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Frictions
And he fell on his knees and worshipped her; he said that he did not care if the administration of prisons and the school for black sheep went to the devil; he did not know what manner of woman she was; he only knew that he loved her. She replied that she had nothing but contempt for him, and went helter-skelter to Paris. He followed at her heels.
August Strindberg (b. 1849 in Stockholm, d. 1912) is one of Sweden’s most influential writers and is often considered the father of modern Swedish literature. Besides his famous novel, The Red Room (1879), this prolific playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter wrote over sixty plays and more than thirty works of fiction, autobiography, history, cultural analysis and politics. Strindberg’s career spanned over four decades, and his work often drew directly on his personal experience. Although married to three different ambitious, career-minded women, Strindberg insisted that a woman’s place was in the home. Thus, he lost the support of many liberal friends. His articles on politics, religion and literature resulted, in 1910, in the “Strindberg Feud”, a press feud that lasted for two years.
August Strindberg (b. 1849 in Stockholm, d. 1912) is one of Sweden’s most influential writers and is often considered the father of modern Swedish literature. Besides his famous novel, The Red Room (1879), this prolific playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter wrote over sixty plays and more than thirty works of fiction, autobiography, history, cultural analysis and politics. Strindberg’s career spanned over four decades, and his work often drew directly on his personal experience. Although married to three different ambitious, career-minded women, Strindberg insisted that a woman’s place was in the home. Thus, he lost the support of many liberal friends. His articles on politics, religion and literature resulted, in 1910, in the “Strindberg Feud”, a press feud that lasted for two years.
- GenresShort Stories
25 pages, Paperback
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About the author
August Strindberg
1,925 books775 followersJohan 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.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_...
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.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_...
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 3, 2019
From the very beginning of this story I had the feeling that the author was describing the two female protagonists in a somewhat unpleasant way. The male protagonist, the Baron, is placed at the core of the story and two women revolve around him. They start as his equal in terms of interests and worldview but finally find themselves in an intellectually inferior position. His reflections about philosophy and society are concepts they cannot keep up with. Both women are pushed (I dare say) solely towards the role of mothers, guardians of the well being of the household, including the emotional well being of the male protagonist. Even though the author seems to be praising women for being able to cover this essential role in society, this story obviously reflects antiquated views of gender roles which make the contemporary reader (men and women alike, hopefully) cringe.
May 8, 2021
This is a brief but typically Strindberg tale of the injustices of society against anyone who dares to question that society’s rules.
November 29, 2023
the story is quite interesting but super sexist lol
just makes it seem like men are constantly developing mentally, while women are stuck to their mother roles.
just makes it seem like men are constantly developing mentally, while women are stuck to their mother roles.
September 23, 2025
This is very well written, as Strindberg was undoubtedly a skilled writer (hence the two stars), but the story itself is extremely sexist—reflecting his own attitudes.
It centers on a man and his two wives: the first, who could not keep up with him intellectually, and the second, who at first could but eventually challenged his ideas—something he resented. In the end, even she is portrayed as unable to match his ever-expanding intellect.
The underlying message is deeply problematic: that women’s only true value lies in motherhood, and that this is ultimately all men seek from them.
It centers on a man and his two wives: the first, who could not keep up with him intellectually, and the second, who at first could but eventually challenged his ideas—something he resented. In the end, even she is portrayed as unable to match his ever-expanding intellect.
The underlying message is deeply problematic: that women’s only true value lies in motherhood, and that this is ultimately all men seek from them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2019
Whenever I read Strindberg I can't help laughing quietly to myself. While he certainly wrote with some kind of a talent, all his texts (at least the ones I've read so far) are but a self-portrait of a very silly and unhappy man. It's troubling how people can be both quite brilliant and utterly clueless at the same time...
December 25, 2021
sexist but at least well-written
August 17, 2019
Sexist. I ain't gonna be reading any more books by this author. NOPE. The main premise is that woman cannot keep up with men intelectually, as men grow mentally throughout their lives, but woman cannot, even if they seem quite smart to begin with. Also, female habits/traditional chores such as child raising make you weak minded, and smoking is cool!
April 24, 2023
It is a good representative of a short story of that time - no wonder it is so offensive to the modern society. I found it quite pleasant to read - considering the author most like wrote it from his own experience.
Read
July 15, 2024Short story no. 3 finished. I didn't really care for this one to be frank.
March 24, 2025
What did I just read?
(Also, that wasn't an ending, that was barely the end of a chapter!)
(Also, that wasn't an ending, that was barely the end of a chapter!)
February 27, 2022
Frictions is the second book from a mini box set I was gifted of short Swedish classics, sadly, unlike the first book from the set I read this wasn't so much of a hit.
The premise of the story is we're following a man who is married but has fell in love with another woman. It talks about the ostracisation of the two of them and their struggles. On its own that concept isn't so bad, but it's the execution that I'm not so keen on. I'm sure in it's time this was accepted but nowadays?
Basically, this is ridiculously sexist. Strindberg attempts to make our protagonist seem like a well rounded but troubled man. Instead, in a modern climate at least, he comes off like an unhappy idiot. And a sexist one at that. Our main character demonstrates the belief that men can grow and change over time as they mature and increase their intelligence, but that women are stagnant and cannot match up to the minds of men.
Strindberg seems to be attempting to praise these women for the role they play in essentially mothering our main character, but instead all this achieves is to highlight his antiquated views of gender roles and the place of women within society.
The entire time I was just... annoyed. Annoyed and frustrated at this baby of a "man" who couldn't seem to grasp that the world doesn't revolve around him and that him acting as though it does is ruining the lives of the people around him.
This book was a very interesting look into Swedish classic literature and their society at this time, and that's why I gave it 2 stars. But the poor characterisation and obvious sexism made this an unenjoyable read.
The premise of the story is we're following a man who is married but has fell in love with another woman. It talks about the ostracisation of the two of them and their struggles. On its own that concept isn't so bad, but it's the execution that I'm not so keen on. I'm sure in it's time this was accepted but nowadays?
Basically, this is ridiculously sexist. Strindberg attempts to make our protagonist seem like a well rounded but troubled man. Instead, in a modern climate at least, he comes off like an unhappy idiot. And a sexist one at that. Our main character demonstrates the belief that men can grow and change over time as they mature and increase their intelligence, but that women are stagnant and cannot match up to the minds of men.
Strindberg seems to be attempting to praise these women for the role they play in essentially mothering our main character, but instead all this achieves is to highlight his antiquated views of gender roles and the place of women within society.
The entire time I was just... annoyed. Annoyed and frustrated at this baby of a "man" who couldn't seem to grasp that the world doesn't revolve around him and that him acting as though it does is ruining the lives of the people around him.
This book was a very interesting look into Swedish classic literature and their society at this time, and that's why I gave it 2 stars. But the poor characterisation and obvious sexism made this an unenjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews