Ibsen and Strindberg Hedda Gabler and Miss Julie
Ibsen and Strindberg - Hedda Gabler and Miss Julie"Compare and contrast the characters of Hedda Gabler and Miss Julie in the plays by Ibsen and Strindberg. Support your findings with comments on the writers attitudes to their characters."
August Strindberg and Henrik Ibsen were both great playwrights of the 19th century, and both played a large role in the evolution of modern day naturalism/ realism. The plays I will be discussing are Ibsen�s Hedda Gabler, (1890) and Strindberg�s Miss Julie (1888). In Karen�s lecture on Strindberg, she told how the two playwrights were rivals in a sense, mainly caused by Strindberg�s attitudes on social issues- Namely his thoughts and theory on the role of women in society. Thus, I am lead to believe that Hedda Gabler was written by Ibsen as a direct retaliation to Strindberg�s Miss Julie, just as Karen believes that Strindberg�s The Father was written as a reply to Ibsen�s Ghosts. Although both plays end with the suicide of the leading character, the circumstances by which they occur are very different.
In order to take these plays in their full context, it is important to examine the lives of the playwrights and see just how much of their own thoughts, beliefs and feelings are reflected in their plays. I feel this is particularly...
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