Passionate and powerful, the three plays collected together in this volume represent August Strindburge (1849-1912) at his best, 'The Father', 'Miss Julia', and the more mystical 'Easter.' In all three plays, Strindberg combines acute psychological analysis with total mastery of the power to create unforgettable dramas of human life and love.
Johan August Strindberg, a Swede, wrote psychological realism of noted novels and plays, including Miss Julie (1888) and The Dance of Death (1901).
Johan August Strindberg painted. He alongside Henrik Ibsen, Søren Kierkegaard, Selma Lagerlöf, Hans Christian Andersen, and Snorri Sturluson arguably most influenced of all famous Scandinavian authors. People know this father of modern theatre. His work falls into major literary movements of naturalism and expressionism. People widely read him internationally to this day.
I'd like to express my admiration and appreciation to Peter Watts who got the favor of let me konw very well both Strindberg and Ibsen.
I think Miss Julia is the best play in this collection, In both the father and Easter Strindberg was very close to Ibsen, So both plays weren't the ones that make his unique character and artistic style and importance none the less both are a very good plays.
Heady mixture of sex, class and lacanian psychoanalysis. Full understanding of this play is for me the equivalent of the adult test. I wish Miss Julia would take a razorblade upstairs to the Count bedroom.
When I read plays, I usually get bored after the second page, but these three actually kept my interest throughout the entire book. My favorite thing about them were the unique characters. They really added to the storyline.
Do words save or destroy us? How deep can our hatred and fear run? What does it take to rescue a family that is about to fall apart? With little doses of madness, mind-games, and suffering, Strindberg aims to answer these questions in this volume of plays.
Much better the second time around. Of the three plays "The Father" is far and away the best. I can see why he was rated a better playwright that Ibsen, much as I love Ibsen.
Overall some interesting moments, each play deals with the opposition of man and woman which was a huge part of Strindburg's life. Also cool to read plays that kicked off "naturalism" in theater and to track the influence on O'Neill, Miller, etc.
The Father (4/5) - My personal favorite, the dialogue of a husband and wife at odds felt very sharp and biting.
Miss Julia (2.5/5) - Deals with a tryst between an upper class woman and her servant. The tragedy felt shoehorned at the end, but then again I'm not living in the mid-1800s so the cultural impact may have been lost on me.
Easter (3/5) - A quaint play about the reunion of a family, written during a more peaceful time in Strindburg's life than the first two plays.
Miss Julia is an essay about (the lack of) the proper place of a well born, groomed lady into the burgoisie genteel society. The manifestation of sensual desire, free will, pre marital sex, all is put into display in the plot.
The answer is given to Miss Julia in the form of a razor blade. The proper place to such aspirations is buried into a grave.
Although I liked all the three plays,the most impactful was "Easter". J fell in love with Eleanora and realised that there are a lot of Elis in our real life.
This is when I appreciate my age! So happy to be done with the shenanigans of the young.
Read this as part of my reading list of Yann Martel’s recommended reading list to our ex prime minister ( Canada). It is an absolute joy ride. I totally agree with Yann Martel - he motivates every book as to why it should be read - that August Strindberg writes completely effortless. What comes first - the effortless writing or the incredibly easy to read? Getting to learn so much other angles than when you select your own reading material. Reading each book and reading the notes on that book ( by Yann Martel) before and often after is just the best experience ever.