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  • Essay / Main character's battle between Apollonian and Dionysian duality in Miss Julie

    In The Birth of Tragedy, Nietzche discusses at length the duality inherent in the development of art. This duality is caused by two opposing principles called Apollonian and Dionysian. These two principles are implemented in August Strindberg's Miss Julie through the main character Miss Julie. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay Social class is a major theme of the play and its relationship to Apollonian and Dionysian duality is evident when observing Miss Julie. Throughout the play, Miss Julie is caught between staying in her class and leaving it. It is his struggle between Apollonian reason and Dionysian desire, respectively. The very idea of ​​class is Apollonian – based on rationality and division of individuals – while the idea of ​​the absence of a class system is Dionysian – based on community. Miss Julie constantly moves back and forth between these two ideas, and her inner struggle is clearly seen through the apparent symbolism of her recurring dream: "I climbed to the top of a pillar, and I sit there, and I see no way to get down. When I look down, I feel dizzy, but I have to go down, but I don't have the courage to jump. I can't stay up there, and I want to fall, but I don't. " (Strindberg 127). She is visibly extremely conflicted, wanting on the one hand to break away from her class, while on the other thinking that her social constraints make this impossible. In Nietzschean terms, Miss Julie's Dionysian desire can be considered as an “intoxicated reality” because, in class terms, it “seeks to destroy the individual and redeem him through a mystical feeling of unity” (Nietzche 38) this class struggle within Miss Julie illustrates duality. of Nietzche, but so is the entire composition of his character as presented by Strindberg. In the preface, Strindberg suggests the motivations for Miss Julie's fate at the end of the play, listing "the festive atmosphere of the play." Summer night; the absence of her father; her menstruation; her association with animals; the intoxicating effect of dancing... the aphrodisiac influence of flowers..." (Strindberg 102). These motivations can be seen as Dionysian forces, which Miss Julie must counter with rationality and avoid allowing herself to be driven hysterical. In Nietzschean terms, she must “keep in mind this measured restraint, this freedom of the wildest emotions, this calm of the sculptor god” (Nietzche 35). Again, her motivations are Dionysian desires, which she must control with Apollonian reason. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Finally, what happens to Miss Julie at the end of the play illustrates the Apollonian/Dionysian duality on many levels. First, in the preface, Strindberg states that Miss Julie is of the half-woman type and then explains that this type gives birth to an "indeterminate sex for whom life is torture, but fortunately they disappear... because let their repressed instinct burst forth uncontrollably..." (Strindberg 104). This is remarkably similar to Nietzche's descriptions of the relationship between Apollonian and Dionysian cultures. Nietzche asserts that Apollonian consciousness, the "mere appearance" of the daily life through the eyes of the individual, is only a veil used to hide the Dionysian world of suffering It seems that Miss Julie was safely hidden behind this veil until the end where she asks to. Jean to order him to commit suicide.,.