Joan says this while explaining that as she rose through the Church hierarchy, she always believed that God, knowing she was a woman, approved of her ascent. However, when she became Pope and failed to establish a direct connection with God, Joan took this to indicate his disapproval. Joan’s statement is deeply ironic, since to a modern audience the idea of speaking directly with God, even by the Pope, seems ridiculous. However, this statement also indicates the intensity of the gender divide during Joan's time. While women like Mrs. Kidd may look down upon Marlene's promotion over a man, in Joan's time, the patriarchy was so deeply seated that people believed only men could communicate with the Almighty. Joan sacrificed her life in her rebellion against the patriarchy - so at least Marlene is living in a slightly more civil time. years and up should be offered this book to read as it can show how easily they can be pulled into this world by a few kind words and treats. Not everyone has someone in their corner, and you listen to your teen daughters telling you about their deeply hurting school mates, their mental health issues, the struggles that they are having, we are clearly letting our kids down. And when we do, there are people lurking, waiting to take advantage of this. They aren't always the people you are warned about, the ones in cars who want you to see their puppies or offering you a ride home 'because your mother sent me'. Win meets Louise, a client who after conscientiously working for many years at the same firm is deciding to quit. She slowly opens up to Win, describing how she had dedicated her life to her job, working evenings at the expense of her social life, without reward. She has found herself at 46, with no husband or life outside of work, in a position where she trains men who are consistently promoted over her.

The play is famous for its dreamlike opening sequence in which Marlene meets famous women from history, including Pope Joan, who, disguised as a man, is said to have been pope between 854 and 856; the explorer Isabella Bird; Dull Gret the harrower of Hell; Lady Nijo, the Japanese mistress of an emperor and later a Buddhist nun; and Patient Griselda, the patient wife from The Clerk's Tale in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. [8] All of these characters behave like a gang of city career women out on the town and get increasingly drunk and maudlin, as it is revealed that each has suffered in similar ways. Top Girls study guide contains a biography of Caryl Churchill, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

In Act One, Scene Two, Marlene is at the agency where she works, interviewing a girl named Jeanine. Marlene takes a fancy to her even though she seems lost and helpless. She doesn't know what type of job she wants—only that she wants to travel and be with her husband.

No I need to though!! It looks soo good. Hve you read fallen by lauren kate and delirium by lauren oliverBetrayed by the police, she finds protection under the wing of organised criminals and falls in love with the local ‘top boy’. However, her allegiances bring terror to her doorstep when gun-toting rivals target her flat – and the authorities answer by taking away her child. In 1998 the critic David Benedict named Top Girls as his favourite "play of the [20th] century" writing that "Caryl Churchill's stunningly moving study of the enticements of power and the contradictions we are forced to face was groundbreaking in its reworking of the basic dramatic rules governing time, manner and place. It was also utterly alive to the world in which she was writing and remains so today." [1]

The final chapter though, made me cry. Danielle does care, even though she doesn’t show it. She has turned her life around, and that’s what counts. It would have been so easy for her to carry on with the life she had: dealing drugs, and living the expensive lifestyle she craved. And then of course, she gets pregnant and her and the guy she’s just started seeing are ‘hella’ thrilled to become parents, at 17 with no job or secure place to live. Irresponsible. Act 2, Scene 3 is set in the Top Girls Employment Agency on a Monday morning. Win and Nell have just arrived to begin work. They are drinking coffee and chatting about the men they dated or had affairs with over the weekend. Marlene arrives and Nell and Win applaud and whistle for her after being promoted over Howard, but Nell also indicates that she envies Marlene's success.

Act 2 is set at the Top Girls employment agency. Marlene is interviewing a woman named Jeanine who wants a new job because there are no prospects for advancement at her current position. Through her questions, Marlene reveals that she looks down on Jeanine for her desire to get married young, have children, and her uncertainty about her professional future. Marlene only offers Jeanine two openings, one at a company that makes knitwear and the other lampshades - neither of which fulfill Jeanine's request for opportunities and travel. Regardless, Marlene tells Jeanine to be confident and present herself well, because her performance reflects on Marlene and the agency. It was difficult to read what Danielle went through. I had a lot of opinions as I read this one, and a few I’m sure others wouldn’t agree with.