Importantly, the Count’s presence has an equally stark effect on both Julie and Jean, reminding Jean of his duties to his social class and Julie of her duties to (and betrayal of) her family’s honor. Under Julie's orders, Jean kneels in "mock gallantry" and toasts his mistress. Meanwhile, Jean is left unaffected—and, if Strindberg’s preface is any indication, is free to eventually escape servitude and achieve his personal and professional dreams. 1:03. However, Jean’s journey towards self-determinism must begin with physical escape from the Count’s home. By telling Julie that he has heard Christine talking in her sleep, Jean alerts Julie to the sexual nature of their relationship. However, Christine also tells Jean that Miss Julie is on her period, suggesting that Strindberg may not have understood how women’s reproductive systems function.

Here, Strindberg indicates that one of the ways that “half-women” control men is by seducing them and then pretending that they have been taken advantage of.
Jean serves her a beer, and Julie invites him to have one too. Jean’s freedom from the burden of ancestry (and his ancestor’s crimes) supports Strindberg’s thesis that he is indeed “a new man” who relies solely on his merit and resourcefulness to achieve his goals, escape servitude, and start his own familial line.

"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." Miss Julie feigns innocence, protesting that Christine is with them anyway.


At least that's what we say." According to Strindberg, Jean’s comment that suicide is a sin shows that despite his status as a liberated “new man,” he still has the “slave” mentality of believing in God. Much like the dancing at the beginning of the play, Christine’s refusal to be jealous of Miss Julie indicates her strict adherence to the rules of the social hierarchy, which prohibits her from viewing Miss Julie as an equal in any way. Teachers and parents!

Of course this idea would seem backwards to most readers today, but it is what Strindberg set out to illustrate in writing this “naturalist tragedy.” The stage directions note her slyly "changing tack." They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!” She declares that she is "climbing down." Miss Julie (Swedish: Fröken Julie) is a naturalistic play written in 1888 by August Strindberg.It is set on Midsummer's Eve and the following morning, which is Midsummer and the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist. Jean's unheeded warnings further underline Julie's responsibility for her public ruin.SparkNotes is brought to you by Barnes & Noble. She admits to a masochistic desire for her own ruin.

Struggling with distance learning? This highlights a misogynistic double-standard, since Strindberg presents Miss Julie’s desire for the same degree of self-determination to be unnatural and even evil. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our In another attempt to survive, Julie attempts to reassert her nobility and sense of personal honor. Jean’s refusal to compromise or “die” for the sake of his marriage is another example of Strindberg’s belief that true “new” men should only be responsible to themselves. She pettily exerts her rank over Jean and displays jealousy toward his would-be fiancé. Strindberg makes his women characters misogynist, too; Christine attributes Julie's wild behavior to her menstrual cycle.This sequence is meant to assure the audience that Julie is asking for her own ruin. She feels his arms and Jean warns her, "Miss Julie begins to play the coquette, intent on teasing and ridiculing Jean, but ostensibly not wanting anything else. By calling Jean Joseph, Julie aligns herself with Potiphar's wife. Because sex has re-instituted her “natural” submissive instincts, she suddenly relies on Jean for validation.

Christine and Jean are flirt when Miss Julie enters. In addition, Jean claims that he “could’ve made a countess” of Julie, reminding her that he could buy a noble title and pass it on to his children while she, a woman, has no right over title or lineage.