control she gains after she has sex with Jean. Julie does not want to be thrown into a public scandal and her fear eventually leads her to tell Jean that she will obey him "like a dog" (Strindberg 35). Both Hedda and Julie try to gain power and independence by manipulating the people around them, but only end up losing their power.
Hedda's declining morality is shown through her maliciousness and unethical actions. In Hedda's society, a married woman is not supposed to flirt with men other than her husband. Nevertheless, Hedda flirts with Brack without feeling any guilty. She also manipulates Løvborg and leads him to become miserable. Even though Hedda knows Løvborg's manuscript is very important to both Løvborg and Mrs. Elvsted, she burns it without showing any sign of remorse. She even hands a gun to Løvborg when he is in a vulnerable situation and encourages him to have "a beautiful death" (Ibsen 300). Encouraging a person to commit suicide is immoral because it is not right for her to control someone into taking his or her own life.
Julie also shows immorality through her actions in the play. She flirts with and even has sexual intercourse with Jean who is already engaged and has a lower social status than her. As the daughter of a Count, she should be more aware of her actions; however, she does not show any respect toward Christine and her relationship with Jean. When Jean and Julie decide to run away from home, Jean chops off Julie's bird's head to prevent her from taking it during her voyage. She gets very upset and says some harsh words about wanting Jean's head on the chopping block. This shows that she is malicious and brutal, especially for a woman from a noble family. As New Women, both Hedda and Julie demonstrate their declining morality in Strindberg's and Ibsen's plays. They both reveal their immorality by flaunting their sexuality and manipulating others in an effort to gain power.
Strindberg and Ibsen both portray Hedda Gabler and Miss Julie as having the qualities of a New Woman, and convey the message that a New Woman cannot endure patriarchal society because of the public scandal that arises from her controversial actions. They demonstrate how Hedda and Julie's open sexuality, manipulation of men and their declining morality thrust them into the spotlight of public scandal; however, neither woman can handle this. Both Hedda and Julie commit suicide to escape the scandal of their own actions. Hedda kills herself after Brack threatens to reveal what she did to Løvborg . For her, this is the only way to escape and be free from public scandal. Similarly, Julie finds herself in the spotlight after having sex with Jean. Afraid of the consequences, she asks Jean to order her to commit suicide and kills herself to escape. Through Hedda and Julie's deaths, Strindberg and Ibsen both establish the idea that it is inevitable for a New Woman to become involved in a public scandal, and her inability to accept this means she cannot survive in a patriarchal society.
Word Count: 1,450
Works Cited
Ibsen, Henrik. “Hedda Gabler.”Four Major Plays. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd, 1965. Print.
Strindberg, August. Miss Julie. New York: Dover Publications, 1992. Print.
Willis, Chris, and Angelique Richardson, eds. New Woman in Fiction and in Fact. Hampshire: Palgrave, 2001. Print.
