After Miss Julie” by Patrick Marber, 1995, After Strindberg

Educational material: “After Miss Julie” By Patrick Marber, 1995, after Strindberg

Lektor: Birgitte Holm Halkjær Birkerød Gymnasium, HF og IB

That-theatre Company spring 2017

A study of the original “Miss Julie”

Task: In pairs. Search google and find out who wrote “Miss Julie, 1888”?

Task: In pairs. Search google and find out what did the original “Miss Julie” deal with? Write down a brief summary of the original “Miss Julie”.

Task: In pairs. Translate into Danish: “Strindberg´s work in the theatre was largely written in revolt against contemporary social conventions and was startlingly modern and radical for the time”. Try and apply that statement to Strindberg´s play “Miss Julie”.

A study of the author of “After Miss Julie”

Task: In pairs. Comment on the title of the play that you are about to read and work with in class. Why do you think the play is called “After Miss Julie”? While reading the play find out if there is any direct reference to the title?

Task: In pairs, translate the following into Danish: “Patrick Albert Crispin Marber is an English comedian, playwright, director, puppeteer, actor and screenwriter. After working for a few years as a stand-up comedian, Marber was a writer and cast member on radio shows…”. In pairs,

2 search google and find out more about Marber and his life and works. Next, write a little more about Patrick.

A study of Strindberg versus Marber

Task: In pairs. Compare and contrast the play “Miss Julie” with the play “After Miss Julie”. How is the “free-spirit” of Strindberg´s play, “Miss Julie”, presented in Marber´s play “After Miss Julie” ? Any similarities/ differences between Strindberg´s play and Marber´s play? Both when it comes to content and form. Take your starting point in the lines about Strindberg´s “Miss Julie”. “Miss Julie depicts a fierce battle between a man and a woman, a struggle for power and dominance enacted through a cruel and compulsive game of seduction and repulsion. … By turns seductive and bullying, savage and tender..”

Task: In pairs. From Strindberg to Marber. Discuss. How much have women´s lives changed since Strindberg wrote

“Miss Julie”? Do you think that Marber´s play is still relevant for students to read anno 2017 – why/why not?

A closer study of reviews:

Task: In pairs, study the following three excerpts from different reviews. Compare and contrast the reviews when it comes to style and language. Discuss which one do you like the most – and why? Finally, go to Krudttønden and write your own review of “After Miss Julie” by That- Theatre Company.

1. “In all its complexity, the story Marber has shaped is enthralling. He´s based it on August Strindberg´s 1888 play, “Miss Julie”, about the daughter of a count, who, bored and stifled by convention, gets involved with her father´s servant. Instead of the late 1800s at a country estate in Sweden, the action in Marber´s play occurs in

1945 at a manor outside London, the night of the massive Labor Party victory that won 60 percent of the seats in Parliament and broke the power of the conservatives. And while the lord, ironically a Labour peer, is in London at the big celebration, Julie has joined the workers of the estate to toast victory in dance and drink …”

2. “England. July 1945. The Labour Party´s landslide election trump. Victory in the class struggle. Celebrations in every street. Miss Julie descends into the servants´ kitchen of her father´s country mansion in search of the chauffeur John. Over one long midsummer´s night, Miss Julie´s world is turned head over heels”

3. “After Miss Julie strikes me as a deeply pessimistic work. It also makes for a terrific evening in the theatre. Like the original, Marber´s ingenious update is at once horrible and hypnotic…. what Marber captures precisely is the way the heroine´s hysteria is heightened by the night´s tumultuous events. Boyishly reared by an emancipated mother and a suicidal father, Miss Julie is the victim of heredity, environment and her own anachronistic position as an outsider in a new socialist England. It is the sense of Miss Julie as a lost soul that is beautifully caught. The real virtue of Marber´s version is that it refreshes an old play

5 and reminds us that it is as much about psychological disintegration as the never-ending sex and class wars”.

A study of the historical context of the play, England 1945 / postwar Britain:

Task: In pairs. Search google and find out what did England celebrate on May 8, 1945?

Task: In pairs. How is the situation of England depicted in the play “After Miss Julie”?

Task: In pairs. You are a journalist. Your job is to write an article to a Magazine about postwar Britain. In your article you must include the following facts about the period. The title of your article is all up to you. Length of your article around 200 words:

- The war in Europe finished in May 1945 - The Aristocracy and its hold of power were challenged - Britain and most of Europe had just come through the horror of 2 World Wars - The relationship the working classes had with their so- called “masters” was challenged - People wanted and would get a National health Service, free education, control over their railways, roads, mining and steal - Great times lay in store

A study of England´s social structure at the end of the 20 th century

Task: In pairs. Search google and find out about the social structure in England at the end of the 20 the century. For more information watch for instance the British documentary, “Manor House – Classes and Cultures” by David Cannadine.

