Sadomasochism in <i>Miss Julie</i>: A Slave-Master Discourse

Iftakhar Ahmed

doi:doi:10.11648/j.hss.20231102.13

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Sadomasochism in Miss Julie: A Slave-Master Discourse

Iftakhar Ahmed

Published in Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 11, Issue 2)

Received: 2 March 2023 Accepted: 27 March 2023 Published: 23 April 2023

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Abstract

This article offers an entrancing study of the rapport between a female master and a male servant in the play Miss Julie written by August Strindberg. This qualitative study adopts textual analysis approach as a research method. Jean, a male servant, lives in permanent servitude to his female master, Miss Julie. Jean and Julie execute sadomasochistic impulses impudently throughout the play. The differential social status is accountable for the ultimate tragic end of the slave-master relationship. The credo of sadomasochism is synthesized in the characters demonstrating the hierarchy of class and gender from the beginning to the end of the play. The relationship between Julie and Jean evokes Hegel’s notion of master-slave dialectic which is accumulated in this study. Friedrich Hegel puts forward in his popular philosophical writing, The Phenomenology of Spirit, that slave depends on their master for their very existence. Conversely, the master is also dependent on the slave for their recognition. But the master cannot achieve the kind of recognition they desire from the slave. There creates a mismatch between reality and ideal as the master needs recognition from the independent consciousness, whereas the slave possesses dependent consciousness. According to Hegel, the master's existence is essentially hollow and lacking in fulfillment. Likewise, the master Julie also depends on the slave Jean for her recognition. Ultimately Julie's existence lacks fulfillment as she fails to get recognition from the slave Jean's dependent consciousness. It is obvious that Miss Julie is a misogynistic play where the male servant is hostile to his female master. This study has tended to focus on how the dichotomy of sadism and masochism illuminates the slave-master discourse in the play Miss Julie.

Published in	Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 11, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.hss.20231102.13
Page(s)	57-61
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Sadism, Masochism, Sadomasochism, Textual Analysis

References

[1]	Caulfield, Jack. Textual Analysis \| Guide, 3 Approaches & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 21 November 2022, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/research-methods/textual-analysis-explained/
[2]	Davari, Hossein. A marxist reading of miss Julie. International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences (2015). pp 109 -118, https://doi.org/10.18052/www.scipress.com/ILSHS.64.109
[3]	Feilmeier, J. D. “Hegel’s Master-Slave Dialectic: the search for self-consciousness”. Writing Anthology, 1 Oct. 2022, https://central.edu/writing-anthology/2019/07/08/hegels-master-slave-dialectic-the-search-for-self-consciousness/.
[4]	Frey, Lawrence, Botan, Carlh, & Kreps, Gary. (1999). Investigating Communication: An Introduction to Research Methods. Cambridge: Pearson.
[5]	Harrison, Cleveland. Miss Julie: Essence and anomaly of naturalism, Central States Speech Journal, 1970. 21: 2, 87-92, DOI: 10.1080/10510977009363003.
[6]	Hawkins, Jennifer Morey. “Textual Analysis”. SAGE Publications, 2017. Vols. 1-4, DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135 /9781483381411.
[7]	Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. The Phenomenology of Spirit, trans, 1910. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
[8]	“Hegel: the master-servant dialectic.” YouTube, uploaded by Overthink Podcast, 19 March, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKz-HtOPvjE.
[9]	“Hegel’s Master/Slave Dialectic in The Phenomenology of Spirit”. think Philosophy, 12 May, 2017, https://philosophyp ublics.medium.com/hegels-master-slave-dialectic-in-the-phenomenology-of-spirit-4ef9f61f541d
[10]	Jain, Sonali. “Miss Julie: A Psychoanalytic Study”. Epiphany: Journal of Transdisciplinary Studies, Vol. 8, No. 2. Faculty of Arts and Social Science, 2015.
[11]	Kreps, Barbara. “The Paradox of Women: The Legal Position of Early Modern Wives and Thomas Dekker’s ‘The Honest Whore.’” ELH, vol. 69, no. 1, 2002, pp. 83–102. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/30032012. Accessed 24 Mar. 2023.
[12]	“Litcharts”. Miss Julie. 2 October 2022. https://www.litcharts.com/lit/miss-julie/missjulie?fbclid=IwAR2HTcTLd54mHZL6v8Qer6Aze844wQhYji2RujVlxRw0UBid3uvtvhzDbKE
[13]	“Sadomasochism”. Encyclopaedia Britannica: 1 October 2022. https://www.britannica.com/topic/sadomasochism.
[14]	Strindberg, August. Miss Julie and Other Plays, 1998. Oxford University Press: Oxford.
[15]	Vowles, Richard, & Steene, Birgitta. The greatest fire: A study of August Strindberg. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1973.
[16]	Yang, Nayoung. “Counter Attack of Julie: Feminist Reading of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie”. International Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, 2016, 2 (3), 91-97.

