Examples Of Naturalism In Miss Julie

In the play, Miss Julie, Strindberg has effectively incorporated the theory of naturalism; the theory of naturalism encompassed the idea that a person and their motivations are rooted from their environment and their ancestry. In the case of Miss Julie, the daughter of a Count, she was ultimately thought to have gained the upper hand by being born into a family of status. However, her position in society quickly deteriorates when her engagement is broken off and she copulates with Jean, the valet boy who works for her father, the Count. Jean and Miss Julie are the physical manifestations of the oppression caused by the class system in the 19th century. While Jean aspires to someday, “up, up aloft” become the owner of his own hotel in Italy, he will evermore be bound to the authority of the Count. Julie, on other hand, dreams of a day where she can be free to do what she pleases unburdened by her social standing, when she can, “sink lower, lower” . Strindberg has made an example of naturalism through Jean and Miss Julie, while Jean may dream of grandeur, he remains plagued by envy by those in the higher classes, and while Miss Julie wishes to carry on activities thought to shameful she is bound by the decorum expected by the leading upper-class. Throughout the play both, Jean and Miss Julie are witnessed to have been challenging the social class boundaries; whether it be drinking the burgundy or having an illicit affair with someone from a lower class. In Miss Julie …show more content…
Furthermore he is unable to help Miss Julie who has just realized the shame of what she has done with begs, “Help me. Tell me what to do. Where to go.” Had both of them been from the same social class and what they had done not considered a taboo Miss Julie would have not seen the need to end her life prematurely
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