Task: In pairs. Discuss. How is the situation of England´s social structure depicted in the play “After Miss Julie”? Give reference to the text.

A study of a summary, “After Miss Julie”

Task: Read the following summary of “After Miss Julie”. While reading, correct any grammatical mistakes that you notice. Next, write your own and improved version of the summary. Finally, in pairs discuss the kind of mistakes that have been made. Are these typical mistakes made by students? “Set in 1945 in an english countryhouse on the eve of the labour Partys landslide victory at the end of the second world war, this compelling and erotically psychological thriller is inspired by August Strindbergs once universal banned masterpiece. During the anticipation of election victory celebrations, Julie, the beautiful daughter of the labour peer which owns the house wander into the servants kitchen. As she flirt with her fathers handsome chauffeur, indifferent to the presence of his fiancée Christine, what

8 begin as game playing ignities into passion with devastating consequences”.

A study of adjectives:

Task: In pairs. Read the following section about “After Miss Julie”. While reading underline all the adjectives that you can find in the section. Next, discuss what do the adjectives do to the text? Finally, rewrite the section, so that it becomes less formal in tone and style of writing.

“After Miss Julie depicts a struggle for power and dominance enacted through a cruel and compulsive game of seduction and repulsion. In an atmosphere of wild revelry and loosened social constraints, Miss Julie and John dance and drink, charm and manipulate each other. She, all hauteur, longing for abasement, he, polished, ambitious, but coarse – both united in mutual loathing and attraction. By turns seductive and bullying, savage and

9 tender, their intimacy leads to desperate plans and vision of a life together – unsure if the morning brings hope or hopelessness, Julie and John find their escape in a final act as sublime and horrific as anything in a Greek tragedy. A night of wild celebration is the backdrop of this story”.

A study of the setting of the play:

Task: When and where does the action in “After Miss Julie” take place? Compare and contrast with the original “Miss Julie”.

A study of the composition/ structure of the play:

Task: In pairs. Trace the development of the plot. How does the play start, how does it develop and how does it end.

Task: Composition/climax of the play. The climax of the play “After Miss Julie” is not easily recognizable. In order to determine the moment of the climax, we, as readers and as an audience, must try to identify the central conflict in the play. What do you think is the central focus of the play? Very often the climax in a play deals with a resolution regarding a relationship. In pairs, discuss: When does the climax/ the turning point in “After Miss Julie” occur?

Task: The ending of the play. Discuss, in pairs. Would you say that John´s and Julie´s “conflict” is resolved at the play´s ending – why/why not? Take your starting point in the final lines of the play. Next, discuss were you satisfied with the ending of the play – why/why not? What happens at the end of the play? What is Julie trying to do – and why? Finally, write a new ending (your ending) to the play “After Miss Julie”. John: Here´s the broom He whispers in her ear She turns to him, holding the razor, she nods. They kiss briefly, tenderly As they slowly part the bell rings, once, loud He starts, she holds him

Julie: it´s only a bell. Pray for me … John: I don´t believe in God Julie: But pray for me The bell rings again, twice It´s just a bell, my darling angel … John: It´s not just a bell. There´s someone behind it. And a hand that sets it in motion …. And a vast spinning universe that sets the hand in motion. And if you stop your ears it rings louder until you answer, until the police come … it´s hell … and there´s nothing else … go. Miss Julie walks to the door, the razor in her hand, she doesn´t look back. She exits. John: Sits at the table He starts to polish the shoes. Twenty seconds. Blackout THE END!

A study of mood in “After Miss Julie”

Task: Dealing with the term called “mood”. How is the mood in “After Miss Julie” quickly established in the play? Does Julie´s mood remain the same throughout the play, or does it change? (Give reference to the text). Does John´s mood remain the same throughout the play? And what about Christine´s mood? How would you characterize the overall mood of the play? If any, when do the moments of humor and lightheartedness occur? Remember to state references to the text.

A study of conflicts in “After Miss Julie”

Task: Conflicts in “After Miss Julie”. Find examples of the many conflicts in “After Miss Julie”. In pairs. Read aloud the dialogue. Next, discuss. What kind of conflict do the characters have in the following dialogue? John: And you´re superior? She slept with me, so did you, where´s the difference?

Christine: Listen to him, cock of the walk! I´ve never sunk as low as her. Or you. I´m not a thief. John: You stupid bitch! The whole war you traded on the black market, what´s that, good honest toil? Christine: I´m going to church John: That´s right, you cling to your superstition Christine: Our saviour suffered and died on the cross for all our sins, and if we approach him in faith and with a penitent heart, he will take all our sins upon him. John: Including backhanders to the butcher?

