"The Stronger" by August Strindberg, Summary and Analysis, BBS II, Business Communication, Visions (T. U. ).
The
Stronger
-August
Strindberg
Characters:
MME.
X., an
actress, married
BOB (Husband)
MLLE.
Y.,
an actress, unmarried (Amelia)
A
WAITRESS
SETTING:
The
corner of a ladies' cafe, two little iron tables, a red velvet sofa, several
chairs.
The
Stronger is
universally considered the classical short play and a superb monodrama of great
psychological insight (depth). The play represents a triangular situation in
which two actresses—one married, Mrs X, and one unmarried, Miss Y—meet
accidentally at a cafe while Christmas shopping and begin considering their
past competition in love for Mrs. X’s husband. The play is unique in that the
subject of the discussion, the husband, never appears, and the fact that only
one of the women, Mrs. X, speaks, while the other, Miss Y, merely reacts.
The
one-act play The Stronger is simple. The 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, such as 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 (tale/ symbol). Although the play is very
short, one can actually 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
actually rivals – Miss Y is having a love affair with Mrs. X’s husband.
I
had to wear your colour, read your authors; eat your favourite 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 cafe 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 (cruel)
because you are hurt!—I can't be angry with you though I like to be—you're the
weakling.” At the present time, Mrs X recognizes how she benefits from
everything Miss Y taught her. In fact, what Mrs. X learned from Miss Y taught
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.”
Story:
Miss
Y sits in a corner of a woman's cafe. Miss Y symbolically separates herself
from other people by sitting far in the corner. She apparently has no inclination
to mix with others. When Mrs. X enters the cafe 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 emphasise the
paradoxical connection between the whole situation and the happy connotations
of this holy occasion. Although the occasion is blissful, Miss Y does not seem
happy. She is alone, sitting in one of the restaurant corners reading and
drinking. Then, by means of 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 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 revenge. Although the speech of
Mrs X is very effective and loaded with bitter and hard feelings towards Miss
Y, Miss Y never utters a word. The play demonstrates the power of body
language. The reader or the audience is easily getting the meaning and
understanding of the story despite the fact that 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.
Question/answer:
1. Did Bob do the right
thing by marrying Mrs. X instead of Miss Y? Why or why not?
Ans: No, he did not. He
should not have played to the heart of Miss Y. Personally, I do not like to
blame both of the female characters. It is Bob giving her a big dream that may
make Miss Y falls in love with him. Males taking the help of lies and retention
win the heart of girls and after making sexual intercourse they leave them but
a girl cannot forget her past relationship with her boyfriend. So, in the play,
Miss Y does not forget Bob whom we know as she sits alone on Christmas Eve in
the restaurant without making a boyfriend.
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