Key Facts
full title ·
Miss Julie
author · August Strindberg
type of work · Drama
genre · Naturalistic tragedy
language · Swedish
time and place written · France, late 1880s
date of first publication · 1888; initially banned in Sweden; published in Copenhagen in 1889
publisher · Seligmanns forlag (Stockholm)
narrator · None
climax · Julie and Jean have sex
protagonists · Julie, Jean
antagonist · Julie, Jean
setting (time) · Midsummer Eve, 1880s
setting (place) · Sweden, the Count's manor house
falling action · The unmasking of Jean and fall of Julie
tense · Present
foreshadowing · Miss Julie is described as white as a "ghost," yearns for death, and hypnotically surrenders to Jean; Serena is decapitated; Jean sharpens his razor
tone · Tragic
themes · The degenerate woman; class and gender conflict
motifs · Idealization and degradation; hypnotism; animal doubles; the pantomime and ballet
symbols · The signs of the Count's authority: the ringing bell, the boots, Jean's livery, the speaking tube
