Scottish Texts: Bold Girls b

By Rona Munro

Adapted from Education Scotland

1/1/15 Broughton High School
resources

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This advice and guidance has been produced for teachers and other staff who provide learning,
teaching and support as learners work towards qualifications. These materials have been designed
to assist teachers and others with the delivery of programmes of learning within the new
qualifications framework.

These support material s, which are neither prescriptive nor exhaustive, provide suggestions on
approaches to teaching and learning which will promote development of the necessary knowledge,
understanding and skills. Staff are encouraged to draw on these materials, and existing materials, to
develop their own programmes of learning which are appropriate to the needs of learners within
their own context.

Staff should also refer to the course and unit specifications and support notes which have been
issued by the Scottish Qualifications Authority.
http://www.sqa.org.uk

The edition referred to here is Hodder and Stoughton’s edition:

ISBN 0 340 65527 5

This edition contains end notes and activities by Elisabeth Sharp.

The unit makes reference to Douglas Gifford’s support notes on the play – see bibliography.

Given the availability of the support materials in these two texts, the approaches suggested in this
unit place focus on research and writing skills for the Creation and Production unit, and on critical
reading skills for the Analysis and Appreciation unit.

There is no commercially produced DVD of the play, thus work for this text will concentrate on
dramatised reading activities.

Acknowledgement
© Crown copyright 2013. You may re-use this information (excluding logos) free of charge in any
format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ or e-mail:
psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third-party copyright information, you will need to obtain permission
from the copyright holders concerned.

Any enquiries regarding this document/publication should be sent to us at

enquiries@educationscotland.gov.uk.
This document is also available from our website at www.educationscotland.gov.uk.

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 Portfolio Writing Options
The relationships between the characters of Nora, Marie, Cassie, and Deirdre are not confined to the
setting in time and place. A useful folio piece might explore and research such issues as:

 mothers and daughters

 generation gaps
 the importance of friendship
 marriage and trust
 the influence of the media
 children growing up in all-female households and communities.

The approach taken could be:

 reflective – looking at the impact of one of the above on the learner’s own life
 reflective persuasive – writing an article on the impact of one of the following in a broader context
 discursive – examining the case for and against one of the above.

Learners should complete their own research if they choose to write in a broader context. Sources could
include:

http://www.thesilentfemalescream.com/em_crisis.htm
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200104/the-mother-daughter-bond
http://www.dynamicresources.net/friendships_between_women.htm
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/fcs/pdfs/fcs2911.pdf

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 Historical Context

 ‘Bold Girls’ is set in Belfast during ‘The Troubles’- a conflict in Northern Ireland which lasted from
1968 to 1998.
 The conflict was about the position of Northern Ireland as a part of the United Kingdom.
 Unionists, the mostly Protestant majority, wanted to stay a part of the United Kingdom.
 Republicans, the mostly Catholic minority, wanted to leave the United Kingdom and join with the
Republic of Ireland.
 The conflict was often very bloody and violent. This was mainly because of fights between rival
paramilitary organisations (armies not controlled by the state).
 The main Unionist paramilitary organisations were called the UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force) and
UDA (Ulster Defence Association). They violently opposed Irish unification.
 The main Republican paramilitary force was the IRA (Irish Republican Army). They wanted the
full withdrawal of the British and Irish unification.
 More than 3600 people were killed during the Troubles.
 Up to 50,000 people were physically maimed or injured.
 British troops were sent to Northern
Ireland to restore order.
 Extreme violence was an everyday
reality for many in Northern Ireland
during this historical period.
 The conflict ended with the signing of
the Good Friday Agreement on 10 April
1998. While the divisions remain, the
organisations involved agreed to try to
achieve their aims in a democratic and
non-violent way.

The Role of Women in the Northern Ireland Peace Process by Vidal Martín (20 April 2007)

The relatively recent peace process in Northern Ireland represents an exception to the European norm.
It is the only peace process with clear prospects of stability, and at the same time the only long-term
conflict to which, after numerous decades, resolution seems possible.

For several decades Northern Irish society has been divided and fractured due to political motives that
have also been wrongly redirected towards a religious battle. The division is only one: nationalists
(catholic in general) on one side and unionists (protestant in general) on the other.

This, however, does not imply assuming an identity between politics and religion. This is not the case.
Among all social groups, the role of women in conflict in general, and in Northern Ireland in particular,
has been principally marked by oblivion. Women have been constantly ignored by entire populations, or
rather, by their leaders.

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 Task 1: Getting the play in context

Research skills – Activities

1. While the main focus for work is the play, it is useful for you to research the context against which
Bold Girls is set and explore more recent parallels. This can lead to work for other parts of the
course.

Context and background (internet research)

 The Troubles in Northern Ireland
 The peace process
 Women during the Troubles

In your note taking you might wish to

include:
 the historical background (keep this
section short)
 how protest escalated in the late
1960s
 internment and its impact
 hunger strikes and other protests
 the peace process
 the role of women
 the Good Friday agreement.

2. Further topic for discussion: Women in war zones – look at the situation of women in Afghanistan,
Ukraine, and Syria.

The author
3. It is useful to look at what the author has to say about the play and the reasons why she wrote it.
Look for biographical information and interviews given by Rona Munro. (Gifford’s paper is a good
place to begin.)

http://www.historyonthenet.com/Chronology/timelinenorthernireland.htm
http://www.fride.org/publication/183/other-publications
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/recent/troubles/the_troubles_article_01.shtml
http://www.guardian.co.uk/northernireland/page/0,12494,1569841,00.html

Use the information you have summarised to write a one-page report about the Troubles, keeping focus
on the period from the late 1960s to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

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 Report-writing guidance
Read the sources carefully. If you are using a printout of
the material, use a highlighter pen to identify the most
important information. If you are reading on the screen
you may wish to cut and paste these points into a word
file or use on-screen sticky notes.

In your note taking you might wish to include:

 the historical background (keep this section short)

 how protest escalated in the late 1960s
 internment and its impact
 hunger strikes and other protests
 the peace process
 the role of women
 the Good Friday agreement.

Taking your notes and using your own words as far as

possible, write a factually accurate report based on at
least two sources.

