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Miss Julie (1888)

by August Strindberg

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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6741034,445 (3.32)30
Written in a fortnight and often regarded as Strindberg's masterpiece, Miss Julie is shocking in subject-matter, revolutionary in technique, and was fiercely attacked on publication for immorality.Sweden, 1894. Midsummer night's celebrations are in full swing but the Count's daughter, the beautiful and imperious Miss Julie, feels trapped and alone. Downstairs in the servants' kitchen, handsome and rebellious footman Jean is feeling restless. When they meet a passion is ignited that soon spirals out of control. Strindberg's masterpiece caused a scandal when first produced - and has been hugely popular ever since - for its viscerally honest portrait of the class system and human sexuality.The conflict between sexual passion and social position is presented in Miss Julie with startling modernity. The play's premiere at Strindberg's experimental theatre in Denmark in 1889 was banned by the censor and its first public production three years later in Berlin aroused such protests that it was withdrawn after one performance. Miss Julie has since become one of Strindberg's most popular and frequently performed plays.This new version by highly-acclaimed playwright and translator David Eldridge is contemporary but faithful, and combines accessibility with fluency.… (more)
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» See also 30 mentions

English (7)  Swedish (1)  Norwegian (1)  French (1)  All languages (10)
Showing 1-5 of 7 (next | show all)
A tragedy in the traditional sense, despite Strindberg's being a modern playwright. I didn't have much sympathy for the title character at first... She makes some very foolish choices under the influence of alcohol and hormones which have terrible consequences. My initial reaction was 'how could she be so stupid?' but as I thought about the play I realized that while her actions were stupid, they were also not uncommon (especially for someone in late teens/early twenties). One aspect of Miss Julia's behaviour that I really didn't like was when she kept asking the manservant Jean to tell her what to do. Perhaps that rang true in 1888 but it didn't seem to fit in with her character. ( )
  leslie.98 | Jun 27, 2023 |
I really wanted to give this a fair rating, and I think I did. How does one separate art from the artist if the stench of the artist's open sores swells to engulf themes, words, punctuation, and the very pages. This is a play about Darwinism, a Naturalistic play that aims to be scientific in its undertaking and rejects Romanticism. So going by their own ideals, Strindberg's play is anything but scientific. Science is necessarily objective, and Strindberg's whole approach to this play was borne out of personal misogyny, as is evident from the author's preface. This is really mind boggling. I wouldn't have touched this filth if not for a drama class. There are better options for Naturalistic plays than Miss Julie, like A Doll's House by Ibsen. ( )
  Toshi_P | May 6, 2022 |
I had to read it for my Scandinavian Historical and Cultural Topics class, thought it was alright I guess? Not a huge fan of Strindberg. ( )
  adriennealair | Aug 14, 2021 |
I would've rated this 1.5 stars last night as I finished and turned off the light. I didn't feel great, was disappointed with a classical program on NPR and found this play a touch hysterical. During the cold darkness of early morning I reflected on some of the subtle touches, the yellow label and the ill fated bird. The condensed nature of the action was difficult to believe. The pastoral passages by comparison were beautiful.

That said I would afford the Author's Preface five stars as a validation of Naturalism. Strindberg is wonderful in his exposition.

I am still not a fan of the play but would read it again. ( )
  jonfaith | Feb 22, 2019 |
Tight, complex, brilliant, disturbing. Good theatre. ( )
  AliceAnna | Oct 22, 2014 |
Showing 1-5 of 7 (next | show all)
Essentially a morality play, French’s adaptation keeps faith with Strindberg’s intent while emphasizing the classic repartee between the main characters in a subtle rendering of gender versus class in a rigidly moral society.This shocking social commentary exposes the fallacies of class and gender, acted out between two people who can bridge neither, their very humanity rendered irrelevant.

 

» Add other authors (33 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Strindberg, AugustAuthorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Björkman, EdwinTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gerlach, Hans EgonTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Volz, RuprechtEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Written in a fortnight and often regarded as Strindberg's masterpiece, Miss Julie is shocking in subject-matter, revolutionary in technique, and was fiercely attacked on publication for immorality.Sweden, 1894. Midsummer night's celebrations are in full swing but the Count's daughter, the beautiful and imperious Miss Julie, feels trapped and alone. Downstairs in the servants' kitchen, handsome and rebellious footman Jean is feeling restless. When they meet a passion is ignited that soon spirals out of control. Strindberg's masterpiece caused a scandal when first produced - and has been hugely popular ever since - for its viscerally honest portrait of the class system and human sexuality.The conflict between sexual passion and social position is presented in Miss Julie with startling modernity. The play's premiere at Strindberg's experimental theatre in Denmark in 1889 was banned by the censor and its first public production three years later in Berlin aroused such protests that it was withdrawn after one performance. Miss Julie has since become one of Strindberg's most popular and frequently performed plays.This new version by highly-acclaimed playwright and translator David Eldridge is contemporary but faithful, and combines accessibility with fluency.

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