Caryl Churchill\'s Play Top Girls Explores Gender

Caryl Churchill's play Top Girls explores gender issues in Thatcher-Era British society. Churchill contrasts feminism that simply enforces patriarchy, embodied by Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister, and a feminism that is more radical and transformative. Marlene exemplifies the type of woman who is achieving personal goals but only within a patriarchal framework that continues to exploit not only women but also people of color and secondary social class status. Her success does not represent the goals of feminism, which are to create a more egalitarian society for all people. Therefore, the text advocates second wave feminism, which is presented as a whole social revolution that is more inclusive of issues related to class and race as well as personal and political power.

The opening scene of Top Girls shows different forms of feminism and female achievements of historical power. Weaving the stories of famous females throughout the play allows Churchill to explore different types of power, different types of change, and different types of feminism. Marlene is contrasted sharply with women who achieved their power more subversively than she did.

However, Churchill also examines the conflicts and challenges inherent in female social transformation. One of the core issues of Top Girls is how to reconcile power with interpersonal relationship intimacy. For example, women like Nijo and Isabella enjoy a great degree of personal freedom but at the expense of forming powerful emotional ties. Churchill also introduces the remarkable character of Pope Joan, who poses as a man to gain and retain her status in the Church. Joan is therefore akin to Thatcher as well as Marlene: they imitate the patriarchal ways of men. Although Marlene and Joan are females in positions of power, that power comes at a great cost. In fact, they play shows that feminism has achieved little in light of the accomplishments of those who would simply achieve status within the patriarchal framework.

The character of Joyce is a perfect example of why the patriarchal framework is invalid from a feminist standpoint. Joyce is an exaggerated version of domestic slavery, which has plagued women and which true feminists fight against. Thus, Chruchill is able to explore the concept of undervalued female labor. Marlene's inability to care for her children represents the opposite, and unattractive, extreme of a person who has sacrificed her human values for personal gain.

Therefore, another theme of Top Girls is social solidarity, especially in relation to female solidarity or sisterhood. Churchill suggests that the achievement of personal goals such as career goals often comes at the expense of collective awareness and altruism. The more effective feminism is one that uplifts others and empowers others, and not just the self. Women's resistance must always be framed within a political, and not just personal context.