Report writing

Purpose: Key points to remember Structure/organisation: Key points to remember

 Remember the type, audience, and purpose  Your introduction should give some brief
of your writing. You are trying to summarise background to the topic and outline the topic or
and synthesise information – take from a situation.
variety of sources and put into your own  Think carefully about the most effective order
words. for the points you will need to make.
 You are writing to inform.  Use linking words and phrases effectively
 Your essay will be written in continuous (however, despite this, furthermore etc).
prose.
Content: Key points to remember Language: Key points to remember
 You will need to research your topic and take  Language for this task should be formal or
notes. informal and tone must be authoritative. You
 You must ensure that you can identify the must sound confident and knowledgeable.
main line of thought in each source.
 Remember to acknowledge your sources.

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Plot and structure

In many stories, novels, films and plays, classic narrative technique is used. It can be defined as follows:

 A situation is established at the beginning. We are introduced to the key characters and their way of
living.
 A disruptive force in the form of a dramatic event or a new character upsets the way of living.
 Further problems or enigmas result from this disruption.
 The audience are drawn in as these problems bring matters to a climax before they are solved.
 Normality is re-established at the end of the narrative, but some things may have changed the
characters and their lives radically.

Consider how a familiar story, e.g. a fairy tale, fits this format. Work in pairs and report back to class.

Charting the plot

Activity
Each group of three or four learners is given A3 paper and a pen. The task is to draw a chart of the
events of the play and which characters are involved at each key point.

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 Play Summary - Scene 1: Marie’s House

The play is set in a world of Belfast drizzle and dreichness; the almost poetic scene directions capture
this for the director.

1. Make a note of what you learn from the stage directions.

2. What is shown by:
a. ‘it is irons and ironing boards and piles of clothes ...
socks and pegs and damp sheets ...’
b. Toys everywhere
c. the picture of the virgin and the bigger and ‘blown-
up’ photograph of the as yet unidentified Michael,
Marie’s husband

And then there’s Deirdre, crouching outside the room, but outside in
further senses, in that she’s meant to be in the darkness of the
Belfast streets, but also in the darkness of her hopelessness and of
her sorrows. We don’t know who she is; as yet she’s only the wary,
young face, speaking a ferocious drama-poetry. Her appearance
establishes the next layer of the drama beyond Marie’s presence;
and tells us that, in this play, the rules of naturalism will sometimes
be suspended, and reminders given of an older, stranger Ireland or a
newer, nastier world of terrorism. Deirdre remembers the hills, and
singing birds, but can’t see or hear them; the modern streets and the
helicopter overhead have come between. Munro won’t attempt to
join such sudden surrealism with the main action; it simply happens,
then gives way to the main narrative.

3. Begin character notes on Deirdre. Use quotations and start building up a profile on her.

Marie comes before us with sheer vigour and integrity. Her children are there – but not allowed to
appear, or to diminish our attention to her. Children and men are significantly not allowed to appear at
all. Nora appears, with Marie’s towels – and two slight, but important points are made. Wee Michael
was supposed to get them, but didn’t; and Nora covers up for his domestic failure – as she always does
for men. Cassie shows her sharpness, her earthy sexuality revealing itself in the knickers episode – it
doesn’t matter that they are Marie’s, with wee black cats on them saying Hug me, I’m cuddly; it’s Cassie
who has discussed them. All the Bold Girls have appeared, and already the menace of Deirdre, the
outsider, should contrast with the apparent normality and friendly banter of the women, centred around
Marie, with mother and daughter Nora and Cassie not listening to each other, but revealing their key
characteristics – Nora’s harassed and male-dominated domesticity, Cassie’s sharp rejection of it.

4. Begin character notes on Marie, Cassie, and Nora.

Munro leaves Deirdre outside; and scene one is ordinary enough, on the surface – kids, washing, fags,
whether to go to the club; the topics are mundane, although perhaps a clue to darker issues is given in
the mention of the video, The Accused; note Nora’s verdict, and her disagreement with Marie, whose
instinctive ‘no woman deserves’ in regard to Jodie Foster’s trauma is unfinished – or simply seen as
irrelevant by Nora. They seem harmless enough Bold Girls, their worst excesses being to do with having
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too much to drink or chatting up taxi drivers. Is Nora maybe a bit obsessive about her house and her
peach fabric? And where are the menfolk?

Clues begin to emerge; ‘Michael’s been dead three and half years’, cries Cassie, urging Marie out, and
shocking her mother. Cassie seems unduly nervous of Marie’s ghost-talk of Michael, though significantly
none of them are unduly bothered by explosions outside. And what hidden depths to Cassie are revealed
in her planting of money behind Michael’s photograph?

A major connection is established between Deirdre and Marie with the lighting change which, we’ll come
to know, changes the play’s mode from realism to expressionism; first Deirdre, outside, developing her
association with greyness, violence, loneliness; then a monologue from Marie, filling us in about her
innocence, goodness, and childish optimism in the days when she was first married. We now know that
Michael is/was her husband, if little else than that he was charismatic, a bold boy. Munro allows
attitudes regarding the Brits, the soldiers who are everywhere, to emerge. This set against the
‘thunderous knocking’ at the door which follows the sound of gunshots; although it transpires that this
time it’s not the brutal entry of troops, but the unexpected opposite; Deirdre, dirty, battered, looking like
fifteen, though eyes heavily made up; second-nameless, unplaceable to the curious women. Again,
questions force themselves on us; who on earth is she, with her unnatural toughness and vulnerability?
Has she some connection with the violence? Is she a terrorist? She stonewalls all attempts to find her
identity – and her fierce knife monologue raises more questions than it reveals.

5. Why do you think she is so bitter?

6. What kind of truth is it she’s after?
7. Add to Deirdre’s character notes.
8. Create notes on ‘truth’ as a theme.
9. What has happened to the men?
a. Nora’s husband/Cassie’s father
Sean
b. Nora’s son Martin
c. Cassie’s husband Joe
d. Marie’s brother Davey
e. Marie’s husband, Michael
10. Consider they slapstick way Nora and
Cassie talk about the night Cassie’s husband Joe was arrested.
a. What makes this scene funny?
b. Is it really funny?
c. Why/how do you think they can they laugh at this horrific treatment of women

Marie and Deirdre end the scene; Marie with her moving lullaby to Brendan, rocking him to sleep with
her praise of Michael in heaven (but we note Cassie’s unease; why is she suddenly so keen to be out of
Belfast?), and her praise of the bold men, ‘all men you’d look at twice’, remembered for their card-
playing, drinking, sentimental party singing. It’s intriguing that this mood is capped with the final
appearance of Deidre. Why is she so changed? How does she know where the hidden money is? We’re
left with a final impression of three (or four, if we count Deirdre) separate lines of thought developing.
The girls may seem to communicate, but they don’t really listen to each other; there are private selves,
motives, and agendas behind the apparent neighbourliness.