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Iftakhar Ahmed. (2023). Sadomasochism in Miss Julie: A Slave-Master Discourse. Humanities and Social Sciences, 11(2), 57-61. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20231102.13

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Iftakhar Ahmed. Sadomasochism in Miss Julie: A Slave-Master Discourse. Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2023, 11(2), 57-61. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20231102.13

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Iftakhar Ahmed. Sadomasochism in Miss Julie: A Slave-Master Discourse. Humanit Soc Sci. 2023;11(2):57-61. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20231102.13

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@article{10.11648/j.hss.20231102.13,
  author = {Iftakhar Ahmed},
  title = {Sadomasochism in Miss Julie: A Slave-Master Discourse},
  journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
  volume = {11},
  number = {2},
  pages = {57-61},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20231102.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20231102.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20231102.13},
  abstract = {This article offers an entrancing study of the rapport between a female master and a male servant in the play Miss Julie written by August Strindberg. This qualitative study adopts textual analysis approach as a research method. Jean, a male servant, lives in permanent servitude to his female master, Miss Julie. Jean and Julie execute sadomasochistic impulses impudently throughout the play. The differential social status is accountable for the ultimate tragic end of the slave-master relationship. The credo of sadomasochism is synthesized in the characters demonstrating the hierarchy of class and gender from the beginning to the end of the play. The relationship between Julie and Jean evokes Hegel’s notion of master-slave dialectic which is accumulated in this study. Friedrich Hegel puts forward in his popular philosophical writing, The Phenomenology of Spirit, that slave depends on their master for their very existence. Conversely, the master is also dependent on the slave for their recognition. But the master cannot achieve the kind of recognition they desire from the slave. There creates a mismatch between reality and ideal as the master needs recognition from the independent consciousness, whereas the slave possesses dependent consciousness. According to Hegel, the master's existence is essentially hollow and lacking in fulfillment. Likewise, the master Julie also depends on the slave Jean for her recognition. Ultimately Julie's existence lacks fulfillment as she fails to get recognition from the slave Jean's dependent consciousness. It is obvious that Miss Julie is a misogynistic play where the male servant is hostile to his female master. This study has tended to focus on how the dichotomy of sadism and masochism illuminates the slave-master discourse in the play Miss Julie.},
 year = {2023}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Sadomasochism in Miss Julie: A Slave-Master Discourse
AU  - Iftakhar Ahmed
Y1  - 2023/04/23
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20231102.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.hss.20231102.13
T2  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JF  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JO  - Humanities and Social Sciences
SP  - 57
EP  - 61
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-8184
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20231102.13
AB  - This article offers an entrancing study of the rapport between a female master and a male servant in the play Miss Julie written by August Strindberg. This qualitative study adopts textual analysis approach as a research method. Jean, a male servant, lives in permanent servitude to his female master, Miss Julie. Jean and Julie execute sadomasochistic impulses impudently throughout the play. The differential social status is accountable for the ultimate tragic end of the slave-master relationship. The credo of sadomasochism is synthesized in the characters demonstrating the hierarchy of class and gender from the beginning to the end of the play. The relationship between Julie and Jean evokes Hegel’s notion of master-slave dialectic which is accumulated in this study. Friedrich Hegel puts forward in his popular philosophical writing, The Phenomenology of Spirit, that slave depends on their master for their very existence. Conversely, the master is also dependent on the slave for their recognition. But the master cannot achieve the kind of recognition they desire from the slave. There creates a mismatch between reality and ideal as the master needs recognition from the independent consciousness, whereas the slave possesses dependent consciousness. According to Hegel, the master's existence is essentially hollow and lacking in fulfillment. Likewise, the master Julie also depends on the slave Jean for her recognition. Ultimately Julie's existence lacks fulfillment as she fails to get recognition from the slave Jean's dependent consciousness. It is obvious that Miss Julie is a misogynistic play where the male servant is hostile to his female master. This study has tended to focus on how the dichotomy of sadism and masochism illuminates the slave-master discourse in the play Miss Julie.
VL  - 11
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Author Information