Task: It turns out that Miss Julie has been engaged. In pairs. Take your starting point in the following lines, and find out what breaks the engagement. “They were down at the stables, horsing around. She was mucking about with this whip,” training him” she said. She was getting him to jump over it, like a dog. He does it twice and each time she gives him a whack. Third time he goes nuts and lashes out with the back of his hand – his ring cut her. Then he takes the whip and breaks it, her heart´n all”.

Task: What kind of conflict do Julie and John have in the following dialogue. What is it that we get to know about Julie´s relationship to her father from these lines? Why do you think Julie behaves the way she does? What do you think of the way John behaves? What does John´s behaviour towards Miss Julie tell us about John? Read aloud the dialogue and write down your answer. Miss Julie toys with the razor. John takes it from her. John: Don´t do that, you´ll hurt yourself Julie: I want to John: No you don´t Julie: I do but I can´t. just like my father – he should have done it. The coward. John: You´re tired Julie: Shattered John: You want some tea? Julie: No thanks John: I´m having some .. Julie: No He puts the kettle on. She picks up the razor again. She didn´t leave any cigarettes did she?

John: What do you think? Pause. Your father´s not a coward. Julie: Oh, he is. She toys with the razor.

A study of the characters in “After Miss Julie”:

Task : Give a characterization of Miss Julie. Take your starting point in the following: Rich, lady, in her 20s, daughter of the household, unbalanced, problematic childhood, a broken engagement, spoiled and willful daughter of a wealthy English country-estate, … now you continue.

Task : Give a characterization of John. Take your starting point in the following: Chauffeur, huge ambitions to better himself, aged around 30, been a soldier, wishes to break free from servant life, wants to move to New York with Julie, ... now you continue.

Task: Give a characterization of Christine. Take your starting point in the following: Cook, aged 35, in balance with herself, content with her life, plans to marry John, she has waited for John for around five years (he was a soldier in the army), a devout Christian, kitchen maid, strong, determined, accepts living with a broken heart, settles for second best, … now you continue.

Task: In pairs. What do we know about John´s background? Take your starting point in the following lines: “My father was a labourer on the estate. Our family ´s worked here for centuries”. Next, what is John´s relationship to Julie´s father? Take your starting point in the following lines. Finally, read aloud the dialogue, think of voice and intonation. What is characteristic of Marber´s language in this dialogue?: Julie: Are those his shoes? John: Yes Julie: Do you like my father? John: Yes Julie: But do you respect him? John: Yes

Julie: Do you wish he were your father? Silence. They are close. I´m sorry, that wasn´t a grown-up question.

A study of the relationship between characters:

Task: How will you describe the relationship between John and Miss Julie? Take your point of departure in the following quote: “I think we´d better drink up Miss Julie. Someone might see us”…..” If anyone suspected I´d be dismissed without a reference, just as I´m getting on. I also have a duty to Christine”.

Task: How will you describe the relationship between John and Christine? Take your point of departure in the following dialogue. Julie: Do you love Christine very much? John: Of course

Julie: But are you in love with her, there´s a difference isn´t there? I´m not sure I´ve been in love. What about you? Have you ever been in love, John? Sick with love? John: Only as a child.

Task: Comment on John´s description of the first time he saw Miss Julie. Next, comment on the way he speaks. Finally, find all the verbs in the lines. In pairs, discuss what is the function of the many verbs? “Yes. And the girl in the white dress was patting a black pony. I lay in the brambles, I couldn´t move or they´d cut me and I watched the girl stroking the animal and I could see the girl was whispering to it, whispering all her secrets. And she looked sad and alone. And I fell in love with you”…….. “But that´s not when it started. When I was five … I saw your mother pushing you in your pram … a blue black pram … your carriage. I was five and could already feel the difference between us. My first memory is you … and a feeling without the words to describe it. Now, I can call it love …. or envy. A man of my class can rise, like bread, but not cake”. In pairs. Discuss they very last line said by John – what does John mean?

Task: In pairs. How will you describe the relationship between Miss Julie and Christine? How would you describe the way Julie talks to Christine, and what do you think about the proposal Julie gives Christine? What is your impression of Christine in this scene? How does Christine react? Is it a typical reaction from a woman, who has just heard her man has been together with another woman? And what about John – what is your impression of John in this scene? Please read aloud and take your point of departure in the following lines: Enter Christine. She stands in the doorway. Julie: And here´s the mother … Got a fag, ducks? Christine surveys the scene: the suitcase, the dead bird, the cash, the dress, the blood on John´s face She produces a cut-throat razor from her bag Christine (measured): I remembered at the gate, your razor´s broke. You couldn´t shave. You can now. I borrowed this from the gatekeeper. Julie: His dog screwed my dog. Christine hands John the razor Christine: Go and shave. We´re late for lunch. John exists.

