Examples Of Naturalism In Miss Julia

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Scandinavian social expectations can be observed by looking at books or plays written in Scandinavia, and it can even be reduced down to a period of time. If one looks at the play Miss Julia, written by August Strindberg, the social expectations of men and women become apparent. One can see the main characters breaking society 's expectations, however, breaking these expectations does not lead them to a happy ending.
August Strindberg wrote the play, Miss Julia in 1888 and is considered a naturalistic play. Naturalistic plays take place in real time and exaggerate reality. Naturalism, in general, looks at, and examines the sexual roles of men and women. Naturalism shows that men cannot control their sexual urges and that, if unrestrained by …show more content…

Once her husband, Helmer, found out that Nora obtained a loan, he was furious with her and worried about his honor and his appearance to society. “In all these years. You who were my pride and joy, a hypocrite! A liar!... Now you’ve ruined my happiness. You’ve thrown away my whole future… I’m going under because of you, woman.” (Ibsen, 93). Helmer did not want to be seen as someone who needed help and was unable to support himself and his family. This behavior displays the fact that men were supposed to be powerful and independent.
In addition to the mentioned gender expectations in A Doll’s House, for every trait that a man has, a woman has an opposite trait. Helmer is portrayed as a more powerful and rational person, whereas Nora is portrayed as a submissive and emotional person who is dependent on her husband. Other traits that men are portrayed to have are being sexual, brave, and worldly. To counter those traits, women are portrayed as not sexual, timid and …show more content…

He is never actually seen, but he is at the epitome of manliness. The Count is an unseen character, yet the mention of him scares Jean and Miss Julia. The Count communicates with Jean, but it is unknown to the audience and Miss Julia what the Count said to Jean. Miss Julia is anxious with what was said to Jean, he tells her what the Count said and she becomes hysterical and wants Jean to tell her what to do. However, Jean cannot, he loses all his confidence as a man; it is clear that the alpha male has returned home and retain control over everything below him. “I don’t know - I can’t, now, either…. it’s just as if this coat stopped me. I can’t order you now - not since the count spoke to me…” (Strindberg,

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