Top Girls By Caryl Churchill

'Lady Chatterley's Lover' is renowned for its supposed obscenity and daring nature. Perhaps this obscenity is necessary in exploring Lawrence's message of female liberation as our protagonist escapes her loveless marriage. Yet, through feminist interpretation, it may be viewed that this freedom is no more than Lady Chatterley jumping from one gender constraint to another and so women are portrayed as the subordinate sex. Also, criticisms of the portrayal of men become apparent as they too could be seen as victims of stereotypical gender expectations, such as the dominant and stronger sex.

Besides, Margaret as the maid to Hero, is under the deceptive appearance that veiled her witty nature. When she is with the woman, her true self is shown through the use of sexual innuendo when she refers woman as ‘maid and stuffed’ with the idea of pregnancy. She can have bawdy talk just like man when she responds to Hero by saying ‘heavier by the weight of a man’. In a patriarchal society, though women are suppressed, they are not totally submissive and innocent as their true self is veiled by the deceptive appearance.

In El Salvador, “Girls are a Problem” “I don’t want to go back to El Salvador, I felt afraid as a women there more than in any other country in Latin America.” This is how the author, Catalina Lobo-Guerrero, begins her article. We can already tell she is not a fan of El Salvador, and after reading what she had to say about it, it is understandable. Women in El Salvador are considered a problem.

Presenting literature to the public that is meant to be a commentary on social or political issues, masked under the guise of entertaining and fictional, is a tool implemented by authors and activists for centuries. While not all satire is as overt as Jonathan Swift’s suggestion that we eat the babies, it does not diminish the eyebrow raising suggestions that are conveyed once the meaning has been discovered. In Aphra Behn’s The History of the Nun and Eliza Haywood’s Fantomina, the established expectations of the female role within society are brought into question then directly rejected. These expectations establish that women should be deferential to men, morally unblemished, and virtuous at all times. Men, however, are not held to these expectations in the same way. The masculine roles assumed by Isabella and Fantomina demonstrate a private rebellion against the established patriarchal society as it warns against the under-estimation of women and proves that women exist independently.

The feministic movement has been one that has provided many an author with a starting point for novels, films, etc. Through this movement many others began to look into emasculation and if this could be an outcome of feminism. Mary Wilkins’ “The Revolt of Mother” has become a prime example used for this very case according to Michael Grimwood. Grimwood’s journal article delves deep into masculinity and femininity, gender roles and architecture. The author explains how many have used Wilkins’ work as a case for modern feminism; however, he reputes this by using her autobiography as a source demonstrating that it isn’t feminism that drives “Mother” to revolt but “lost patriarchy” that allows her to do so. Although the author acknowledges that this piece can be easily be mistaken for feminism, he argues that the true focus is not on just one character but on both “Mother” and “Father” and how they came to life from her personal experience. His detail and evidence allows the reader to understand how Wilkens’ thought and how she might have assumed life had become. The character’s growth and understanding for one another, as Grimwood explains, could be her deepest desires for what she would have wisher her life to be.

Set in the Victorian era of the 1800’s Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert exemplifies society’s views on the established gender roles of this time. Flaubert utilizes Emma Bovary’s masculinity to accentuate Emma’s desire for control. Her desire for control extends from the social pressure of the period, revealing her envy towards men. Flaubert undoubtedly depicts Emma’s characteristics to have a masculine undertone and throughout the novel her femininity deviates as her priority shifts. Emma’s lack of femininity translates to her relationships by maneuvering an interchanging role of a girlfriend or boyfriend.