Julie: Christine, you´re my friend, we´ve always had our little chats, haven´t we? Listen – Christine: Where were go going? Julie: New York. Not my idea, but if you listen … oh you´re angry … listen, me and John … we´re in love with each other. Christine: I don´t want to know Julie: You see we simply can´t stay here and .. Christine: He´s not going anywhere Julie (snaps): Please try to be calm, Christine! Beat. It´s a very nice name Christine. So, we can´t stay here for various reasons too complicated to go into, but I´ve had this brilliant idea which is that all three of us go to New York together and we open a nightclub … I´ve got some money, you see … you musn´t tell anyone, I stole it … and me and John would run it and you could be in charge of the kitchen. Wouldn´t that be nice? Do say yes then everything´ll be nice and not dreadful. ..

Task: Comment on the relationship between Julie´s father and John. Take your point of departure in the following dialogue:

Julie: Are those his shoes? John: Yes Julie: Do you like my father? John: Yes Julie: But do you respect him? John: Yes Julie: Do you wish he were your father?

Task: Comment on the relationship between Miss Julie and her mother. Take your point of departure in the following quote: “Mmm, funny isn´t it? So, they had to get married and my mother brought me up as … a child of nature. She wanted me to demonstrate the equality of the sexes. She used to dress me up in boy´s clothes and made me learn about farming – she made me kill a fox when I was ..”, (Julie)…. And my mother. Who´s to blame for what we are? It´s a horrible, ugly mess. My thoughts are his, my feelings are hers. An endless circle”, (Julie).

Task: Comment on the relationship between Miss Julie and her father. Take your point of departure in the following lines: “ You don´t know him. You don´t know what it´s like

22 to be Daddy´s special girl. Of course I love him. I love him as much as I hate him. He´s inside my head all the time.

A study of the development in the characters and the relationship between the characters:

Task: Any development in the characters? Do you think that Miss Julie develops/changes throughout the play – why/why not? And what about John – do you think that he develops/ changes throughout the play? And finally Christine – does she remain the same throughout the play, if not how does she change. Find evidence in the text, when arguing for your point of view.

Task: Any development in Julie? Take your starting point in the following quote: “ I must run away. I can´t stay here, I could never live it down and when my father finds out

23 he´ll kill me. He plays the Labour peer but he despises the lower classes, they´re too stupid and disappointing. He´d sack you on the spot and make my life a misery. And I won´t be a laughing stock for the servants – you say they find me condescending? (Julie)”

Task: Trace the development in the relationship between John and Miss Julie, comment on the final lines said by Julie: “You saw me …. That´s when I knew you wanted me, you were chained to Christine … already buried alive … but I know you saw me … you were hypnotized … describe my dress … And you looked at me as we queued for the hypnotist, you looked at me with longing, you looked at the one who had everything and you stepped inside, you said, After you, Miss Julie”. How would you interpret the ending of “After Miss Julie”? Discuss. What happens?

A study of character statements and their implied meanings:

Task: Form groups of two or three and discuss the following statements said by the characters in “After Miss Julie”. While discussing write down the implied meaning of the statements. Include your knowledge of the social and historical context of the play.

A. Said by John to Christine: “ The rich should never sell themselves cheap. They act too common they become common. She dances well though I will give her that”.

B. Said by Julie to John: “She can dance with you anytime – can´t you Christine? I command you to lend me this man!” …“It´s not an order, it´s an invitation! Erase that face of feudal anxiety and come and dance!”

C. Said by John about Julie: “She is mad all right. Everyone was laughing at her. She was cavorting like a woman possessed!”

D. Said by Julie to John: “Am I your conquest? Nothing more?”

E. Said by Julie to John: “…You take my virginity, you humiliate me and my family´s honour - there´s a price. You don´t leave this room. You listen to what I say or help me God I will scream rape and I will not stop screaming until you´re in prison”

F. Said by John to Julie: “Miss Julie … I´m sorry, I´m sorry I have hurt you. I know you´re suffering, I´m sorry for that truly. But I am to be married. This is where I belong and so do you. In time you´ll forget about this until it´s just a dull ache. You´ll live with it that´s life.”

G. Said by Christine to John: “ Don´t bother, I imagine you did it with every little scrubber in France. I have low expectations I´m rarely disappointed. I understand, how could you resist her beauty when you´re just a man?”

H. Said by Christine to John:

“We´re not staying here by the way so you can forget it ever happening again.. I´m not working in a house where I cannot respect my superiors”

I. Said by Julie to John: “Die with me John, a suicide pact”.

J. Said by Christine to John “So, you were going to run away. You´re as mad as she is”

A closer study of the dialogue in “After Miss Julie”

Task: Read aloud the following dialogue, while reading think of your tone and intonation. Next, discuss the implied meaning of the words. What is it that we get to know about Miss Julie from this dialogue? And what is it that we get to know about Christine´s relationship to Miss Julie? What does Christine mean with her very last line?

