ommentary On An Extract From Miss Julie by August Strindberg

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Year 11

Commentary On An Extract From “Miss Julie” by August Strindberg

The first few pages of  “Miss Julie” reveals a few aspects of the characters of Jean and Miss Julie, it foreshadows the events that may happen later on in the play and it reveals the gender and class discrimination. The theme of class discrimination and rigidity is shown in the play. The setting of the scene also reveals the issues in the play. The opening scene also charts how the lower classes were trying to rise in society. Through the play Strindberg wanted to show what he felt was the position of women in society. He believed that they were supposed to have a lower position then men and not supposed to have a high position in society. The opening scene in the play hints at these beliefs of Strindberg and they become more pronounced as the play progresses. The commentary will attempt to analyse the first few pages of the play.

Miss Julies’ and Jean’s characters are all partially revealed in the opening scene of the play. Miss Julies’ commanding nature is revealed in the opening pages of the play. We learn of how she was making her fiancé jump over her riding whip over and over again until eventually he got infuriated and snapped the whip over his knee and broke up the engagement. This shows how Miss Julie wanted to dominate over men and was not content with her position. This foreshadows the way she later commands Jean in the play. Many aspects of Jean’s character are revealed. We see that he is not content with his position in society. He wants to be part of the high society and not a servant.

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Jean: Beer-on Midsummer’s Eve? No, thank you. I can do better than that. (He opens a drawer in the table and takes out a bottle of red wine with yellow sealing-wax on the cork.) See that? Yellow seal! Give me a glass, now. A wine glass, I’m drinking this pur.

The fact that he wanted wine rather than beer showed that he wanted to try and be like the high society by imitating them. Jean is also a representative for the ideas of his time. He is Strindberg’s method of portraying the rise in the status of  the lower class ...

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