Strindberg's "The Stronger"

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Strindberg's "The Stronger"

In 'The Stronger' Strindberg focuses upon the role and importance of

women at the turn of the 20th century. This is portrayed through a

conversation of two women who have different lives and social

statuses. Mrs. X is married and therefore socially stronger. Miss Y is

unmarried and rather poignantly, doesn't speak.

At the turn of the 20th century, women were seen as 2nd class citizens

to men. However, this entire play is set in a women's café where

Strindberg's purpose is to allow the two characters to fully express

their feelings rather than be influenced and controlled by men. Since

the play focuses upon the role and importance of marriage and family,

the setting of Christmas is significant. It reinforces Mrs. X's family

values and the power it gives her over Miss Y However, later on in the

play, the strength of constant silence by Miss Y proves more powerful

than Mrs X's family values and the setting of Christmas is quite

forgotten.

Strindberg uses a title and single letter as names for the characters

to emphasise the issue of marital status where the individuality of

the two women isn't important. It is merely the title that defines the

person.

We recognise stage directions as defined actions, usually just before

or after speech and sometimes during a characters line. They can be

used to emphasise a characters speech or to illustrate a certain

emotion. This may hint at or reveal a characters personality, where a

certain movement may show strength or weakness, particularly important

for Miss Y who expresses herself solely through actions and facial

expressions.

The stage directions in 'The stronger' tell the audience about how

strong or weak a character is. For...

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...e play, there are times when both characters are strong

and weak. It is only at the end of the play where I feel that Mrs X's

true strength is shown. She briefly concludes the argument and doesn't

appear to have any hard feelings towards Miss Y. She even thanks her

for the way she has influenced her family life. Mrs X represented the

traditional women of Strindberg's time where her life revolved around

her husband and family. This is completely the opposite for Miss Y who

represented women wanting a change to the male-dominated world. She

doesn't react to Mrs X's patronising speeches about family or children

and remains calm. She is more interested in her paper than what Mrs X

has to say.

Above all, I conclude that Miss Y is 'the stronger'. This is because

of her ability to not rise to Mrs X's 'bait'. She is strong in her

silence and never retaliates.

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