Julie: Is John your fiancé? You seem quite … intimate? Christine: We were going to marry, but then the war came and … we´re not engaged officially. Julie: Officially? Miss: Well, I don´t have a ring, Miss Pause Julie: I had a ring .. Christine: Stifles a yawn Julie: I´m sorry Christine, am I boring you? Christine: No. Miss Julie. I´m very sorry. I´m tired. Julie: Then you must go to bed Christine: John promised me a dance, I´ll just .. Julie: Men like to keep their women, not their promises.

Task: In pairs. Read aloud and study the following dialogue. How does Julie treat John in this scene? And what does she mean when she says to him “courtesy demands”? Julie: What was the war like? John: Like? Like nothing Julie: Did you kill lots of Germans?

John: Hundreds Julie: Not thousands? John: Hundreds of thousands He serves her the glass of beer Julie: Thank you. Won´t you keep me company? John: I´m not really a beer drinker but if my Ladyship commands… Julie: Courtesy commands John As he pours himself a glass she lies back on a bench

Task: In pairs. Study the following dialogue. Comment on the style of writing, especially the way Julie speaks. What impression do we get of Miss Julie? Write down your answer. Julie: They think I could fall for a servant? John: They know not better Julie: You´re a snob! I have a higher opinion of them than you. Come. She faces him, hands outstretched. John (softly): You are strange

Julie: Everything´s strange … life… people .. everything´s a scum that drifts across the water until it sinks. Come with me. What does it matter what people say or think?

Task: In pairs. Study the following dialogue. What is your impression of John? How does he behave in front of Miss Julie, and how does she behave in front of him? Find evidence in the dialogue that Miss Julie seems to behave like a spoiled child. Find evidence in the dialogue that John seems to behave like the adult one – that he seems to take on the role of the father. She gazes at him. He moves to kiss her. She slaps him hard on the cheek Pause John: I have work to do, it´s way past your bedtime, I suggest you retire

Julie: (amused) What work? John: Starts polishing a shoe Julie: Put it down He ignores her PUT IT DOWN! He puts the shoe down Julie: You are proud. You´re a Don Juan – a Don John. Have you ever been to the opera? John: No Julie: The next time I go to Covent Garden I will take you. But unlike my hypocrite father you will sit with me in the royal circle. Would you like that? John: I have to clean these shoes for the morning. It´s not my job to amuse you. Julie: Please don´t sulk Silence Well, goodnight then

Task: In pairs, study the following dialogue. Read the dialogue aloud. Read between the lines what is it that John

31 is trying to tell Julie? What kind of lesson is John trying to teach Julie – and why? Julie: What have I done? John: Fallen ….briefly … but pleasurably, I trust Julie: You hate me? John: No Julie: You took advantage of me? John: Vice, versa I think Julie: But you just said you loved me John: You confuse love and desire Julie: I love you John: Congratulations Julie: How can you …. What are you? John: Just a man. Stop acting the weeping debutante, Miss Julie. You had a roll in the hay, forget it have a drink. You are more fun, when you are tight. Julie: You owe me respect at least John: That´s the last thing you wanted up there. Do you know you actually shocked me. Julie: You´re disgusting

John: No, you´re disgusting. I told you it would end in tears. I have work to do. He starts polishing his shoes

Task: In pairs. Study the following dialogue between Julie and John. Trace and characterize John´s tone, language and mood in the dialogue? How does he behave at the beginning of the dialogue, and at the end? Julie. Tell me what I am? Pause John: A fuck Julie (childlike to herself): I´m all dirty John: So wash Julie: STAND UP WHEN YOU SPEAK TO ME! STAND UP! REMEMBER YOUR POSITION He stands John: Which one, Madame? There were so many Julie: You are still a servant, you scared little squaddie, you´re still a servant John: And you´re a servant´s slut. Don´t come all superior with me, Miss Julie. No woman of my class would want

33 what you wanted last night; sweating and braying, your face in the pillow, biting your hand to stop yourself screaming the house down. You´d shame a two bit tart in Piccadilly Julie: Do I deserve this? John: What´s a man to think if you beg him to beat you? She breaks down Julie: Please no more … I know .. I deserve this.. I´m bad .. I´m a bad girl He puts his arms around her full of pity and desire John: No you´re not.. I´m as much to blame… I didn´t mean what I said.. please, I´m sorry Julie: Hurt me again John. You mustn´t say that, things just … went too far No one knows you must try to forget about it

