SOURCE: Weinstein, Arnold. “Child's Play: The Cradle Song in Strindberg's Fadren.” Scandinavian Studies 66, no. 3 (summer 1994): 336-60.

In the following essay, Weinstein highlights the child's voice in Fadren.

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Fadren has long been seen as predominantly a war between the sexes, and it is hard not to view the role of the child, Bertha, as something of a pawn. As is well known, the play revolves around the power struggle as to who will finally control the fate of the child, and this nineteenth century custody battle finishes with Laura's triumphal cry, “Mitt Barn! Mitt eget Barn!” (98) [“My child! My own child!” (49)], leaving little doubt as to the central issues of the text: ownership, control.

But does the child herself have a voice?

This question is not irrelevant. The first time we meet her, she bursts into the room where the Captain and the Pastor are speaking, and she cries...