Strindbergs The Stronger Essay -- Strindberg Stronger Essays

Strindbergs The StrongerIn The Stronger Strindberg focuses upon the role and importance ofwomen at the turn of the 20th century. This is portrayed through aconversation of two women who consume different lives and socialstatuses. Mrs. X is married and thitherfore socially stronger. shed Y isunmarried and rather poignantly, doesnt speak.At the turn of the 20th century, women were seen as second class citizensto men. However, this entire capriole is set in a womens caf whereStrindbergs purpose is to allow the two characters to fully expresstheir feelings rather than be influenced and controlled by men. Sincethe play focuses upon the role and importance of marriage and family,the setting of Christmas is significant. It reinforces Mrs. Xs familyvalues and the power it gives her over Miss Y However, later on in theplay, the strength of constant tranquillise by Miss Y proves to a greater extent powerfulthan Mrs Xs family values and the setting of Christmas is quiteforgotten.Strindberg uses a title and single letter as names for the charactersto stress the issue of marital status where the individuality ofthe two women isnt important. It is merely the title that defines theperson.We recognise stage directions as defined actions, usually just beforeor after speech and sometimes during a characters line. They can beused to emphasise a characters speech or to illustrate a certainemotion. This may hint at or reveal a characters personality, where acertain movement may show strength or weakness, particularly importantfor Miss Y who expresses herself solely through actions and facialexpressions.The stage directions in The stronger tell the audience about howstrong or weak a character is. For... ...e play, there are times when both characters are strongand weak. It is only at the end of the play where I feel that Mrs Xstrue strength is shown. She briefly concludes the line of descent and doesntappear to have any hard feelings towards Miss Y. She even thanks herfor th e way she has influenced her family life. Mrs X represented thetraditional women of Strindbergs time where her life revolved nighher husband and family. This is completely the opposite for Miss Y whorepresented women wanting a change to the male-dominated world. Shedoesnt react to Mrs Xs patronising speeches about family or childrenand remains calm. She is more interested in her paper than what Mrs Xhas to say.Above all, I conclude that Miss Y is the stronger. This is becauseof her ability to not rise to Mrs Xs bait. She is strong in her repose and never retaliates.