THE STRONGER - August Strindberg (1849-1912)

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, and several chairs.

The Stronger, a one-act play by August Strindberg explores the power dynamics between two women, X and Y. It is universally considered a classical short play and a 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 café 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 for the fact that only one of the women, Mrs X, speaks, while the other, Miss Y, merely reacts. 

The play is simple. 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; like 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. 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 café 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 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 recognises 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.” 

The play ends with X realising that her words have no effect on Y. The play is a commentary on the ways in which people use language and communication to try and assert power over others.

Story:

Miss Y sits in a corner of a woman's café. 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 café 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-recognised. 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.

Bibliography

Strindberg, A. (2021). The Stronger. In S. Lohani, Visions: (pp. 179-1186). Kathmandu, Nepal: Vidhyarthi Pustak Bhandar.