Pålitligt och opålitligt i Strindbergs Den starkare

Reliability and unreliability in Strindberg's 'The Stronger'.

As a monodrama, The Stronger belongs to the rare category of plays that have only one speaking character, Mrs. X. Listening and reacting to her is Miss Y. Mrs. X is married to Bob. Miss Y has been and perhaps still is Bob’s mistress. In the present paper it is argued that unreliability is part of Bob’s and Miss Y’s strategy to keep their relationship secret from Mrs. X. Mrs. X’s monologue, on the other hand, is partly reliable - with regard to certain facts - and partly unreliable, with regard to how she interprets these facts. The question what is reliable and what is - consciously or unconsciously - unreliable in her monologue is crucial both for an assessment of the relationship between the two women and for the balance of strength between them.