Three Plays: Countess Julie ; The Outlaw ; The Stronger

August Strindberg

Jan 1912 · Branden Books

About this ebook

The three plays in this volume focus on the tumultuous relationships between men and women, whether they are father and daughter, brother and sister or lovers. Miss Julie is a ruthlessly realistic depiction of an upper class woman's seduction of a servant, emphasizing the differences and the antagonism between them. In The Father, a man is brought to madness and driven out of his home by the suspicion that his daughter is not his own child, while Easter centres on a family in need of redemption for its sins and suffering, finding forgiveness at a season of rebirth. Strindberg's acute psychological analysis and his dramatization of naked emotion within a naturalistic domestic setting make him one of the great innovators of the modern theatre.

About the author

August Strindberg was born in Stockholm, Sweden on January 22, 1849. He was educated at the University of Uppsala in Sweden, but left without a degree. He began to write while supporting himself at a variety of jobs, including journalist and librarian. He wrote several novels including The Red Room and Black Banners, but was best known as a playwright. His plays include The Father, Miss Julie, Creditors, A Dream Play, and The Ghost Sonata. He also wrote an autobiography entitled The Son of a Servant. He died on May 14, 1912 at the age of 63.