Miss Julie is perhaps the most famous play in the style of naturalism. It focuses on Miss Julie, a headstrong yet confused aristocratic lady who has just broken off her engagement. She is drawn to Jean, an enticing and educated valet who works for her father. The action takes place in the kitchen of Miss Julie's father's manor, where Jean's fiancée, a servant named Christine, cooks and sometimes sleeps while Jean and Miss Julie talk. One night the relationship between Miss Julie and Jean escalates rapidly to feelings of love and is subsequently consummated. Over the course of the play Miss Julie and Jean battle for the upper hand in the relationship, and struggle with a plan to move forward with their lives. Jean finally convinces Julie that the only way to escape her predicament is to commit suicide. A complex play that examines social order and sexuality.
Miss Julie guide sections
