August Strindberg

August Strindberg – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

August Strindberg (1849–1912) was a pioneering Swedish dramatist, novelist, and painter whose works revolutionized modern theatre. Discover his tumultuous life, radical ideas, major plays, and timeless quotes.

Introduction

Johan August Strindberg, born January 22, 1849, in Stockholm, Sweden, was one of the most influential dramatists in modern literary history. His works laid the foundation for modern expressionism and psychological realism in theatre, exploring the conflicts of class, gender, religion, and the human psyche.

Strindberg’s career was marked by brilliance and controversy. He was not only a playwright but also a novelist, essayist, painter, and early photographer. Through plays like Miss Julie and The Father, he delved deeply into the struggles of identity and power, influencing generations of writers, including Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams, and Ingmar Bergman.

He remains one of Sweden’s greatest literary icons—complex, passionate, and unapologetically honest about the contradictions of human nature.

Early Life and Family

August Strindberg was born in Stockholm to Carl Oscar Strindberg, a shipping agent, and Ulrika Eleonora Norling, a former domestic servant. His father’s middle-class respectability clashed with his mother’s humbler origins, a social disparity that would later become a recurring theme in his writing.

Strindberg’s childhood was difficult. He described his family as “the unhappy family,” and his relationship with both parents was strained. His mother died when he was 13, and soon after, his father remarried—a situation that deepened Strindberg’s sense of alienation.

He attended the University of Uppsala, studying medicine and later languages, but he never completed his degree. While there, he immersed himself in theatre and literature, writing his first play, In Rome, in 1869. This early work marked the beginning of a long and restless artistic journey.

Youth and Education

At university, Strindberg was restless and often rebellious. He explored theology, chemistry, and medicine but found greater passion in writing and performing. Financial hardship forced him to take various jobs—teacher, journalist, librarian—before he finally dedicated himself to literature.

His early exposure to philosophy, religion, and science would profoundly shape his later works. He was particularly influenced by Darwinism, Nietzschean philosophy, and mysticism, combining them into a worldview that oscillated between realism and spiritual struggle.

Career and Achievements

The Early Realist Period (1870s–1880s)

Strindberg’s breakthrough came with The Red Room (Röda rummet, 1879), a satirical novel that criticized Stockholm’s bourgeois society and hypocrisy. The book established him as Sweden’s first modern writer and a fierce social critic.

He followed with plays like:

• The Father (Fadren, 1887) — a brutal psychological drama depicting a man’s collapse in a battle of wills with his wife.

• Miss Julie (Fröken Julie, 1888) — his masterpiece of naturalistic theatre, exploring class, gender, and sexual tension. The play’s candid themes and sexual realism scandalized contemporary audiences.

These works solidified his reputation across Europe as a daring modernist, unafraid to expose uncomfortable truths about human relationships and social hierarchies.

The Inferno Period (1890s)

In the 1890s, Strindberg underwent a profound spiritual and psychological crisis, known as his “Inferno period.” He suffered from paranoia, hallucinations, and isolation. Living in Paris, he experimented with alchemy and mysticism, convinced he was the target of supernatural forces.

Out of this turmoil came his semi-autobiographical novel Inferno (1897), a haunting chronicle of his descent into madness and search for meaning.

The Symbolist and Expressionist Period (1898–1912)

After his breakdown, Strindberg reemerged creatively revitalized. His later works shifted from strict realism to symbolism and expressionism, anticipating 20th-century modern drama.

Major plays from this period include:

• The Dance of Death (Dödsdansen, 1900) — a darkly humorous portrayal of a toxic marriage.

• A Dream Play (Ett drömspel, 1901) — an avant-garde masterpiece blending fantasy and despair, depicting life as a dream filled with suffering and hope.

• The Ghost Sonata (Spöksonaten, 1907) — an early expressionist drama exploring guilt, hypocrisy, and the illusion of purity.

These later plays broke theatrical conventions with fragmented structures, dreamlike sequences, and emotional surrealism—decades before surrealism or existentialism were named.

Historical and Cultural Context

Strindberg’s life unfolded during an era of social upheaval—industrialization, women’s emancipation, and religious doubt were reshaping Europe. His works reflected and challenged these changes.

He rebelled against Victorian moral codes, patriarchal institutions, and religious orthodoxy, often clashing with censors and critics. He was tried for blasphemy in 1884 after publishing Married (Giftas), a collection of short stories critiquing marriage and the church. Though acquitted, the trial marked him as a literary provocateur.

His works also mirrored his inner conflicts—his fascination with women coexisted with fear and resentment, and his shifting worldview oscillated between scientific materialism and spiritual mysticism.

Legacy and Influence

Strindberg’s influence is immense. He is regarded as a founding father of modern theatre, alongside Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekhov, and later, Bertolt Brecht.

His blending of realism, naturalism, and symbolism paved the way for psychological drama and existentialist theatre. Directors like Ingmar Bergman, Max Reinhardt, and Eugene O’Neill openly acknowledged his impact.

Beyond drama, Strindberg was a talented painter and photographer, creating expressionist works long before the term existed. His self-portraits, in particular, anticipate modernist visual experimentation.

Today, his plays remain staples in international theatre repertoires, continually reinterpreted for their timeless exploration of human struggle, gender dynamics, and existential dread.

Personality and Talents

Strindberg was a genius marked by contradictions: visionary yet paranoid, idealistic yet bitter, introspective yet combative.

He was intensely self-aware, often describing himself as “a seeker of truth in an ocean of lies.” His relationships—especially with women—were stormy, reflected in both his art and his three failed marriages.

His multifaceted talents extended beyond writing. He painted landscapes and abstract art, wrote scientific essays, and even designed furniture. His intellectual curiosity was insatiable, though it often fueled his restlessness.

Famous Quotes of August Strindberg

Here are some of Strindberg’s most memorable and thought-provoking quotes:

• “I dream, therefore I exist.”

• “When I see a man of calm cheerfulness, I infer he is a hypocrite.”

• “There are poisons that blind you, and poisons that open your eyes.”

• “The more one has suffered, the less one demands. To protest means you have too much time and too much strength.”

• “Happiness consumes itself like a flame. It cannot burn forever; it must go out, and the ashes are the signs of life.”

• “People are constantly blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances.”

• “One never knows, do one?”

These quotes capture Strindberg’s blend of cynicism, introspection, and existential clarity—his gift for articulating life’s contradictions.

Lessons from August Strindberg

• Embrace complexity. Strindberg’s life and works remind us that contradiction and conflict are intrinsic to the human condition.

• Art can expose truth. His relentless pursuit of authenticity challenged hypocrisy in society, religion, and relationships.

• Suffering fuels creation. His most brilliant works arose from personal crisis, proving pain can be transformative.

• Break conventions. Strindberg’s willingness to experiment with form and theme made him a pioneer of modern expressionism.

• Seek meaning amid chaos. His spiritual journeys and artistic experimentation reflect an unending quest for truth and purpose.

Conclusion

August Strindberg’s life was a storm—of passion, rebellion, and artistic innovation. From naturalistic realism to symbolic dreamscapes, he transformed the theatre into a space of psychological truth and existential exploration.

A century later, his voice still speaks to modern audiences grappling with alienation, identity, and meaning. In his words and art, Strindberg invites us to confront the chaos within ourselves—and to find beauty in the struggle.

“Life is not so bad if you have plenty of luck, a good physique, and not too much imagination.” — August Strindberg