The Stronger: August Strindberg
Play: The Stronger
by August Strindberg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNxBzw6vvYM&t=148s
About the Playwright
 |
| August Strindberg |
Characters of the Play
a.
MME X., an
actress, married
b.
BOB (Husband)
c.
MLLE Y., an
actress, unmarried (Amelia)
d.
A WAITRESS
The Theme of the Play
Researching the presence of female agency in Strindberg's plays, we examined the text of The Stronger and identified the key themes of betrayal, infidelity, and hierarchy working within a masculine hegemonic society. Stronger is a modern adaptation of August Strindberg's play The Stronger (1889). Stronger is the story of two rivals who engage in psychological warfare in a cafe on Christmas Eve. The characters are complex, their relationship is twisted, and the tangled history that is revealed in a short period is riveting.
The setting of the Play
The
setting of the stronger is A corner
of a woman's café; two iron tables, a red worsted shag sofa, and some chairs. This description
represents the place of the play. The characters are Mrs. X and Miss.
The Central Idea of the Play
The main theme of "The Stronger" by August
Strindberg is the complex nature of human relationships, particularly the
dynamics of power and dominance. The play explores how jealousy, insecurity,
and the desire for control can shape interactions between individuals,
especially in the context of personal relationships. Additionally, the play
delves into themes of identity, self-perception, and the masks people wear in
social situations. The silence of one character, Miss Y, also highlights the theme
of communication and the power of words versus silence in conveying meaning and
asserting dominance in a conversation. Overall, "The Stronger" is a
study of the intricacies of human behavior and how individuals navigate power
dynamics in their interactions with others.
Summary of the Play
The play is simple. Two characters of the play are two
women simply called Mrs X and Miss Y. Here we can see the role and position of
women in society. It is not important for them to have names; we know only a
few facts about them; like they are some “objects”, not personalities. They are
two actresses and they meet in a restaurant on Christmas Eve, one of them Miss
Y, doesn’t even speak during the whole performance.
The play is rich in irony and allegory. Although the
play is very short, one can spend hours thinking about it and trying to
understand its deep meaning. As the play progresses, we can see that Miss Y and
Mrs X are rivals – Miss Y is having a love affair with Mrs X’s husband.
I had to wear your color, read your authors; eat your favorite dishes,
drink your drinks…my God—it's terrible when I think about it …. Everything came
to me from you even your passions…I wanted to escape from you but I couldn’t.
Mrs X tells Miss Y that this relationship destroys her
marriage; however, she feels stronger after all that happened. Their meeting
reaches its end when Mrs X announces that she will leave the café and go home
to make love with her husband. Mrs X calls Miss Y "poor Amelia"—a
matter that gives the reader a hint that Mrs X is stronger than in the past:
" I know you're unhappy, unhappy like someone who has been hurt,
and nasty because you are hurt! —I can't be angry with you, though I like to
be—you're the weakling.” At present, Mrs. X recognizes how she benefits
from everything Miss Y taught her. What Mrs. X learned from Miss Y is teaching her
how to regain her husband, Bob: "You have taught me to drink
chocolate…you have taught me how to dress—that has made my husband closer to me
than ever…thank you, Amelia, thank you for everything you taught me…thank you
for teaching my husband how to make love.”
The play ends with X realizing that her words do not affect Y. The play
is a commentary on how people use language and communication to try and emphasize
power over others.
Story:
Miss Y sits in a corner of a woman's café. Miss Y
symbolically separates herself from other people by sitting far in the corner.
She is not inclined to mix with others. When Mrs X enters the café and meets
Miss Y, she confirms the situation of being lonely: “ Hello, Amelia
darling! You look as lonely on Christmas Eve as a poor bachelor."
Moreover, Strindberg chooses the day of Christmas Eve for the meeting of the
two women to emphasize the paradoxical connection between the whole situation
and the happy connotations of this holy occasion. Although the occasion is delightful,
Miss Y does not seem happy. She is alone, sitting in one of the restaurant
corners, reading and drinking. Then, using her body language as well as Mrs X's
memories, the audience will understand the message of the scene. Miss Y passes
through some troubled times.
The problem/conflict of Mrs X is about her husband, who
has had an affair with Miss Y in the past and now she has been given the chance
to take revenge. Although the speech of Mrs. X is very effective and loaded with
bitterness and hard feelings towards Miss Y, who never utters a word. The play
demonstrates the power of body language. The reader or the audience easily gets
the meaning and understanding of the story, although Miss Y is silent.
This
uneventful plot reaches its climax when Mrs X says: "I hate you! Oh,
how I hate you". Before uttering these words, Mrs X tries to
pretend that she is calm. However, her mask of calmness and self-esteem falls
apart, and thus her anger, jealousy, and sadness are well-recognized. According
to this, the play is marked by its subjective point of view because the
audience listens to one voice, namely Mrs X's voice.
Who is stronger?
At one
level, Miss Y seemed stronger than Mrs. X because she became successful in
getting Mrs. X's husband's love but in the end, we found that Mrs. X succeeded in
keeping her husband with herself and her children. She did all that she could
to get her husband back. She has changed herself totally into Miss Y to make
her husband happy like Miss Y. Therefore, at the festival time, she is with her
husband and children and Miss Y is alone at the cafe.
***
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