Task: Comment on Julie´s reaction to her night with John. In pairs. Discuss. Do you think Julie is right when she says to John that he has humiliated her etc.? “You take my virginity, you humiliate me, you abuse me and my family´s honour – there´s a price. You don´t leave this room…”

A study of style and language:

Task: Comment on the tone and style of language Julie uses in her monologue when Jack cuts the head off the bird in the cage. Next, pay attention to the final part of the monologue, any foreshadowing here about the ending of the play? “How much would this bleed? Would it bleed like me … like last night? I could use your skull to drink from … open up like a carcass and climb inside you .. thrash about in your weak, wet chest .. roast your heart with my breath and eat it whole. You think I´m weak? Because I wanted you inside me? It´s just biology – just chemicals – you think I want to run away with you and carry your brats in my body … feed your spawn with my blood … you´ve got another thing coming Mister … come on! You think I want your child? You think I want to take your name? Look at me .. what is your name? Your surname? I´ve never heard it …maybe you haven´t got one? I´d be Mrs Scum, Mrs Barrow Boy … mmmm? Is that what you want? A nice little wife? A nice girl like me? You dog who wears my crest upon your buttons. That´s what you are! Buttons. You think I´d share you with my cook? Come on … aren´t you having

35 fun?”… She removes her hand and sits at the table. … Daddy will be home soon, he finds his desk open, second drawer down, his money gone. He rings on the bell – twice for his lackey – that´s you – and then he sends for the police. And I say it was HIM officer (cockney).” He´s the one what did it”. And I tell them everything. And then Daddy has a heart attack and drops down dead. End of the line. The train will terminate at this station. The bloodline clots. No heirs. No more of us. Dead. But what of the lackey? Oh, that´ll be the pauper´s line, third stop after the gutter, it ends in jail”, (Julie).

Task: In pairs. Compare and contrast two different authors. Marber has often been compared to a playwright called Harold Pinter, especially when it comes to style and language. How would you characterize Marber´s style – look especially at the Marber´s syntax and choice of words. Remember to state references to the text. Take your starting point in the following dialogue. Next, in pairs. Discuss what goes on here? Why is it Julie wants John to kiss her shoe? How would you characterize the development in the relationship between John and Miss Julie? What kind of relationship is it? : Do you think I´m a dreadful lush? John: No, my Lady

Julie: I think I´m a dreadful lush. Now, a toast … to me. John: To you Julie: To you John: To me Julie: To Socialism John: To Socialism Julie: To peace John: To peace Julie: What else? To love John: To Love Julie: To the workers John: The works Julie: Bravo They kiss Now kiss my shoe He stares at her. As a sign of respect She dangles her foot Pause. He moves to her, she snatches her foot away

Pause: They look at each other She dangles her foot. He moves to her. She snatches it away. He stares at her. She dangles her foot. He moves very fast, catches it, holds it. They look at each other. He kneels and kisses her shoe. Very good. Too quick for me, Monsieur Jean. He straightens up. John: I think we´d better drink up, Miss Julie. Someone might see us.

Task: In pairs. Comment on the following lines, said by Christine to John. What is it that Christine is trying to say to John? How would you characterize Christine´s language? How would you characterize Christine´s behavior? “Look at you, you can´t believe it, can you? You´re still reliving it in your head, your dirty little film in your dirty little fleapit of a mind”.

John: You have made your point. Christine: We´ll hand in our notice today. We´ll go to Leeds. We´ll stay with my sister while we get sorted. You can find work as a porter or a caretaker. Somewhere steady and secure with a good pension for a wife. And children.

Task: Comment on the tone of voice in the following lines: And you – and your father who trusts me. You play with fire, Miss Julie (John)…. Lucky I´m insured! (Julie)”.

Task: In pairs. Comment on the style and language used in the following lines. Next, find all the nouns in the text. Discuss. What do the nouns do to the text? “The kitchen is a large room on basement level. It´s a little gone to seed. Neglected. A door leads out to an unseen exterior courtyard and beyond where a dance is in progress. Other doors lead off to the servants´ living quarters. In the centre of the room is a large wooden table, chairs at either ends benches at the sides. On the table a pair of black brogues, polish and brushes. Elsewhere a bell and phone system for communication with other areas of the house”.