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 Scene 2: The Club

Again, stage directions are vivid and atmospheric.

1. Make notes from the stage directions.

There’s a clever opening here, in which we as audience have to find our feet as regards what’s going on.

2. Who is being talked about?

3. Why are they standing?
4. Why are they so matter-of-fact about the situation?
5. What does it remind them of?

The club, with its garish decor and its get-rich-quick games, is an appropriate place for the girls to recall
their men and the famous wall-and-dog story, and by now the audience is questioning whether these
memories can be taken at face value. After all, Nora’s husband cheated in betting, and Michael lost his
car. Isn’t there something a bit strained about the brave face memory puts on? Isn’t Cassie showing
more and more that she’s hardly got sorrowful feelings about ‘the dear departed’?

And isn’t something a bit strained about the toast to the bold girls by themselves? Again, we note the
three simultaneous lines of topic; ‘Guess the Price’, Nora and
Cassie’s sniping, the discussions of Deirdre’s boldness in Marie’s
clothes all run together, intermingled. It’s a clever way of mingling
themes. The materialism which defines Nora and Cassie emerges
in the first (‘Oh Mummy! She’s won the magi-mix!’ shows that the
world of prizes and things can bring them to agreement); in the
second, we learn more of Nora’s survival toughness from her
strange treatment of the past in her anecdotes (which are almost
monologues – serving what purpose?), and of Cassie’s bitterness,
with its crucial and central statement (quoted at the beginning of
this study) from Cassie about how boys and girls are conditioned
in Northern Irish – and Western? – society.

6. What is Cassie’s brazen dance really saying?

And, in the third line, after the raid which freezes time and the club, releasing Marie and Deirdre into a
kind of shared, stylised dialogue, we ask more questions:

7. What do you think is making Deirdre the utterly unfeeling and amoral person she seems to be?
8. Why is Deirdre here?
9. Why does she not defend herself against Cassie’s final attack?

It’s becoming clear now that Cassie’s dislike of Deirdre has deeper undertones to it than simple loyalty
to her friend.

10. Why does the scene end, not with the drama we’ve been witnessing, but with an oddly placed
monologue from Nora scorning the use of talk, and leaving us with her obsessive yearning for
fifteen yards of pale peach polyester fabric?

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 Scene 3: Outside the Club

This short scene, three pages of dialogue between Marie and Cassie, with a typically wordless, brief, and
nasty contribution from Deirdre at the end, poses questions.

1. Why do you think it is so short in comparison with the rest of the play?
2. Why has Munro changed from the interior setting of the house and club to wasteland and
moonlight?
3. Is there significant and symbolic connection with what’s happening between Marie and Cassie
(and with all the bold girls) in the fact that there’s an eclipse of the moon – ‘our very own
shadow swallowing up all the light’?

Marie and Cassie here show their closeness; there is a great strength in this bonding, a strength
which has supported all of them in hard times. But there is a crack in this togetherness; and this
wedge of a scene drives home the first real division between them all, a knifepoint which will come
close to destroying them all by the end. Cassie’s ‘Aw Jesus I hate this place!’ as she kicks the very
ground she lives on, her agonised desire to leave, and Marie’s reminder of the claims of children,
reinforce our awareness of Cassie’s tortured heart and Marie’s (self-deceiving?) goodness. Do all the
bold girls have self-deluding dream? Don’t Marie, Nora, Cassie – and even Deirdre – all in the end
reveal that they are holding on to some kind of consoling dream of past or future? Certainly Deirdre,
stealer of purses, seems more of a straightforward destroyer as she finds her longed-for knife and
slashes at Nora’s dream-fabric. But, looking deeper, can’t we see that she too is following a kind of
distorted dream?

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 Scene 4: Marie’s House

Our impression of Marie’s steady goodness is reinforced by the picture of her feeding birds in the pitch
blackness, while Nora and Cassie continue to drink. Hostility between Nora and Cassie comes to a head
in this scene of many climaxes, as memories of the menfolk – and a new ugliness, that of wife-beating –
surfaces through the alcoholic haze. With the discovery that her hidden money, the dream-of-escape-
money, is gone, the antagonism (is it indeed hatred?) between mother and daughter explodes, and we
see the resentment of years, with Cassie’s comment that her mother’s heart is made of steel, a
condemnation oddly qualified with understanding – ‘she had to grow it that way’.

1. Have we been prepared for the horrific admissions from Cassie which follow? Has Munro planted
enough clues to suggest to us that deep down we aren’t surprised?
2. Deirdre says Cassie’s, when making love with Michael; ‘looked like my grandmother, old and
tired and like she didn’t care about anything at all anymore ...’. Does this help us to understand
Cassie’s betrayal of her best friend?

Unusually, the play has yet another denouement, perhaps more important than the revelation of
Cassie’s affair with Michael. Deirdre comes back from what may have been an attempt to rape her, after
the club closed. She brings back most of the stolen money – and her knife. She seems poised between
attacking Marie and talking to her – poised, perhaps, between two different kinds of ‘hard truth’? Her
choice has to wait; after revealing to Marie that Michael is her father, she wants some kind of
confirmation from her. But can Marie ever give Deirdre the ‘truth’ she’s after? She can destroy Michael’s
photograph, and her own and Deirdre’s remaining illusions, she can tell her that she does look like
Michael, and what Michael had for tea, and that someone – Provos, enemies, does it ultimately matter?
– ‘took the lying head off him’; but the truth about Michael, and Cassie’s father, and all the other men
implicated in their lives, will surely remain elusive, as Marie’s last big speech about ‘all the daddys’
admits. All that can be hoped is that ‘we learn some way to change’, in our dealings with each other,
women to women, men to men, and women and men to each other.

