Right off the bat, I really enjoyed the realistic style of the play
Top Girls. I felt like Churchill did a great job, especially throughout Act I, of structuring the dialogue in an extremely lifelike manner that was easy to relate to. His style allowed me to immediatley relate to the characters, as my girlfriends and myself often carry on conversations very similar to this one. I also thought that the marks in the text indicating areas of interruption by another character added a sense of originality as well as a bit of humor. For example, I particularly liked the dialogue between Isabella and Nijo (on page 353) where they are both not only continually interrupting each other, but also talking about completely different subjects; Isabella talking about her fondness of horses and Nijo speaking of her daughter.
I also found it very interesting how the topics of conversation throughout the play frequently included male roles as well as fertility/pregnancy/children:
- Examples of fertility/children:
- Nijo: "I never saw my third child after he was born...Ariake died before he was born" (p.353)
- Joan: "Then something changed, my breath started to catch...and the baby just slid out onto the road" (p.352)
- Joyce: "I did get pregnant and I lost it because I was so tired looking after your baby" (p.375)
- Examples of male roles:
- Nijo: "It was always the men who used to get so drunk. I'd be one of the maidens, passing the sake" (p. 346)
- Joan: "I shouldn't have been a woman. Women, children, and lunatics can't be Pope." (p.352)
- Griselda: "But of course a wife must obey her husband" (p.354)
- Win: "There are also fields that are easier for a woman, there is a cosmetic company here where your experience may be relevant" (p.365)
- Mrs. Kidd: "What's it going to do to him working for a woman" (p.367)
I found it very powerful that Churchill included these topics to portray a sense of societal ideologies while centralizing the plot around strong and successful female characters.
I like that you point out these references continue to show up frequently. I also think throughout this play these references are made because Churchill is a feminist and socialist. She exploits indirectly how women are only seen as fertile beings with her reference to children and pregnancy. I think she also used the “male roles” conversations to depict her feminist view of the dominate male over a woman.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting that you enjoyed the writing style Churchill used. I found it confusing and difficult to follow. Looking at what you said I guess the dialogue is more realistic. As you also mentioned my friends and I are constantly interrupting each other and switch back and forth between topics. I think it was just difficult to follow these interruptions on paper.
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoyed Churchill's writing style. I found it to be a lot more realistic and easier to relate to. It took a little bit longer to read and comprehend, but overall I thought it added a lot to the story.
ReplyDelete