top girls 人物分析

Discussion question:1、Discuss the title of the play. Who are the Top Girls in the play? How would you define a Top Girl?2、Look at this women, especially Marlene, what do you think of their success or the feminism? Is it completely good for woman?In my opinion, I think the six women are extremely progressive when compared with most of other ordinary women in that century. The rising of woman’s right is conforms with the tides of the world development. But in Top girls, the author still reflects some problems. In the male authority world, under the marriage organization and the foundations of the church, the experience and practice of these six women exemplifies how to change it. Most of feminists thought that not only can woman do what men do, but we ought to do what men do. On the one side, it is the awakening of the female consciousness. On the other side, from their unhappiness life, we know that individual struggles of these women will never come to really success because the system is too well rooted to overcome. This poor result of the play shows us the dialectics of sex and also the way to beat the current situation: Women should reorganize and redesign their way of struggling against the patriarchal system. CHARACTERSMarlene, managing director of the Top Girls Employment AgencyIsabella Bird (1831-1904), lived in Edinburgh, traveled extensively between the ages of 40 and 70Lady Nijo(b. 1258), Japanese, an emperor’s courtesan and later a Buddhist nun who traveled on footthrough JapanDull Gret, the subject of the Bruegel painting Dulle Griet, in which a woman in an apron and armorleads a crowd of peasant women charging through hell and fighting the devilsPope Joan, disguised as a man, is thought to have been pope between 854 and 856Patient Griselda, the obedient wife whose story is told by Chaucer in "The Clerk’s Tale" of TheCanterbury TalesA WaitressJoyce, Marlene’s sister, a housecleanerAngie,Joyce’s daughter, 16 years oldKit, Angie’s friend, 12 years oldNell, employee of Top Girls Employment AgencyWin, employee of Top Girls Employment AgencyMrs. Kidd, married to an employee of Top Girls Employment AgencyJeanine, a job applicantLouise, a job applicantShona, a job applicanAct 2, Scene 1It is Monday morning at Top Girls. Win and Nell, who work at the agency, are talking. Win tells Nell about her weekend that she spent at her married boyfriend’s house while his wife was out of town. The conversation turns to office gossip. They consider changing jobs as Marlene has been promoted over them, limiting their prospects. Still, Nell and Win are glad Marlene got the job over another coworker, Howard. Marlene enters late. Win and Nell tell her that they are glad she got the promotion rather than Howard.Win interviews Louise, a forty-six-year-old woman who has been in the same job for twenty-one years. Louise has done everything for her company, but has spent twenty years in middle management with no opportunities to go higher. Win believes there will be only limited openings for her.In the main office, Angie walks up to Marlene. Marlene does not recognize her at first. Angie has come to London on her own to see her aunt, and she intends to stay for a while. It is not clear if Joyce knows where Angie is. Angie becomes upset when Marlene does not seem like she wants her to stay.Their conversation is interrupted by the appearance of Mrs. Kidd, Howard’s wife. Mrs. Kidd is upset because Howard cannot accept that Marlene got the promotion to managing director over him. In part, he is disturbed because she is a woman. Mrs. Kidd wants Marlene to turn down the promotion so that he can have it. Mrs. Kidd leaves in a huff when Marlene is rude to her. Angie is proud of her aunt’s saucy attitude.In another interview, Nell talks to Shona, who claims to be twenty-nine and to have worked in sales on the road. As the interview progresses, it becomes clear that Shona has been lying. She is only twenty-one and has no real work experience.In the main office, Win sits down and talks to Angie, who was left there by Marlene while she is working. Angie tells Win that she wants to work at Top Girls. Win begins to tell Angie her life story, but Angie falls asleep. Nell comes in and informs her that Howard has had a heart attack. When Marlene returns, Win tells her about Angie wanting to work at Top Girls. Marlene does not think Angie has much of a future there.Act 2, Scene 2This scene takes place a year earlier in Joyce’s kitchen. Marlene is passing out presents for Joyce and Angie. One of th e gifts is the nice dress that Angie wore in act 1, scene 2. While Angie goes to her room to try it on, Joyce and Marlene are talking. Joyce had no idea that Marlene was coming. Marlene believed Joyce had invited her there. Angie made the arrangements, lying to both of them.Angie returns to show off the dress. They chide her for her deception. Angie reminds her that the last time she visited was for her ninth birthday. Marlene learns that Joyce’s husband left her three years ago. It is getting late, and An gie is sent to bed. Marlene will sleep on the couch.After Angie leaves to get ready for bed, Joyce and Marlene continue their discussion about their lives. The sisters’ conversation turns into an argument. Marlene believes that Joyce is jealous of her success. Joyce criticizes the decisions Marlene has made, including leaving her home and giving up her child, Angie. Marlene