Task: In pairs. Change the following lines from the present tense into the past tense. Next, discuss. What impression do we get of Christine, and her life? Finally, compare and contrast Christine´s life with Miss Julie´s life. “She leads him outside. The music strikes up. Christine washes up John´s plate. She puts the wine bottle away. She puts the potion bottle on the table ready for Miss Julie. She removes her apron and hangs it on the hook by her desk. John´s suit is hanging up, she removes a speck of dust from it and lays it ready for him on the table. She notices that Miss Julie has left her handkerchief and places it with the bag next to the potion bottle. She sits at her desk, tired. She yawns, stretches a little. Then she takes a hand mirror and make- up from a drawer and applies lipstick and powder. She looks at herself. Lights a cigarette, smokes, closes her eyes, exhausted. She listens to the music waiting for John to return. She eases back in her chair, trying to get comfortable. She rests her head on the arms on the desk. Her cigarette smoulders in the ashtray. She falls asleep. After a while the number ends. Applause. Presently John enters. He sees that she is asleep, and gently stubs out the cigarette. He goes to the sink and washes his face. it is a hot night and he is sweating from dancing".

A study of the themes dealt with in the play:

Task: In pairs. Make a list of the many themes dealt with in the play “After Miss Julie”. Compare and contrast with each other. What would you say is the major theme(s) – minor theme(s) in “After Miss Julie”?

Task: Strindberg developed a theory that the war between the sexes was not motivated by desire, but by the urge of one party to force the other party´s psycho into submission (much like hypnosis). Try and apply that theory to the play “After Miss Julie”.

Task: In pairs. Discuss. What do you think is at the centre of the play – is it a class-struggle, or is it more a sexual power-struggle between two people? Do you think the power-struggle may be destructive? Or even sado-

41 masochistic? “After Miss Julie” takes as its basis August Strindberg´s 1888 class-struggle,“Miss Julie”, which tells a story of the passionate but ultimately destructive sexual liaison between a lowly footman and the sexual aristocrat Miss Julie. Marber´s contemporary take on the idea moves the action from a Swedish estate at the end of the 19th Century to an English country house in July 1945, on the night of the Labour Party´s victory over Winston Churchill´s Tories in the General Election”

A study of intertextuality in “After Miss Julie”

Task: In pairs. Search google, and find out about the intertextual reference in the play. Take your point of departure in the following lines, said by Miss Julie in “After Miss Julie”. “Look at you ….. grinding away …. So loyal…

John. The Baptist. And daddy is …. Herod. And I am Salome”, (Julie).

Task: In pairs. Read the following story and try to apply it to the play “After Miss Julie”. Who is the dancing female in Marber´s play – who is John, the Baptist? Who is King Herod? “And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estate of Galilee, And when the daughter of the said Herod came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the King said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom?. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John, the Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath´s sake, and for their sakes with sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to the mother. And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb,“( Mark 6:21-29, KJV).

Task: Salome is the dancing female of the New Testament who requested John the Baptist´s head from King Herod on the orders of her mother. In addition to the several explicit mentions in “After Miss Julie” to the Salome story, there are also less overt references to the story. In pairs. See if you can find these references in the text. Think for instance of the episode with Julie´s pet bird.

A study of the role of Miss Julie´s mother and the effect that she might have had on Julie and her relationship to men

Task: Take your starting point in the following statement: “Julie´s problems stem from her heritage as well as the way she was reared. Her mother did not bring Julie up

44 according to accepted standards regarding women´s roles in society. She also believed that men and women were equal”. In pairs. Discuss. Do you agree that Julie´s “problems” primarily stem from her childhood? What else may Julie´s “problems” – her challenges as a grown-up woman stem from?

Task: Miss Julie´s mother tells the Lord that she will be “ His lover, but never his wife”, and so she was literally mistress of the house. Miss Julie, herself, reveals in “After Miss Julie” that she was “a mistake”. Do you think Julie´s unbalanced personality – or at least her inability to find herself stem from the fact that she might have heard this phrase from her parents as she grew up? If yes, discuss the consequences for Julie.

Task: Julie´s mother was for women´s emancipation and wanted her daughter to demonstrate the equality of the sexes. Discuss. The role and influence of Julie´s mother. Did Julie´s mother really teach Julie to despise men? Or did she merely teach her to stand up for her rights, and not purely being regarded as a sexual object? Does John treat Miss Julie as an object to play with – why/why not?

Task: In pairs. Discuss the following statement: “Complicating matters is Julie´s sexual desire, which forces her to adopt female behavior she abhors and seduces the men she hates”. Do you think Julie hates John – why/why not? Could it be that Julie really loves John, but being too young, immature, and belonging to another social class, she does not really know how to show her love to John? Could it be possible that Julie confuses real love with passion and desire?

“After Miss Julie” … a study of the situation of women anno 2017

Task: Strindberg´s “Miss Julie” was banned worldwide in 1888, because the main character wanted to have sex for pleasure. Moreover, Miss Julie did not have any money of her own, so she was as trapped, lonely and unhappy as her greenfinch in the cage. Are women freer from men´s authority now than at the time Strindberg wrote “Miss

Julie”? Discuss. Ought modern women to be more thankful for the price earlier generations of women have made – why/why not?

