Play Analysis: Miss Julie

            
             In the play, Miss Julie, by August Strindberg, three characters, Miss Julie, Jean, and Kristin, sit in a large kitchen of a Swedish manor house in a country district in the 1880's. The three of them hope for the future and try to escape their present situations. It's a love story. Regarding the plays exposition, the first character is Miss Julie who's the leading lady, at age twenty-five, is depressed and trying to distract herself with parties and dancing. She is very well off, rich and recently she has split up from her engagement to her fiancé because she was simply too board with him. The second character is Jean, he's the valet and at age thirty has an informal engagement with Kristin, talks about marrying her, but does so with one eye on Miss Julie the whole time. Kristin is the cook of the house Miss Julie owns, and Kristin is thirty-five years old. I find it interesting that Jean is torn between his infatuations for Miss Julie, a bit younger than he, while promised to Kristin who is a bit older than him.
             The play begins with a point of attack where Jean and Miss Julie stay up late drinking beer secretly in the kitchen. Jean confesses to her how he has been in love with Miss Julie since he first saw her. The dramatic action is set into motion when Jean confesses that as a young boy working in another house, and one day spotted Miss Julie as a little girl, it was love at first sight for him even though he knew at a young age their social classes would keep them separate.
             One of the most interesting things about Miss Julie, when reading it I found several conflicts. For example, Jean has loved Miss Julie since he was a young boy. With Jean working in her house as a Valet, he is her servant. When they are together, Miss Julie orders him to sit down with her and have a drink for him to first warm up to the idea of the two of them ever working out. Meanwhile, Kristin the cook is in love with Jean, and wants to marry him and live with him as an equal.