3. How far does Marie reveal in these closing

stages that she isn’t and has never really
been the trusting innocent, the feeder of
birds?
4. How far – and why – has she been living a
lie?
5. How far can we read the end, with its
partial reconciliation of Deirdre and her
sorrows with Marie and hers, as optimistic?
6. What is the significance of the play’s closing
actions, the return to ordinary domesticity
and the feeding of the birds?

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 Themes
Approach: Pair or group work, making close reference to the
text in order to explore the following.

Conflict

Conflict – a state of opposition between ideas, interests, etc.

opposition between two simultaneous but incompatible
wishes or drives, sometimes leading to a state of emotional
tension. Conflict can literally and metaphorically between a
character (protagonist) and an opponent (antagonist).

1 Identify the conflicts that exist in the world outside

the characters’ immediate environment.
2 There is conflict between all of the characters in the play. Explore and describe the conflicts
between:
i. Cassie and Nora
ii. Cassie and Deirdre
iii. Cassie and Marie
iv. Cassie and Joe

3 What is it in the nature of Cassie that makes her central to so much of the conflict in the
play?
4 To what extent does Marie act as peacemaker? Give examples of when she does this.
5 Are any of the conflicts resolved at the end of the play? If so, how?

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 G
ender Issues
Men

Find some man with good hands and a warm skin and wrap him around you to keep the rain off; you’ll
be damp in the end anyway.

Grabbing onto some man because he smells like excitement, he smells like escape. They can’t take you
anywhere except into the back seat of their car. They’re all the same.
Cassie

She can tell you how bad he was how he lied to her; that’s a better story, that’s a story that’ll keep you
safe from any man with a gentle smile and warm hands.
Marie

1 This is a play dominated by men and yet men never

appear on stage. Identify those moments when they are
‘observed’ off stage.
2 How do Marie and Cassie differ in their attitude to men?
3 What differences and similarities can you find
throughout the play between the attitudes to men of
Marie, Nora, and Cassie?
4 What contradictions can you find in Cassie’s attitude to
men? You should consider all the different men in her
life.
5 What is Deirdre’s attitude to men? Consider what we
know of her background by the end of the play and try
to explain how she might have come to these views.

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6 Read Marie’s final monologue in scene four. Coming where it does in the play this speech clearly
conveys some sort of acceptance on Marie’s part. What is it she is accepting and what does it
suggest about relationships between men and women?
7 Decide which character said each of the following quotes:
 …sliding a note out of Sean’s pocket every time he was too puddle to know how many fivers, he’d
poured down his throat.
 We cared about each other! We were honest with each other!
 …he’d that smile on him that made you feel wicked and glad about it.
 Brian’s getting all the washing and polishing and wee cups of ice cream to keep him smiling that
Martin ever got.
 My daddy never lied to me so it must have been me who lied to him.
 …a useless bastard he may be, but he doesn’t deserve what he’s had in there.
 You love them better than you love their daddy, you love them best of all – that’s why they hurt
you so much.
 Our Martin was never too good at keeping his belt buckle fastened, as he?
 Sure I never got any answer at all but bruises.
 –take a pillow, put it on his face, sit on it. It might not kill him but at least it’d stop him snoring.
 Oh my daddy was a lovely man. Gentle.
 He would have killed me if he could.
 I couldn’t sleep for you nagging on and on at him.
 Making a fool of you with all those women.
 Your daddy was a good man and a brave man, and he did the best he could.
 Sometimes he said he loved me when he’d no drink in him. Sometimes he even did that.
 You’ve a job to do bringing up that family and making a decent home for you and your man.
 They’d sooner leave than change.
 Michael was a window. Just a bit of excitement, you know?
 Do you know you never put a plate of food in front of me before he had his?
 I can’t stand the smell of him. The greasy, grinning, beer-bellied smell of him.
 My daddy said I was special.
 He was the greatest man! The gentlest man if you’d just given him peace!
 They don’t want to be raging and screaming and hurting more than they can ever forget in the
booze or the crack.
 Sure he was hardly here when he was alive.
 What about my martyred wee Joe, pining for me in his prison cell?
 Your daddy had a temper.
 …awful nice young man, do you know that Dooley boy?
 Your brother was a good boy, he best boy a mother ever-
 He went away to do it. I stayed here and cleaned the floor and when he came in I’d put his tea in
front of him.
 I was desperate to marry David Essex as well. My brains hadn’t grown in yet.

Women

1 What would be the ideal wife for the men we see in ‘Bold Girls’.
2 Which of the women is most likely to be the ideal wife? Why?
3 What aspects of personality make some of the women unsuited for marriage?
4 Why is the mistreatment of women in a marriage still acceptable in the society of ‘Bold Girls’?

15
5 Look at the mothers in the play. How are they treated by their children? How do they treat their
children in return?
6 How much autonomy do the women have over money? What do we know about their financial
situations?
7 How do you know housework is an important part of the women’s lives?
8 How are the moral values of Cassie and Marie different from those of Nora?

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Boldness

Rona Munro writes in the note on the play, ‘But this isn’t a story about guns. It’s the story of four bold
women’. The idea of boldness runs through the play, relating to both men and women. Cassie refers to
it when she reflects on the way women treat their sons and daughters differently.

Consider the idea of ‘boldness’ as it applies to the women in the play and their men, then answer the
questions.

1 What sort of behaviour and characteristics and associated with ‘bold’ when related to girls?
2 What sort of behaviour and characteristics are associated with ‘boldness’ in boys?
3 Why is there a difference?
4 Why do you think Rona Munro chose to call the play ‘Bold Girls’?
5 What messages about women’s lives and the challenges they have to face does Rona Munro
give the audience? Identify three incidents from the play that illustrate this.
6 What messages about men’s lives does the writer give the audience? While the men do not
appear on stage, identify one thing each of the women tell us about their men (Michael,
Sean, Joe, and Martin) that illustrate this?

17
 Bold girls and bold boys:
gender issues

1 Who are the Bold Boys? How does the play present them? They are offstage, in jail, in the past;
they are always the first to be fed, deferred to, indulged in their drinking and gambling, forgiven.
They are brutal, unfaithful, foul-smelling, secretive in their Provo-macho-politics. They are
fathers, husbands, brothers, unreliable lovers, and sons (for the present children are brought up
5 no differently), and the play analyses their effect at each of those levels.

As an example of the effect of the father and the husband, the relationship of Nora and Cassie is
central. It’s so important to Cassie that one of Munro’s occasional non-naturalistic monologues,
at the end of scene one, is given to Cassie’s dream-like sentimentalisation of her daddy, Sean, in
a way which gives her the love she’s otherwise denied throughout the play; ‘Oh my daddy was a
10 lovely man ... my daddy said I was the best girl ... My daddy never lied to me so it must have
been me that lied to him’. Isn’t it significant that Cassie can’t blame a man who clearly deserves
some criticism at the very least, and that she’s turned her feelings for her father into yet more
self-hatred? Cassie’s father is seen very differently by Nora, with bitter hatred and irony (‘I
shouldn’t have thrown myself in the way of his fists’) and one of the most powerful moments in
15 the play comes in scene four with the showdown between them, a confrontation which reveals
just how protective each woman has been in covering for the obvious faults of the husband and
father in different ways.

And poor Cassie is poisoned at each of the other levels of husband, brother, and lover
relationships too. Her revulsion to her slobbish husband Joe is patently honest and convincing;
20 (‘I can’t stand the smell of him. The greasy, grinning, beer bellied smell of him, and he’s winking
away about all he’s been dreaming of, wriggling his fat fingers over me like I’m a poke of chips. I
don’t want him in my house, in my bed–’ Are we to blame her for this revulsion? Has Joe
perhaps degenerated so much that Cassie is entitled to her disgust? Her brothers are hypocrites,
reproaching her for promiscuity when clearly, they are no better, perhaps worse (Martin, it
25 would seem, has fathered a child on ‘the wee girl in Turf Lodge’), but defended fiercely by their
mother. Cassie probably isn’t all that promiscuous, but there’s surely more defiance of her
allotted roles than commitment in her affairs? As she tells Marie in scene three, it’s ‘grabbing on
to some man because he smells like excitement, he smells like escape’, and it’s worth recalling
again how Deirdre told us of the terrible look on her face as she made love to Michael.

30 And it’s worth making the effort of imagination which Munro’s play calls for, in recreating the
world of the lost men. It’s a world of nudges and winks, of gallus stories and swagger, of double-
18
 dealing from family to politics. (What was Michael killed for, and who killed him?) In this world
it’s a point of honour among men to pay up on drunken bets, even although the bets are based
on cheating and deception, even although it means losing the family car. It’s a world where
35 wife-beating is ignored, where sons learn from fathers that getting girls pregnant isn’t
something to feel too guilty about – perhaps it’s even something to feel bold about. And, day to
day, it’s a world where mothers and wives take a back seat, where male whims are obeyed, and
where, as Cassie so tragically shows, daughters eventually assert themselves through deceit and
betrayal of their fellow women.

40 Marie and Deirdre are more simply betrayed. Deirdre is example of a kind of basic betrayal by
men – she could be the child of the wee girl from Turf Lodge, though it is almost certain she’s
Michael’s daughter. And Marie has suffered a similar basic betrayal – several times, it would
seem, in Michael’s complex, charismatic, treacherous, and foreshortened life. Theirs may seem
dark situations, but isn’t there a deep irony in the fact that Nora and Cassie are in the end more
45 deeply poisoned and less hopeful of working out some kind of positive future?
Doesn’t Munro argue through all this for a kind of honest rethink of the way human beings,
male and female, relate to each other? Isn’t her point, about Marie and Deirdre as opposed to
Nora and Cassie, that bringing painful secrets out into the open can be good for some, but
catastrophic for others, depending on the nature of the people involved? Cassie and Nora have
50 been poisoned too far; Marie’s strength and unselfishness, and Deirdre’s direct youth, should
allow them to survive.

Munro is, however, never simplistic in allocating blame to men or women: her feminism is low-
key and compassionate, seeing the roots of conflict and deceit in the way women have treated
men as well as the way men have oppressed women. In the end we realise that ‘bold’ has
55 moved from being a term of admiration, denoting vital resilience and character, to being an
ironic, sad commentary on men and women, on their foolish exaggeration of destructively lop-
sided aspects of sexuality.

These Bold Girls have been moulded by a bad system, a distorted society, argues Munro. Marie
and Deirdre recognise that it’s time to break that mould, and to let kindness, honesty, and
60 communication into family life. Munro has no illusions that this will happen easily or soon –
which is the point of the final scenes, in which Marie feeds the birds. Her act won’t change
much, she knows, but it’s still important; ‘It’s easy enough to build a great wee nest when
you’ve a forest to fly in, but you’d need to be someone special to build one round the Falls.
Someone should feed them ...’.

By Douglas Gifford

Questions

1. What is the purpose of this article? Explain, using evidence from the text. (3) 1.1
2. Who might be a potential target audience? Explain, using evidence from the text. (3) 1.1
3. In your own words, summarise what we learn about ‘the Bold Boys’ in lines 1-5 and 30-36. (4) 1.2
4. Referring to two examples of the writer’s language, show how men are portrayed in lines 1-5
and/or lines 30-36. (4) 1.3
5. Explain how lines 6-7 act as a link in the author’s argument. (2)
6. Read lines 6-15. Explain, in your own words, how Cassie and Nora see Sean differently. (2) 1.2

19
7. Referring to two examples of the writer’s language, show sympathy is created for Cassie in lines
18-29. (4) 1.3
8. Explain how the context of the word ‘revulsion’ (lines 18 and 22) helps you understand its
meaning. (2)
9. Re-read lines 40-51. In your own words, explain how the writer thinks Marie and Deirdre are
different to Nora and Cassie. (2) 1.2
10. In your own words, explain how the meaning of the word ‘bold’ has changed. (2) 1.2

/30

20
 Loyalty and betrayal

In each of the examples below, state in what way the characters have either been loyal or betrayed
either a cause or a person.

A Cause
Nora
Marie
Cassie
Martin
Davey
Joe
Michael

Friends

Nora
Marie
Cassie
Martin
Sean
Joe
Michael

A spouse

Nora
Marie
Cassie
Martin
Sean
Joe
Michael

Think about the different

attitudes to loyalty in men
and women and decide who
in the play shows most
loyalty to friends, a partner,
or a cause.
1. Who seems to be the
most disloyal?
2. Are there any
justifications for that
person’s behaviour?

21
 Truth and illusion: Dreams and Escaping Reality

This is a play about women living in a ‘war zone’, struggling with

poverty and difficult social conditions, as single parents. One of the
strategies adopted by Nora, Marie and Cassie is the avoidance of truth
and the creation of a comforting illusion. Taking each character in turn,
and paying close reference to the text, consider what illusions they
create and what truths they avoid.

For example, Nora is exceptionally house proud – look at the references

to her fabric and to the lamented bamboo suite that was destroyed by
the British soldiers. What sort of magazines do you think she would
read? What would her favourite programme on daytime television be?
If Nora could have a dream come true, what do you think it would be?

And he did always tell you the truth, but there’s only so much of the truth anyone wants to hear.
That’s what he gave you Marie, what he gave everyone, enough of the truth to keep you charmed.
Cassie

Truth – the quality of being true, genuine, actual, or factual. However, different people see things
differently and truth can be perceived differently. A person’s upbringing and beliefs can condition
them to believe in different truths. Who is correct? One person’s truth is another’s lie.

In ‘Bold Girls’ each women see things differently: Deirdre, Sean, Marie’s marriage, Michael, the good
and truthful father. Truth can be destructive and knowing the truth is not always necessarily a good
thing.

1. Note all of the occasions in ‘Bold Girls’ where truth is mentioned.

2. How does the truth affect Marie? Was Michael right to tell ‘only enough of the truth’?
3. Why is the knife an appropriate symbol of truth?
4. How does the ‘truth’ metaphorically and literally destroy the dreams of the women?
5. Despite the atmosphere of unrest in the community, how does Rona Munro show the women’s
lives to be so ordinary?
6. The women shield themselves from the real world by creating dreams for them to aim for.
Identify the dreams of each character and explain how dwelling on these dreams enables the
character to cope.
7. It wasn’t that I lied it was just that I didn’t tell all the truth that was in me. Do you think the
women completely believe their illusions? Justify your answer.
8. What dream or illusion does Deirdre create for herself and what does she do to make it become
reality? How successful is she?
9. In her role as a catalyst, explain the effect Deirdre has on the illusions of each of the other
characters.
10. Discuss Deirdre’s role in the light of this quotation: It was the truth. I thought I’d like that. A wee
bit of hard truth you could hold in your hand and point where you liked.
11. Cassie says ‘there is only so much of the truth that anyone can bear. How far do you agree with
her in the light of what has happened by the end of the play?
12. What concrete forms do these illusions take place in the lives of each of the characters? What has
happened to these dreams by the end of the play?
22
Escapism

Explain all the ways the characters try to escape from their lives:

Drink/ cigarettes Escaping Belfast Club TV/ Films

Sex Talking Companions Gambling
Money Joking Houseproud birds

Images and symbols

In the home groups the learners should discuss the

importance of each of the following:

 Nora’s peach fabric

 Deirdre’s knife
 the birds that are fed by Marie
 the pictures (The Virgin Mary and Michael) on
Marie’s walls.Kesh", AKA HMP The Maze
Figure 1"The

The group should allocate a speaker to report back to the whole class for discussion for each of the
symbols.

The Dreams and Values of Contemporary Society (Gifford)

Deirdre opened the play with her dream of a lost Ireland
which had become a grey nightmare; There’s hills at the back
there, green, I can’t hardly see them because – the street is
grey. Somewhere a bird is singing – ‘– and the play will close
with a return, if not to a lost green Ireland, to Marie’s feeding
of the birds, perhaps the only surviving dream, after the
disintegration of the saving lies and illusions of the Bold Girls.

The play strips away not just their dreams, and not just some
of the illusions and false hopes of modern Ireland, but many
of the central desires and dreams of Western society. Marie’s life – and Cassie’s and Nora’s – is based
on television, its game shows, its films, its values. Their children are placated with horror films,
computer games and endless toys. Munro has the girls constantly watching and referring to familiar
shows like Blind Date (O look! – and they’ve got a weekend in the Caribbean’) and Home and Away –
and their behaviour is shaped by what they watch. Cassie asks how many calories there are in a gin
and lime, revealing she’s dreaming of herself in a bikini on a golden beach with a toyboy; Nora, closer
to home, is caught up in her peach fabric; ‘that’ll be my front room just a wee dream again’. These
two, in different ways, are now trapped in a materialistic yearning which the play shows as empty
and doomed. And even the memories they trot out at the beginning of the play, showing their
apparent resilience and suggesting at first some kind of depth to their family lives, is shown
increasingly to be a saving lie, a pretence that daddies and brothers were strong and lovable. A large

23
part of Munro’s success and power in this play to be found in the account of just how shallow Cassie
and Nora have become.

Scene two, with its portrayal of Cassie’s almost desperate dream of escape through drink and dancing
(‘This is going to be the wildest of wild nights’), its shoddy setting of the warehouse with glitterballs
and its imitation of TV prize games, marks the point where Nora and Cassie’s self-delusion and
materialism is both at its highest – at the toast to the Bold Girls in the club – and about to collapse, as
the raid brings a harshly lit realism into the night of their escape, and as their pent-up hostility and
repressed bitterness begins to spill over. Cassie will still cherish her private dream of escape, via the
money she’s stolen from Nora; but it’s a measure of how hopeless her predicament is that we know
with Marie – and Cassie in her heart knows too – that she’s stuck, in what has become a nightmare.
Dreams, whether on television or from memory, of escape or change are just dreams. And perhaps
it’s Cassie’s desperation, her incredible yearning for something different, some kind of way out,
which has led her to the affair with Marie’s Michael?

If Cassie and Nora dream false dreams, Marie and Deirdre are different. It might be argued that Marie
deludes herself about her memories of Michael just as much as Nora and Cassie pretend about their
men. But isn’t there a quality of innocence in Marie’s dreaming of Michael in heaven, or of their
wedding-day, or in her bird feeding? That’s not to say she doesn’t, in the end, reveal that she’s
guessed all along that Michael is dishonest to her and his cause; but her self-delusion is designed to
create a cleaner world in which she and her children can live. Marie perhaps grows and develops
through the destruction of her illusions, where Cassie and Nora can’t. She’s never as materialistic as
the other two; she’s clumsy and inept at guessing prices as well as dancing in the social club. And
Deirdre’s dreams – of violence, of having a little bit of truth in a knife – are shown to be typically
destructive coverings for, strangely, another kind of innocence, the very natural yearning of a child
for parents, for recognition, and the security with Marie which perhaps will be the miracle of this
play, the only dream to be fulfilled.

Consider:

1. To what extent does Cassie exemplify the aspirations of young women? What does she want
out of life? What prevents her from getting what she wants?

2. Cassie’s story is affected by the Troubles, but in fact she could be any young woman living in
any rundown estate in any town in Scotland. Looking at what she tells us in the play: How is
she influenced by television and magazines? Are the things she wants within her reach?

3. On the other hand, what is going wrong in Nora’s life? To what extent does she face up to the
truth of this or hide behind a dream?

24
Characters
The two families:

Marie Michael (deceased)

Michael Junior Brendan Deirdre

Sean (deceased) Nora

Martin (in jail) Cassie Joe (in jail)

Brian Teresa

Deirdre is outside of the families but claims to be Michael’s illegitimate daughter. She looks a lot like
him, so this claim is easy to believe.

The men and children of the play are given no lines. We see them only from the perspective of the
women. It is therefore important to develop a deeper understanding of these four characters.

25
Characterisation

Character is defined as ‘a personality as created in a play. The main character (protagonist) is at the
centre of the action and is being influenced or changed in some significant way by the course of
events.

In order to analyse a character, we must examine a number of

things:
 What the character says and does
 What is said about the character
 How the character interacts with other characters
 The use of monologues/soliloquies and what they
might show about the workings of the character’s
mind.

Task 1

Match each of these quotations to a character and say what you think each quote suggests about the
character.

1 I just don’t know if I can get a sitter.

2 She was no good that girl, if you ask me.
3 That child needs help from someone.
4 Tar-filled lungs: what the best dressed bodies are
wearing.
5 Heart like a Brillo pad, that’s me.
6 I’ll never find a colour like that again.
7 …that’ll be my front room just a wee dream again.
8 It’s only crusts. I just like to feed them.
9 Will you take a cup of tea, love?
10 I want to get inside. Can’t keep me out.

Task 2

 Look at the suggested characteristics of the four characters.

 Give any evidence you can find in the play to suggest the ideas presented.
 If you do not agree, explain why you disagree with the characteristic.
 Add any other characteristics you can think of and give evidence.
 Use quotes as far as possible.

26
Character of Marie

Characteristic Evidence (quotation) Analysis

Motherly

Foolish

Sentimental

Romantic

Funny

Understanding

Kind

Bitter

Clever

Fierce

Violent

Honest

Desperate

Houseproud

Economical

1 In scene 1, what do we learn about Marie from what she has bought; how she speaks to
her son; the jobs she starts to do?
2 What do we learn of Marie as a mother with the
discussion of the crisps and the raspberry syrup?
3 What does the discussion about going to the club tell
you about Marie’s social life?
4 What do we learn of Marie and Michael from Marie’s
soliloquy?
5 What does the way Marie speaks to her son about
Michael tell us about Marie?
6 What does the story about feeding the birds tell us
about Marie and the troubles?
7 What did Marie admire about the white bird?
8 How had the troubles affected Marie’s wedding?
9 What do we know about Michael by the end of scene
two?
10 Cassie and Marie discuss Marie’s happiness. What do we learn about Marie there?
11 How does Marie see her marriage to Michael?
12 Describe Marie’s reaction to Cassie’s confession and say what it shows about Marie.
13 What do Marie’s discussions of ‘daddys’ and truth (scene 3) say about her?
14 What do her final comments on the birds say about her?
27
 Character of Cassie

Characteristic Evidence (quotation) Analysis

Motherly

Foolish

Sentimental

Romantic

Funny

Understanding

Kind

Bitter

Clever

Fierce

Violent

Honest

Desperate

Houseproud

Economical

1 Write down quotes which describe her in the stage directions.

2 What do we learn (sc1) about Cassie as a mother?
3 What does the discussion with Nora (washing machine/crisps)
tell us about the relationship between Cassie and Nora?
4 What does her diet tell us about Cassie’s sense of humour and
her relationship with Marie?
5 In the discussion about Joe’s arrest, what do we learn about
Cassie and Joe?
6 What do we learn about Joe by the end of scene 2?
7 What does Cassie say about her father? What does this show about her?
8 What is Cassie’s reaction to Marie’s stories about Michael?
9 What do we learn about Cassie’s opinion of herself from her soliloquy about her upbringing?
10 What do we learn about how Nora brought her up and what is Cassie’s reaction to that?
11 How does Cassie behave in the club? Why is Nora shocked and Marie embarrassed?
12 What is Cassie’s response to Deirdre’s entrance and the discovery of her theft?
13 What does Cassie mean when she uses ‘bold’ in her toast – ‘to the bold girls’?
14 What do we learn about Cassie’s attitude to her marriage?
15 What do we learn about her attitude to the men in her family?
16 Why does Cassie confess?
17 What do we learn about Cassie from Deirdre’s description of her in the car with Michael?
28
 Character of Nora
Characteristic Evidence (quotation) Analysis
Motherly

Foolish

Sentimental

Romantic

Funny

Understanding

Kind

Bitter

Clever

Fierce

Violent

Honest

Unjust

Houseproud

Economical

Desperate

1 What seems to be her main interest and what kind of person does she seem to be?
2 What does the story about the washing machine tell us about Nora?
3 What do we learn of Nora from her reaction to the film ‘The Accused’?
4 What is Nora’s attitude to the discussion of Michael?
5 How would Nora react if a terrorist came to her door? Would it be different if it was a British
soldier?
6 What do we learn about Nora and the other two women from their different reactions to
‘Blind Date’?
7 What do we learn about Nora from her part in Joe’s arrest?
8 What does Nora say about her husband?
9 What do we learn about Sean, Nora’s husband by the end of scene 2?
10 What do we learn of the relationship between Nora and Cassie when they discuss her
reputation?
29
11 What do we learn about her through the discussion of Martin and the girl from Turf Lodge?
12 What do we learn about her through her speech about Sheila and decorating?
13 What does the story about her bamboo suite tell us about her?
14 What is Nora’s response to Deirdre’s appearance and subsequent theft?
15 What do her closing comments in scene two say about her?
16 What do we learn of the type of household Nora lived in by scene 3?
17 What is Nora’s reaction to Cassie’s declaration that she was leaving?

