Miss Julie

by

August Strindberg

Christine Character Analysis

Christine is the cook on the Count’s estate and Jean’s lover. In contrast to Julie, Christine models conventional, nurturing femininity, cooking and comforting Jean even when he is cold or distant. Christine is a servant who, unlike Jean, has no designs about improving her social standing, and sees the desire to improve one’s social position as disloyal. According to Strindberg, Christine “is a female slave, full of servility and sluggishness acquired in front of the kitchen fire, and stuffed full of morality and religion.” And indeed, Christine hides behind conventional piety and godliness in order to shame Miss Julie for her promiscuity, and to chastise Jean for his desire to achieve his social ascent at the expense of someone else. Because Strindberg views Jean’s manipulation of Miss Julie as a necessary step in his escape from servitude, he views Christine’s morality, by contrast, as a weakness—characteristic of those working class people who, unlike Jean, do not possess the intelligence and drive to succeed in the world. However, Christine ultimately uses her moral and spiritual high ground to leave the Count’s estate. By promising to inform the stable boy of any plot by Jean or Julie to escape, Christine seals Julie’s fate and makes Jean unable to escape as well.

Christine Quotes in Miss Julie

The Miss Julie quotes below are all either spoken by Christine or refer to Christine. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Biology vs. Society Theme Icon
).
Miss Julie Quotes

They were in the stable yard one evening, and the young lady was training him, as she called it. Do you know what that meant? She made him leap over her horse whip the way you teach a dog to jump.

Related Characters: Jean (speaker), Miss Julie, Christine
Page Number: 2
Explanation and Analysis:

…but there's after all some difference between one kind of people and another- No, but this is something I'll never get over – And the young lady was so proud, and so tart to the men, that you couldn't believe she would ever let one come near her-and such a one at that!

Related Characters: Christine (speaker), Miss Julie, Jean
Page Number: 27
Explanation and Analysis:

That’s good and well, but it isn't my style to think of dying all at once for the sake of wife and children. I must say that my plans have been looking toward something better than that kind of thing

Related Characters: Jean (speaker), Christine
Page Number: 28
Explanation and Analysis:
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Christine Quotes in Miss Julie

The Miss Julie quotes below are all either spoken by Christine or refer to Christine. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Biology vs. Society Theme Icon
).
Miss Julie Quotes

They were in the stable yard one evening, and the young lady was training him, as she called it. Do you know what that meant? She made him leap over her horse whip the way you teach a dog to jump.

Related Characters: Jean (speaker), Miss Julie, Christine
Page Number: 2
Explanation and Analysis:

…but there's after all some difference between one kind of people and another- No, but this is something I'll never get over – And the young lady was so proud, and so tart to the men, that you couldn't believe she would ever let one come near her-and such a one at that!

Related Characters: Christine (speaker), Miss Julie, Jean
Page Number: 27
Explanation and Analysis:

That’s good and well, but it isn't my style to think of dying all at once for the sake of wife and children. I must say that my plans have been looking toward something better than that kind of thing

Related Characters: Jean (speaker), Christine
Page Number: 28
Explanation and Analysis: