Kluka 1 Kevin Kluka ENG 2570 Laura Estill 4.21.

2009 Top Girls

In her play Top Girls, Caryl Churchill presents the audience with several Top Girls from different time periods dining together simultaneously to argue that although Marlene has reached a position of high power in a relatively modern age, women have been accomplishing the feat throughout history. Marlene the main character of the story, works at an employment agency named Top Girls. In order to do so, she makes personal sacrifices such as estranging her relationship between her entire family and even abandoning Angie, her own daughter. Aside from the name of the agency, Marlene herself becomes a top girl in doing all of this. As the play begins, Marlene is found at a restaurant with Isabella Bird first; Isabella, like Marlene, was a top girl in history. Like Marlene, Isabella put herself and her career before anything else. I didnt get married till I was fifty, (3) claims Isabella. In the play she claims to have done everything from needlework and music to studying metaphysical poets. She was a top girl because she traveled around the world and met many people. Over dinner, Isabella claims she once met the Emperor of Morocco. (2) Second to arrive to dinner was Lady Nijo.

Kluka 2 Lady Nijo was a top girl like Marlene because she was concubine of Emperor GoFukakusa and then later a Buddhist nun. (10) Also, similar to Marlene, she lost a baby soon after giving birth (16). Lady Nijo most resembles Marlene as a top girl because she took in upon herself to get back at the emperor by beating him as he did her (27). Following lady Nijo, and Pope Joan arrive at dinner. Pope Joan is obviously a top girl because she was supposedly pope early on in history. Not only is Pope Joan similar to Marlene because she had a baby, but she also held a so called mans position. While Pope, Joan consecrated bishops and let people kiss her feet. (14) All of these women occupied very powerful positions throughout history. Caryl Churchill creates a character, Marlene, to show that women can rise to the top of whatever they want to do not only in the present, but they have done so in the past and will continue to for the future to come.

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Work Cited Churchill, Caryl. Top Girls. London: Methuen Drama: A&C Black Ltd, 1982.