MISS JULIE

It all take place right here:

Yep all in a kitchen, which I think is pretty cool. So this is a story of class, a woman who is high up wants to try out live as a commoner and a guy that wants to move up get a taste of just that. But this causes issues. So Julie comes down to the kitchen, and begins to hit on him. At first he keeps her at bay with the separation of class argument. Of course that does not last long, and they end of sleeping together. This causes a whole slew of issues, specifically with John’s boss who is also Julie’s father. One of the things I like is the power that the father/boss has over them. He is not actually a person in the play, but rather he is represented in props. First as a shoe.

Who would have thought that shoes would mean enough to cause fear!

John is polishing the shoes at the beginning and continues to polish even when Julie shows up, this prop serves as a reminder that both Julie and John are at the mercy of the man in charge. His presence is so powerful that the very things he owns scares others. The best I think is the bell. When the bell rings everyone jump up in fear. It is a lot like Pavlov’s experiment with bells and dogs. These people are conditioned to fear him!

If only John and Julie thought they had this much power. Then they could be free!

Overall it is just sad that these people screwed up the lives they already. At the end Julie commits suicide, kind of extreme but whatever. That is the tragedy though, and it is a woman, I still think it was a bit much. Even so, I think that it is a tragedy second and a critique on class conflicts first. If only there was a way to fit a play like this into the class structure of society today. I think that the class disparity that we have in current America could make a similar tragedy. So I may not like this play all that much, I still love August Strindberg’s writing and the premise behind this play.