offers to send her money, but Joyce refuses.Marlene is excited about a future under the new prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, while Joyce cannot stand the prime minister. They talk about the horrid life their mother led with their alcoholic father. It becomes clear the sisters have very different views of the world. As Marlene nears sleep on the couch, Angie walks in, having had a bad dream. “Frightening,” is all she says.CHARACTERSAngieAngie is the sixteen-year-old adopted daughter of Joyce. Angie is the biological daughter of Marlene, but was given up by her birth mother, who was only seventeen at the time and had career ambitions. In act 1 of Top Girls, Angie realizes that Marlene is her mother, though she has not been told directly. Both Marlene and Joyce do not think highly of Angie and believe her future is limited. She has already left high school with no qualifications. She was in remedial classes, and her best friend is Kit, who is four years younger. Angie is frustrated and wants to murder her mother. Instead, she runs away to visit her aunt in London and hopes to live with her. Previously, Angie tricked Marlene into visiting her and Joyce. Angie is Marlene’s embarrassment, but she is also one of the things that links her to the women at the dinner party.Dull GretDull Gret is one of Marlene’s dinner guests in act 1, scene 1, and the third to arrive. Gret is the subject of a painting by Brueghel entitled “Dulle Griet.” In the painting, she wears an apron and armor and leads a group of women into hell to fight with devils. Gret is generally quiet through most of the dinner, answering questions only when directly asked and making a few comments on the side. Near the end of the scene, Gret makes a speech about her trip to hell and the fight with the devils. Like all the dinner guests, Gret’s story reflects something about Marlene’s life.JeanineMarlene interviews Jeanine for placement by Top Girls in act 1. She is engaged and is saving money to get married. Marlene is not supportive of Jeanine’s ambitions to work in advertising or in a job that might have some travel, but she categorizes her according to what Marlene believes she will be able to accomplish.Pope JoanPope Joan is one of Marlene’s dinner party guests in act 1, scene 1, and the fourth to arrive. She is a woman from the ninth century who allegedly served as the pope from 854 to 856. Pope Joan is somewhat aloof, making relevant, intelligent declarations throughout the conversation. When the topic turns to religion, she cannot help but point out heresies—herself included—though she does not attempt to convert the others to her religion. Joan reveals some of herlife. She began dressing as a boy at age twelve so she could continue to study; she lived the rest of her life as a man, though she had male lovers. Joan was eventually elected pope. She became pregnant by her chamberlain lover and delivered her baby during a papal procession. For this, Joan was stoned to death. At the end of the scene, Joan recites a passage in Latin. Like all the dinner guests, Joan’s life and attitude reflects something about Marlene.JoyceJoyce is Marlene’s elder sister and mother to Angie. Unl ike her younger sister, Joyce stayed in the same area and social class she grew up in. Joyce is unambitious and unhappy. She was married to Frank, but she told him to leave three years previously because he was having affairs with other women. She supports herself and Angie by cleaning houses.Because Joyce seemed to be unable to have children, she adopted Angie as an infant when Marlene decided to give her up. But Joyce soon …Pope Joan [edit]Pope Joan is one of Marlene's dinner party guests in act 1, scene 1, and the fourth to arrive. Pope Joan is somewhat aloof, making relevant, intellectual declarations throughout the conversation. When the topic turns to religion, she cannot help but point out heresies—herself included—though she does not attempt to convert the others to her religion. Joan reveals some of her life. She began dressing as a boy at age twelve so she could continue to study; she lived the rest of her life as a man, though she had male lovers. Joan was eventually elected pope. She became pregnant by her chamberlain lover and delivered her baby during a papal procession. For this, Joan was stoned to death. At the end of the scene, Joan recites a passage in Latin.[3] Like all the dinner guests, Joan's life and attitude reflects something about Marlene. Joan reflects aspects of Marlene's life style.Dull Gret [edit]The subject of the painting "Dulle Griet" by Pieter Breughel, in which a woman wearing an apron and armed with tools of male aggression - armor, helmet, and sword - leads a mob of peasant women into Hell, fighting the devils and filling her basket with gold cups. In the play she eats crudely and steals bottles and plates when no one is looking, putting these in her large apron. Throughout most of the dinner scene, Dull Gret has little to say, making crude remarks such as "Bastard" and "Big cock". Her rare speech is coarse, reductive and amusing while her relative silence adds an element of suspense up to the point where she recounts the tale of his invasion.Lady Nijo [edit]Lady Nijo is a thirteenth century Japanese concubine who enters the play near the beginning of act one and proceeds to tell her tale. As the most materialistic of the women,is influenced by period of time before she became a wandering nun than by the time she spends as a holy woman . We are led to believe it is her social conditioning that Churchill is condemning, not her character, as she is brought up in such a way that she cannot even recognise her own prostitution. She is forced by her father to sleep with the old emperor of Japan, even though she is only 14 years old. She thinks that this wasn't a bad thing, and she acts almost honoured to have been chosen to do so, when discussing it with Marlene in Act 1.Patient Griselda [edit]Patient Griselda is one of Marlene's dinner guests in act one. She is the last to show up to the party, so Marlene and the other characters in the scene order without her. Historically, Griselda first came into prominence when Chaucer adapted her (from earlier texts by Boccaccio) for a story in The Canterbury Tales called "The Clerk's Tale." In Chaucer's tale, and also in Top Girls, Griselda is chosen to be the wife of the Marquis, even though she is only a poor peasant girl. The one condition that he gives her is that she must promise to always obey him. After they have been married for several years, Griselda gives birth to a baby girl. When the baby turns six weeks old the Marquis tells Griselda that she has to give it up, so she does. Four years later Griselda gives birth to a son. She has to also give this child up after two years because it angers the other members of the court. Twelve years after she gave up her last child, the Marquis tells her to go home, which she obeys.[4] The Marquis then comes to Griselda's father's house and instructs her to start preparing his palace forhis wedding. Upon her arrival she sees a young girl and boy and it is revealed that these are her children. All of this suffering was a trial to test her obedience to the Marquis.[5] When she recounts her tale at dinner with the other women it appears in an accurate but slightly shortened form. At dinner with Marlene, Griselda says that she understands her husband's need for complete obedience, but it would have been nicer if he had not done what he did. She spends much of her time defending her husband's actions against Lady Nijo's accusations concerning his character.MarleneJoyceAngieKey ScenesAct 1 from: 'Griselda: Walter found it hard to believe I loved him...' to 'Griselda: I do think - I do wonder - it would have been nicer if Walter hadn't had to'.What are the issues presented in this section?How does the way in which language is used reflect the characters' ways of thinking?Act 2 Scene 1, from Jeanine: 'I'm saving to get married?...to 'Marlene: I think you could make me believe it if you put your mind to it'.What do we learn about Marlene and her values in this exchange between her and Jeanine?Act 2 Scene 2, from: 'Angie: I think I'm my aunt's child. I think my mother's really my aunt'... to 'Angie: I put on this dress to kill my mother'.How are the problems between Angie and Joyce presented in this extract from the play?Act 2 Scene 3, from 'No, but I always want the tough ones when I see them. Hang onto them.' to 'We'd rather it was you than Howard...'.Describe the values that are involved in this conversation between Win, Nell and Marlene.Act 3, from 'Marlene: I left home, so what, I left home. People do leave home / it is normal' to 'Joyce: everyone's always crying in this house. Nobody takes any notice'.What are the tensions in this section of Top Girls?Act 3, from 'Marlene: so what's this about you and Frank?' to 'Angie: frightening'What are the issues at stake between Marlene and Joyce? How is Angie's reaction at the end of the play significant in relation to this family?Language and communicationThe abrupt nature of the utterances in Top Girls reflects a style of playwrighting that is more modern, where a short sentence can be loaded with meaning. The minimal use of words lays bare the main issues while allowing much dramatic effect through their simplicity. There is more strength in what is not said, and the clarity of speech does not mean that there are less issues to decode.The language of misogyny, appropriated by women, is apparent in Joyce's swearing at Angie that she is a 'cunt'. The use of strong language serves to shock, and alongside the use of vocabulary and knowledge of the character's backgrounds, reinforces the class of Marlene and her family. In Angie's case, it shows how Joyce's attitudes and ways of speaking affect her, and is also a response to her hurt feelings.Pope Joan's use of Latin is interesting: Latin has been known as the language of learning, with influence on different languages, especially in the fields concerning medicine, the law and education. Education in Latin was denied to women during medieval times. In speaking Latin to a modern audience, and to her own immediate audience, Joan is alienating others. Her meaning is not important: it is the fragmented nature of the conversation and isolated experience that is reinforced.The lack of support that women give each other is evident at the dinner party hosted by Marlene, where the women do not really consider each other's stories. Marlene acts as a modern female host, reminiscent of the Host of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, bringingtogether diverse people who tell a story but who only tell a story for their own reasons, and for the audience's contemplation, not to share in each other's stories.How does the disjointed use of language in