Gender roles are undeniably a fundamental topic of critique in literature, particularly since expected gender roles have evolved in recent years. More importantly, the transcendence of these gender expectations indicates the possibility for transformation and increasing liberation in society. History explores many different stages for the sexes and their respective roles, from traditional anti-feminist times in which certain roles were strictly enforced, to more modern beliefs entailing free will and a lack of restrictions. In spite of this progress, there are always those who expedite the process while there are others that hinder development from occurring, even when it is necessary. Literary works in particular serve as a showcase

true worth of women and their roles because she is headstrong. Today, women are similarly

(18) Both of these quotes demonstrate a lack of necessary resources to penetrate through the patriarchy. Prisoners of patriarchy’s right have been taken away with no liberty left, like a real prisoner. The women mentioned by De Beauvoir lack a separate identity from their male counterparts, with virtually nothing to call their own. Both of which are problematic, and prove to be a negative situation. However, do not attest to be the only reason women stay within these molds.

An example of this notion is shown in Hope Leslie when Governor Winthrop, the landlord, reacts to Hope, the tenant, coming home late and refuses to reveal her reason why: “...Winthrop was not accustomed to have his inquisitorial rights resisted by those in his own household, and he was more struck than pleased by Hope’s moral courage” (184). Evidently, Winthrop’s reaction proves that women with “moral courage” are unladylike because moral courage is a manly trait. On the other hand, Esther Downing, another character in Hope Leslie, embodies the cult of true womanhood. Esther’s mere look at her love interest Everell is described as “a look of...pleased dependence, which is natural... and which men like to inspire, because --perhaps -- it seems to them an instinctive tribute to their natural superiority” (219). So, “Esther’s look … of dependence” confirms that the expectation that all women are supposed to have the same behavior, gestures and personality is meant to not only please men but to also hide their true form. Therefore, the cult of true womanhood presents an internal battle in female writers and Sedgwick presents this womanly struggle through the contrast between Hope and Esther. Society wants women to be quaint housewives but publishing a book defies the cult of true womanhood. Thus, defying the qualities rooted in the cult of true womanhood causes high risk of

(Caryl Churchill, 1984. Top Girls. Post production. Grat Britain: Methuen London in association with the Royal Court Theatre, Act 2) ‘All quotations are taken from this edition’

Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls and Brien Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa are both plays set in times of great change. The former deals with the implications of the electoral success of Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first female Prime Minister, while the latter grapples with the consequences of industrialization in Donegal, Ireland. The chief concern of both plays is how political changes affect the choices available to ordinary women. The two plays appear to be making political statements conveying personal standpoints of the playwrights. In the case of Churchill, it can be said that she is critiquing the Conservative

All characters in the novel are living in a man’s world; nevertheless, the author has tried to change this world by the help of her characters. She shows a myriad of opportunities and different paths of life that woman can take, and more importantly she does not show a perfect world, where women get everything they want, she shows a world where woman do make mistakes, but at the same time they are the ones that pay for these mistakes and correct them.

Churchill explores the different characteristics of Marlene from the first scene of Top Girls; we capture the diverse characters that vary the historical, fictional, allegorical aspects to artistically create a melodramatic effect. The opening scene gradually reveals Marlene’s repressions by examining herself through five avatars. The togetherness at a dining table could present women as a communal as they had dealt with similar trials

Because the feminist movement has changed the worldview of humanity, analysis of several plays considering this topic can help improve understanding of this issue. When analyzing certain social phenomenon, it can be useful to use drama as the mirror of reality, where the main characters often deal with the problems from the real world. For example, the play Top Girls by Caryl Churchill deals with the issue of feminism and its influence on the lives of people from different classes. Being known as the playwright who was paying specific attention to the problems of women, Caryl Churchill wrote many plays about the other side of feminism. It is necessary to mention that Caryl Churchill had a keen interest in the struggle of women against the patriarchal system. Living in Great Britain, she was able to see the problems faced by British women in their everyday lives. Moreover, before writing this play, she had visited the USA to discuss the new opportunities of women (Gradesaver). Although American women were enthusiastic about this movement, Caryl Churchill noticed that feminism had also some negative aspects (Gradesaver). The problems of women from workings classes were too obvious to ignore them. Feminism provided various opportunities to a small group of women from upper classes, while other females were still experiencing gender inequality. Seeing success of the Britain’s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the playwright wanted to show that the major women were too far from repeating her achievements.