Iftakhar Ahmed

Department of English, Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Tangail, Bangladesh

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Iftakhar Ahmed. (2023). Sadomasochism in Miss Julie: A Slave-Master Discourse. Humanities and Social Sciences, 11(2), 57-61. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20231102.13

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Iftakhar Ahmed. Sadomasochism in Miss Julie: A Slave-Master Discourse. Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2023, 11(2), 57-61. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20231102.13

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Iftakhar Ahmed. Sadomasochism in Miss Julie: A Slave-Master Discourse. Humanit Soc Sci. 2023;11(2):57-61. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20231102.13

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@article{10.11648/j.hss.20231102.13,
  author = {Iftakhar Ahmed},
  title = {Sadomasochism in Miss Julie: A Slave-Master Discourse},
  journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
  volume = {11},
  number = {2},
  pages = {57-61},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20231102.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20231102.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20231102.13},
  abstract = {This article offers an entrancing study of the rapport between a female master and a male servant in the play Miss Julie written by August Strindberg. This qualitative study adopts textual analysis approach as a research method. Jean, a male servant, lives in permanent servitude to his female master, Miss Julie. Jean and Julie execute sadomasochistic impulses impudently throughout the play. The differential social status is accountable for the ultimate tragic end of the slave-master relationship. The credo of sadomasochism is synthesized in the characters demonstrating the hierarchy of class and gender from the beginning to the end of the play. The relationship between Julie and Jean evokes Hegel’s notion of master-slave dialectic which is accumulated in this study. Friedrich Hegel puts forward in his popular philosophical writing, The Phenomenology of Spirit, that slave depends on their master for their very existence. Conversely, the master is also dependent on the slave for their recognition. But the master cannot achieve the kind of recognition they desire from the slave. There creates a mismatch between reality and ideal as the master needs recognition from the independent consciousness, whereas the slave possesses dependent consciousness. According to Hegel, the master's existence is essentially hollow and lacking in fulfillment. Likewise, the master Julie also depends on the slave Jean for her recognition. Ultimately Julie's existence lacks fulfillment as she fails to get recognition from the slave Jean's dependent consciousness. It is obvious that Miss Julie is a misogynistic play where the male servant is hostile to his female master. This study has tended to focus on how the dichotomy of sadism and masochism illuminates the slave-master discourse in the play Miss Julie.},
 year = {2023}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Sadomasochism in Miss Julie: A Slave-Master Discourse
AU  - Iftakhar Ahmed
Y1  - 2023/04/23
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20231102.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.hss.20231102.13
T2  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JF  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JO  - Humanities and Social Sciences
SP  - 57
EP  - 61
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-8184
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20231102.13
AB  - This article offers an entrancing study of the rapport between a female master and a male servant in the play Miss Julie written by August Strindberg. This qualitative study adopts textual analysis approach as a research method. Jean, a male servant, lives in permanent servitude to his female master, Miss Julie. Jean and Julie execute sadomasochistic impulses impudently throughout the play. The differential social status is accountable for the ultimate tragic end of the slave-master relationship. The credo of sadomasochism is synthesized in the characters demonstrating the hierarchy of class and gender from the beginning to the end of the play. The relationship between Julie and Jean evokes Hegel’s notion of master-slave dialectic which is accumulated in this study. Friedrich Hegel puts forward in his popular philosophical writing, The Phenomenology of Spirit, that slave depends on their master for their very existence. Conversely, the master is also dependent on the slave for their recognition. But the master cannot achieve the kind of recognition they desire from the slave. There creates a mismatch between reality and ideal as the master needs recognition from the independent consciousness, whereas the slave possesses dependent consciousness. According to Hegel, the master's existence is essentially hollow and lacking in fulfillment. Likewise, the master Julie also depends on the slave Jean for her recognition. Ultimately Julie's existence lacks fulfillment as she fails to get recognition from the slave Jean's dependent consciousness. It is obvious that Miss Julie is a misogynistic play where the male servant is hostile to his female master. This study has tended to focus on how the dichotomy of sadism and masochism illuminates the slave-master discourse in the play Miss Julie.
VL  - 11
IS  - 2
ER  -

Copy | Download