Caryl Churchill has a repute for bring forthing work that examined modern-day issues, frequently in disputing and confrontational ways and Top misss is no exclusion. It can be seen in the visible radiation of a feminist drama due to the reoccurring inquiry that comes up while reading the drama of what it means to be a successful adult female. Throughout this essay, I will demo what is incorrect with being a `top girl? .
At the beginning of the drama you are introduced to the chief character, Marlene, who is a top miss. A top miss being: a adult female who is successful in her calling. During the drama you become cognizant that Marlene is at the extremum of her calling and has come a long manner from working category to about upper in-between category but that she has made some forfeits along the manner to achieve her place. First, she gave her kid to her sister, Joyce ( p. 80 ) . Following to that, it appears that she has besides sacrificed her personal life. She seems to hold no existent friends to ask for to the dinner party and therefor invites historical adult females. Marlene besides has troubles to happen a adult male that will accept her as the successful adult female that she is and that will non seek to alter her into a `little woman? ( p. 83 ) .
Although Marlene built herself up in her calling and is an educated adult female, in a different position, she is non a top miss. She was non able to pull off everything she had and win while covering with it all ; hence go forthing her kid to her sister. Harmonizing to Marlene she had to take between her calling and being a female parent ( p. 80 ) . However, Marlene ‘s sister Joyce has sacrificed her personal life and ends to raise her sister ‘s kid. Leaving us to oppugn, what good is it being a top miss if it ‘s at the disbursal of other adult females?
Harmonizing to a feminist position of equality, thrust, aspiration and ability, Marlene should hold been able to beguile her calling and her maternity. She should hold non worried about losing out on chances. You can reason at the terminal of the drama that Marlene is non a women’s rightist at all but that she is really much an individualist: `I believe in the individual? ( p. 84 ) . She worries about herself and her ain demands alternatively of lifting to her ain personal duties. She believes that everyone creates their ain fortune because, as she tells her sister Joyce, `Anyone can make anything if they?ve got what it takes? ( p. 86 ) .
Marlene is a director at a top miss company and is keeping interviews for people to work at the company. During the interviews you notice how ruthless and cold ( p. 46 ) Marlene is in relation to the on the job universe and to who is or is non qualified sufficiency to acquire the place. You see her take the function of a really business-like male attitude ( p. 31 ) . She interrupts the interviewee during their meeting and is really direct in stating them whether they have possible to fall in the company or non ( p. 30 ) .
Furthermore, Marlene is really cognizant of her possible and believes that work forces and adult female should hold the same rights/opportunities. She makes this clear when she discusses with Howard ‘s married woman, the adult male who lost the direction place to her, about how the place was given to the most worth individual ( p.p 58-59 ) . Howards married woman picks up on her male attitude and accuses Marlene of being masculine and unnatural ( p. 59 ) .
Her colleagues hold the same position as Marlene ‘s, in relation to rejecting the traditional female aspirations of get downing a household, and they would instead concentrate on their callings like Marlene did ( p. 58 ) . One colleague, Nell, does non desire to acquire married ( p. 48 ) and the other, Win, is holding an matter with a married adult male ( p. 45 ) .
In Act 2, scene 3 you hear Marlene ‘s colleagues speaking about their weekend. Win suggests that Nell could acquire married and continue working. Nell ‘s response is a really unnatural one ; `or I could travel on working and non get married him? ( p. 48 ) . She is happy to utilize work forces for her ain pleasance but non to perpetrate to any. When the drama was written, in 1982, this response would hold been seen more as a male response than a female due to the fact that this was far more a male attitude to hold than a adult female.
All adult females in this company keep a really professional tone to themselves but they besides all follow really much a male function in relation to their callings and taking attention of concern ( p. 46 ) . Generally adult females want to settle and get down a household, but because they are such business-like adult females they do non see the demand of this and happen themselves already fulfilled with their high ranking, successful occupations.
Additionally none of the colleagues, like Marlene, are true top misss. They have adopted male behavior alternatively of developing their ain adult female inspired function theoretical accounts. They have non excelled in anything besides their calling.
What is besides unsound about these `top girls? is that they do non see work forces as peers at all and at times discuss their male clients with the term `pretty? ( p. 50 ) . This presents us with their really degrading position of how they see work forces in the concern environment ; nevertheless it besides shows that they have adequate assurance to turn to work forces in these footings.
One of the purposes of the Woman ‘s Liberation motion in the 1970s was to alter the nomenclature used to turn to adult females such as, babe, sweetheart, miss, bird… Interestingly enough these `top girls? , in the drama, use the same nomenclature to name each other ( p. 48, 64 ) . It seems that to them it is all right to name each other these footings but non to hold work forces name them that ; which defeats the intent of female equality and gives a sense of female high quality. You could besides state that these top misss do non see themselves as adult females but see themselves as successful `people? so they do non fall in the class of adult females contending for/supporting that issue.
Although all adult female in the drama, after the first act, that are considered as `top girls? are adult female who have excelled in their calling you could reason that Joyce, Marlene ‘s sister, is slightly a top miss herself. Despite the fact of non holding a successful calling she is the lone character in the drama that tries to pull off her duties. She has several different occupations, is raising her sister ‘s kid and still holds the duty of look intoing on her female parent, like she informs Marlene `somebody has to? ( p. 79 ) .
The first scene in the drama shows what true top misss were before the feminist motion. It reveals the obstructions that they had to get the better of and the freedom that adult female presents have and take for granted. The adult females in the first scene are all adult females who have suffered in some manner and have succeeded in being great without the demand of traveling over other adult females to acquire at that place. They succeeded in the dominate-male universe they lived in. This is the antonym of how Marlene has succeeded. Marlene succeeded at the disbursal of other adult female.
In Act 1 Marlene raises a toast ‘To our bravery and the manner we changed our lives and our extraordinary achievements? ( p. 13 ) . The usage of `we? and `our? are really important ; it shows that Marlene considers herself as a adult female who has struggled for her success but that has eventually gained personal fulfilment. On the contrary, the other adult females have been through much more than Marlene of all time did. These past adult female are the true top misss who have been through it all in order for the following coevalss of adult female to be free and independent.
It is striking that the lone top miss that was obedient to work forces, Griselda, is the lone 1 who is happy and pleased in her life. You could state that Griselda shows that virtuousness is its ain wages. Marlene ne’er waited for things and made things go on herself ; which leads to an challenging comparing between these characters. Griselda obeyed and waited and in the terminal is content and happy, while Marlene created her ain success but abandoned other of import things in her life to acquire at that place and is now unsated. You see Marlene ‘s dissatisfaction throughout the whole drama, with her imbibing, holding abortions, non happening a suited adult male and seeking to do damagess with her sister.
In decision, the rubric is called `Top girls? with an `S? . The drama explores the different versions of `top girls? in different epochs. These distinguishable versions of `top girls? demonstrates the diverseness of womankind. The drama demonstrates that adult females do non hold merely one quality or one thing that characterizes them like: calling adult females, married womans, female parents, girls or sisters ; they are complex persons like any human being and have to beguile precedences and duties to accomplish what they consider to carry through themselves. These assortments of qualities that adult females have and that are able to beguile with in life are what should do them a true top miss.
