August Strindberg, known as the father of naturalism, expends a heightened form of realism in many of his dramatic plays. The social issues of the Victorian era (1837 1901) in which Strindberg endured, consisted of an extremely large underclass and great misogyny. As a man who wrote stories that pushed the boundaries of censorship and theatre, Strindberg wrote Miss Julie and introduced a tragedy that boldly criticizes his generation's gender and aristocratic social structure. The creation of this controversial play involved his own conception of psychology linked with the craft of Naturalism, a style of theatre that illustrates verisimilitude or elevated realism. Furthermore, this naturalistic campaign was based on Darwinism which was heavily popularized when this drama was written near the end of the nineteenth century. Darwinism promoted the belief of an individual's fight for a position in society in which the "fittest" are the only ones who can survive. In the preface, Strindberg exclaims that the protagonist, Julie is a stereotypical representation of a member in his society as she was chiefly designed to deliver the tragedy and overarching theme in the story. Also, the structure of the play helps define the realism that is meant to be portrayed as it emphasizes the painful truths of Strindberg's Victorian era. Ultimately, in Miss Julie, August Strindberg challenges the status quo on a naturalist stage via psychological character complexity and a heightened sense of realism.
The psychological character complexion of Strindberg's tragic drama challenges the status quo by exemplifying Julie as a stereotypical representation of society. As Julie fights the social boundaries within the storyline, her gritty character design highlights the status quo of Strindberg's society. In the article Miss Julie as a "Naturalistic Tragedy", Alice Templeton points out that Julie is used as a figure to challenge the status quo of Strindberg's era.
"In the play, Julie rebels against the social systems of class and gender. Julie wants to abandon oppressive roles that are expected of her as an aristocratic woman [] she is profoundly discontented with conventional gender and class relations" (Templeton, 472).
Strindberg develops the protagonist as an illustration that embodies the problems of his society through the naturalist stage. In the play, Julie is utilized to spread awareness about a serious social issue in a manner which spectators could realistically connect with. The complexion of Julie is shown by how she is portrayed as a degenerate woman who daringly highlights the flaws of a classist society and suggests that women are put under more restraint than men.
"My mother decided to bring me up as a natural child. And on top of that, I had to learn everything a boy learns, so I could be living proof that women were just as good as men" (Strindberg 705). This line said by Miss Julie displays a profound mental disturbance instilled in...
