It takes a long way into the book for Julie to realise that she can not do whatever she pleases. Until then, Miss Julie makes choices that would are very inappropriate: She chooses to stay home and dance with her servants instead of visiting relatives with her father. Her extreme anger is also revealed when she finds out about her dogs sexual encounter with the gate keepers dog. An act that foreshadows he future sexual encounter with Jean.
Even when the other servants come, it takes a lot of persuasive skills for Jean to bring sense to Miss Julie to realise that the servants aren't singing about the swineherd and the princess out of love for her, and that her reputation is greatly endangered by her act of willingly drinking alone with Jean in the kitchen. Finally when Jean does bring some little sense into Julie, and they hide in a room, which by itself is another act of violation of the rules, Miss Julie willingly has sex with Jean, and at this point, there is no repairing this situation.
After their sexual encounter, Julie and Jean at first believe that they can fix this situation by fleeing to Switzerland. A place were their class difference wont matter.
At this point, Julie takes her initially supposed role and view of woman when she tries to convert their sex games into an expression of love. But Jean refuses to think of it that way.
At this point, having sex made the two somewhat more equal. Jean is now able to express his disgust for Julie. Though Julie doesn't accept this and jumps back to her higher status when she tells him: “You lackey, you menial, stand up when I speak to you!”. But at this point, Jean has no longer any fear for her as he tells her: “Menial’s strumpet, lackey’s whore, shut up and get out of here!”. This brings Julie to realize the consequences of her actions. The respect she now craves is erased.
Through the play, Miss Julie doesn't care about her actions, she appears not to worry about the fact that she is superior, an aristocrat from birth. Acting freely she does things even the servants consider wrong and unimaginable, but when someone tries to respond to her in a way she doesn't approve, she jumps back to being the natural mistress she is. Miss Julie freely plays with this power until the sexual encounter with Jean. After this Jean realizes that her power is gone; he now himself has some power against her, this being the fact that Miss Julie did something that would certainly doom and destroy her status.
