The stronger

August Strindberg (1849-1912) may not be well known outside of the world of theatrical production, but his innovations are known even to non-theater goers. He was a man of many interests and talents and an author with an uncommon range of styles, influenced by a variety of other authors and philosophers and influencing many more over the next centuries. He was interested in the Symbolist movement of the visual arts and was associated with such artists as Edvard Munch in Berlin and Paul Gauguin in Paris.
The The Stronger is one of Strindberg’s tight plays with a tendency toward reduction of scenic elements, lighting devices or stage props, characters and dialogue. In a sense, this play, among others, reflects Strindberg’s artistic use of the irrational and even of absurdism . Some scholars categorize this play as realistic or naturalistic regarding the content. Indeed, in the world of drama, the name Strindberg has been persistently viewed as one of the predecessors of modern drama with his naturalistic style. T?rnqvist (1991) calls this play as a subjective play because the protagonist’s point of view rules from beginning to end. The other character, Miss Y, has no point of view. The audience can only read her through her gestures and reactions. T?rnqvist (1991) further argues that Strindberg’s theory of the subjective play seems to coincide with that of the psychological novel. The subjectivity of a character reflects his or her ego. Strindberg in T?rnqvist (1991) states that one’s ego is not a unit in itself; it is a conglomeration of reflexes, a complex of urges, drives, alternately suppressed and unleashed. The character Mrs. X clearly reflects his definition of ego. Based on this theory, one thus cannot tell whether the second character, Miss. Y is a real person or a hallucination on the part of the protagonist, arising from her jealousy and guilt feelings. The nature of the play is more psychological than realistic drama is supported by Ollen, who calls it the battle of minds an extremely astute study of female psychology. Strindberg is proud with his experiment with this play when he wrote to his third wife; give me two people, and I shall create a world, give me three, and I shall move it . The first Swedish production was performed by a touring company from 1903 to 1904. It was first performed in Stockholm at the Intimate Theater on December 5, 1907. .etc.