Top Girls affect the unity of the characters in the play?FeminismFeminism is a much-maligned word these days. It is associated with an image that is negative and, quite simply, wrong. Feminists are not man-haters, and nor do they support the idea of inequality between the sexes through a simple realignment of power boundaries. Their aim seemed to be a greater equality, where the dispossessed could begin to exist on a level that had existed for the dominant culture for thousands of years. Churchill, however, wants to explore the achievements of the previous generation, and look at what they gained and lost.Each character's experience is different, and most do not consider how they may have been badly affected by societies, which allow men to control their lives and happiness. Churchill critiques the rights that women have gained and their place in society: she questions whether these rights have brought women independence, opportunity and happiness, or simply defined women in a different way, giving them more options but allowing them less rights concerning decision making, as they try to combine work and personal lives. She questions what feminism is, and whether people who claim they want equal rights are actually acting in the best interests of women - or not. She also highlights the damage that can be done through in fighting, where two separate factions can pull in opposite directions, thereby reducing the potential for achievement.How does Churchill present the freedoms that women have gained in the years preceding her play?SocialismChurchill looks at the idea of a society that has broken down to concentrate on the individual. The Thatcher Government believed in achieving a successful economy above all, involving privatisation and loss of publicly owned services. She once claimed that there was no such thing as society any more, merely individuals. The effects of being working class within such an economy, and affected by such an ideology of individualism are explored. Churchill looks at the effects of Marlene and Joyce's upbringing upon their choices in life, and how their choices affect Angie. She makes it clear that a lack of money has created difficulties for the different generations of their family, and will continue to do so.In what ways does Churchill present the problems of society and not just of gender?EqualityChurchill demonstrates that attitudes and ambitions need to change to achieve true equality. However, she also highlights the difficulty in reconciling people's different aims within one society, where many of them appear conflicting. She also explores the concept of equality between supposed equals, not just in terms of the battle between the sexes.For example, it is apparent that Marlene cannot support anyone with values and priorities different to hers. Neither she nor Joyce support their daughter. Mrs Kidd dismisses women in her motivation for supporting her husband. Each woman is concerned with her own personal life above the well being of her rights.How does Churchill present the conflicts between the women in the play? What does the absence of male characters in the play add to this?Isabella BirdHers life and love:Isabella Bird is the first dinner guest to arrive at Marlene's celebration. In real life as discussed throughout the first act of the play Isabella is a world traveler. What the play does not mention is that she wrote several books, including An English woman in America. A Lady's Life In The Rocky Mountains, and Among the Tibetans. Her adventures take her to all corners of the world. At dinner Isabella tells everyone that she was first instructed to travel by a doctor who thought it would improve her poor health. Following this advice she took her first trip, a sea voyage to America in 1854.As mentioned in the play, she lived with her mother and her younger sister for a long time, Henrietta Bird, who she often talks about with great affection throughout the dinner party. She also mentions Jim Nugent at the party, a man with whom she spent quite a bit of time in America. Outside of the play, Jim was in love with Isabella but she never paid attention to his advances. In real life she once wrote in a letter to her sister "He is a man any woman might love, but no sane woman would marry." Jim would later be found murdered. Isabella is an interesting character at the dinner party in the play, because she seems to have the most in common with Marlene. Isabella, like Marlene, did not marry young because of her career, but later married Dr. John Bishop, who died two days before their 5th anniversary. She refers to him as "my dear husband the doctor" but, despite her love for her husband, is still disappointed with marriage itself ("I did wish marriage had seemed more of a step"). Isabella gets the last words in act 1 and continues to discuss her final travels to Morocco.Character:In Top Girls, Isabella is the first to arrive at the party and dominates the conversation in a self-absorbed manner. She talks on and on about her travels; her complex relationship with her sister, Hennie; her clergyman father, and husband; her illnesses; religion; and her lack of children. While Isabella does listen and respond to the others, she mostly tries to figure out her own life and what it meant. She could never be as good as her sister, but her adventures made her happy. Isabella is one of the characters who helps Marlene define herself.。