Miss Julie by August Strindberg
Symbolism is an important component of August Strindberg's play, MissJulie, and generally serve to reinforce the theme of social class thatexisted in the late 1800s in Europe. Social class is symbolized by boththe clothing of the aristocrat, Miss Julie and the cook, Kristine.Kristine's ever-present apron symbolizes her inescapable status as a lower-class servant, while Miss Julie's white dresses act as a symbol of herseemingly untouchable aristocracy. As the play progresses, imagery of adog becomes an important symbol for class dominance and submission. MissJulie seeks to train her fiance as a dog, thus dominating him, but heresists, and takes control of the relationship. Jean, the servant's lowerclass is also symbolized by references to him as a dog or beast. Thearistocratic Miss Julie is seen as "running wild" when she acts below herstation in life, again symbolizing the dominated or lower class as the Miss Julie was first published in 1888, and the immediate reaction ofearly reviewers was one of shock over its portrayal of sexuality in theplay. By today's standards, the controversy over the sexual content of theplay seems to be a bit absurd. While reviewers of the time
To Jean, MissJulie's white dresses symbolize her beauty as an unreachable aristocrat. Jean notes, "Adog may lie on the Countess's sofa, a horse be stroked on the nose by ayoung lady", but a servant is not offered these privileges. In doing so, her behavior begins toresemble that of the dog, or the "wild beast" (as she refers to Jean). Importantly, the play contains a reference of a sexual act thatis not even shown on stage. Similarly, the clothing of Miss Julie and Kristine symbolize their stationin life. In the drama, Miss Julie is a young aristocrat that rebelsagainst the social restrictions of her day. Here, Julie's white dressessymbolize her innocence, as while as the idea of nobility. MissJulie has been raised by a mother who hates men, and has left Miss Juliewith a heritage of a dislike for men combined with her natural attractiontowards them. In the opening line of the play, Jean notes, "Miss Julie's running wildagain. Here, Miss Julie's actions are clearly one of a person seekingdominance over another. She also refersto Jean as a "wild beast" and a sick dog later in the play. She subsequently decides to seduce Jean, herfather's footman, Jean, and pursues him ruthlessly. In describing her as runningwild, Strindberg intimates that Miss Julie is behaving like an animal, orlike one who is below her station. While Miss Julie is given many privileges as a result of her wealth andsocial status, Kristine does not have this freedom, and she has no choicebut to conform to her role in society.
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