Task: In pairs. Discuss. Why do you think that many women anno 2017 choose to live on their own, without a man? Is it because they have been abandoned by a man, because they can, or is it because modern men of today (still) do not know how to treat and regard a woman as an equal partner? Could it be that Julie´s mother, in “After Miss Julie”, preferred being his Lord´s mistress, and not his wife- why/why not?

Task: In pairs. Discuss. Some people tend to say that women want it all !! Women want to look thin and fit, to have the ultimate: a motherhood as well as a career. But what about men don´t they want it all!? John in the play “After Miss Julie” does indeed aim higher than his social class. Moreover, he wants Julie, and he wants to go to New York with Julie, but unfortunately they do not succeed in going together.

Task: In pairs. Discuss. Does Miss Julie pay a heavy price for her way-ward night of passion with the older, servant John? Or could the passionate night with John “mature”

Julie, make her discover herself as a woman, and find her own feet in a male-dominated world? Could “ After Miss Julie” be described as a modern story – could it be applied to the role/situation of women in 2017 - why/why not?

A study of “After …. after Miss Julie” – writing activities

Task: Having read “After Miss Julie” in the classroom it is now your turn to become a playwright. Your first task is to write a continuation of “After Miss Julie”. Before you start discuss in pairs what will happen to Miss Julie in the near future? How will the future be like for John? For Christine?

Task: Write an analytical essay about “After Miss Julie”. Your essay must incorporate a characterization of Miss Julie and her relationship to the other characters in the play. Moreover, it is important that you include or ignore the time, setting and the themes dealt with in the play. Please remember that your essay must have an introduction – a body part- and a conclusion.

Task: Letter writing. Write a letter from Miss Julie to John. In your letter focus on the way Julie feels about John. And vice versa. Write a letter from John to Miss Julie telling her how much he loves her.

Task: Write an article to a magazine about the issue of women´s rights. Take your starting point in “After Miss Julie”, and the relationship between Miss Julie and her mother.

Task: My prediction about Miss Julie´s future life. Continue writing about Miss Julie: I believe that Miss Julie will have a fantastic life without John. She will never forget the passionate night with John, nor the fact that she fell in love with him, but she will understand that love …..”

Task: Diary writing. Christine´s life in “After Miss Julie” takes a turning point when she discovers that John has been together with Miss Julie. To cope with the presence of Miss Julie, Christine starts writing in her diary. Pretend you are Christine, and write down her feelings about John, and about his relationship with Miss Julie.

Task: In class. Create a formal debate. Argue for or against whether or not John ought to marry Miss Julie. Before you begin find and write down your arguments for or against.

Task: Write an engagement speech from Christine to John. Take your point of departure in the following dialogue: Christine: Isn´t he particular? Heaven help the woman who marries you. She hands him a wine glass. John: easy, you´re talking to a gentleman here. Your gentleman, perhaps. He tastes the wine ostentatiously to amuse her Like Winston Churchill: robust, full-bodied.. He drains the glass And finished. Christine: Poor Winston

John: Hardly poor. She puts a pan on the stove and begins to stir.

Task: Prediction – Christine goes to New York with Miss Julie and John. And (against all odds) it turns out to be a good decision to go with them. Take your starting point in the following lines, and write a letter home from Christine to the Lord of the house, telling him about the success of the nightclub. Julie to Christine: “And I´m sure the nightclub will be a terrific success and there´ll be dancing and we´ll drink whenever we want because we´ll own all the drink …. And with your looks, I´m not flattering or patronizing you, you´ll meet a nice husband, a rich American, you´ll see … the Americans are charmed by us … they die for the accent … and we´ll live on the Upper … East Side … or West Side … east or West … it doesn´t matter really … or we can always come home againg … back here … or somewhere else, don´t you think?

Task: In pairs. Write a continuation of “After Miss Julie” – add /write another scene to the play. The end of the play is rather ambiguous. What do you think Miss Julie does after

51 leaving the room? And what do you think happens to John after the end of the play.

Task: In the original version, Christine does not wake in the middle of the night to find John and Julie together. Why do you think Marber made this change? Write a section about this change. How do you think it alters the character of Christine in “After Miss Julie”?

Task: You are a journalist. Write a newspaper article. Your topic of the article has been given: Do we have the power to change how our social structures define us today, anno 2017?

Task: You are a journalist. Write a newspaper article. Your title and topic of the article has been given: Sadomasochism. Sadomasochism describes a relationship (usually sexual) in which one partner is aroused by inflicting pain (mental and/or physical) while the other gets pleasure from receiving pain. Do you think John and Julie are engaged in a sado- masochistic relationship in “After Miss Julie” – why / why not? “What´s a man to think if you beg him to beat you”, (John).