Discuss the role of women in Strindberg's plays.

In the preface to his play Miss. Julie, Strindberg states that a modern woman who tries to be equal to a man, "implies a retro-gressive step in evolution, an inferior species who cannot endure". (p 68, Strindberg) As is notable from this quote, Strindberg believed passionately in the inferiority of women to men, and his portrayal of this conviction in his female characters has made his name synonymous with misogyny. In this essay I will discuss …

…any more, so you must go." (p 50, Strindberg, The Father) As a play, Miss. Julie appears to be less misogynistic than The Father, as Strindberg portrays Julie as a victim of her upbringing, and even appears to become mildly sympathetic towards her. He blames most of Julie's neuroses on her mother, however, so the outcome, as in The Father, is that of mothers being responsible for manipulating their daughters into becoming his much-despised 'modern women'.