30
Character of Deirdre

Most characters in plays are just

representations of people but some, like
Deirdre, have a deeper significance. Deirdre
is a symbol and acts as a dramatic device,
adding tension, mystery, and an insight into
the violence behind the cosy lives the other
women lead.

She is also a CATALYST, setting into motion

the events which change the lives of the other characters.

The function of the CHORUS or choral character in a play is to comment upon and sometimes act in
the main action in a play. Deirdre does this in the play at times. She stands largely apart from the
action and provides the audience with a special perspective through which to view the characters and
events.

Characteristic Evidence (quotation) Analysis

Foolish

Sentimental

Cruel

Pathetic

Understanding

Kind

Bitter

Clever

Fierce

Violent

Dishonest

Unjust

Brave

Economical

Desperate

31
1 Identify the ways in which you think Deirdre is different from the other characters.
2 Identify the times in the play when Deirdre’s words and actions seem to have a function
outside the ‘normal’ action of the play. Identify what you think each contributes to the play.
3 What aspects of her appearance at the start of scene one make her seem ghost like? Why
does the dramatist introduce her in this way? (consider theme and plot)
4 What significance does the white dress have?
5 What effect do you think is created by us seeing her on ‘all fours’ at the beginning?
6 What do you think is the significance of the different colours she refers to?
7 In scene one, what suggests that Deirdre knows Cassie?
8 Deirdre leaves the house with Cassie’s money. What do we assume about her at this point?
9 What is the significance of the different objects she refers to?
10 What is the importance of the rain and the helicopter?
11 Which words suggest that Deirdre has more power than is normal?
12 What about the knife appeals to Deirdre?
13 Why does Deirdre come back with the money?
14 What do you think will happen to Deirdre at the end?
15 In which ways does Deirdre act as a catalyst?
16 Deirdre also functions as a conventional character. Write a character sketch of Deirdre,
discussing her life, background, her function in the play and any other important details you
can think about.
17 Re-read and study the three speeches in Scene one where Deirdre assumes the role of chorus.
Taking each speech in turn, describe the functions of her chorus-like role in each case

32
Extension task:

It is said that her name is chosen because of the Irish myth of Deirdre of the Sorrows.
Read the following story and discuss:

1. Why do you think Munro might have used the name, based on the myth?
2. How do you think the name is relevant to the historical/political situation in the play?

The Story of Deirdre of the Sorrows

Deirdre was the daughter of a royal storyteller who, it was prophesied would grow up to be very
beautiful, but that kings and lords would go to war over her - much blood would be shed because of
her, and Ulster's three greatest warriors would be forced into exile for her sake. The King decided to
keep the child for himself. He took Deirdre away from her family, had her brought up by an old
woman, and planned to marry her when she was old enough. Deirdre grew up a lonely young
woman, and one day told the old woman of a man she dreamt she would marry. The old woman told
her she knew a man exactly like the one she described —, a handsome young warrior at the King’s
court. Deirdre met the young man who wanted nothing to do with her, because it was known that
she was destined for the king, but Deirdre convinced him to elope with her. Accompanied by his
fiercely loyal brothers, they fled to Scotland. For a while, they lived a happy life there, hunting and
fishing and living in beautiful places but the furious, humiliated King tracked them down.
He sent a messenger to them with an invitation to return, promising safe conduct home, but on the
way back to the messenger was called away but sent Deirdre and her lover on their way with his son
to protect them. As they rode on the final part of their journey Deirdre became more and more
worried. She told her lover that she had had a dream the previous night where three birds flew
towards them with honey dripping from their beaks, but when the honey dropped onto them it
turned to blood. This, she interpreted, represented treachery by the King, and that the honey
dripping from the birds’ beaks were his honeyed words that would end in bloodshed. After they had
arrived, the King sent various people to spy on Deirdre, to see if she had lost her beauty. One spy
managed to get back to the King and told him
that Deirdre was as beautiful as ever. The King
called his warriors to attack the house where
Deirdre was lodging. This was a time of war as
Deirdre’s father and the exiled messenger took
up arms against the King of Ulster. The
messenger’s two sons fought on his side
against the King, but the King bribed him to
change sides and fight against his brother and
father.

Deirdre’s lover and his brothers fought bravely before the King reminded them of their oath of loyalty
to him and had Deirdre dragged to his side. At this point, one of the King’s warriors killed Deirdre’s

33
lover and his brothers. The messenger who had been sent to fetch them was outraged by this
betrayal of his word and went into exile.

After the death of her lover, the King took Deirdre as his wife. After a
year, angered by her continuing coldness, he asked her whom in the
world she hated the most, besides himself. She answered the man
who had murdered her lover. The King said that he would give her to
the murderer. As she was being taken to him, the King taunted her. At
this, Deirdre threw herself from the carriage, smashing her head to
against a rock. In some versions of the story, she died of grief. Then
the ground opened up and claimed her poor, broken body. It closed
softly over her once more and left not a trace of where she had been.
A great yew tree grew from the grave of Deirdre, and it spread its
branches far over the land until it reached the branches of another
tree which grew over the grave of Naoise, which lay outside the
ramparts of Email Macha. It is said that the branches of the two trees
mingled together in a tender embrace, and so they remain to this very
day

34
Task 4

1 Forming a group of 4, each of you will INDIVIDUALLY write a character sketch of one of the
characters discussing her personality, the events that happen to her and how she is affected.
Show how she changes throughout the play. (Each member must write about a different
character).

Group members should answer the following questions about the character:

 What are the dominant aspects of the character’s personality and outlook on life?
 Who and what has shaped her personality and outlook?
 What motivates this character? What does she want?
 What props/actions/catchphrases are associated with this character?
 What is the audience/reader’s attitude to the character? How do you feel about her by the end
of the play? Does your attitude change at any point in the play? If so, why?

2 You will then form a second group of four – this time with people who have done the same
character as you. Work as a group to do a SWOT analysis and summarise the characters’:
 Strengths
 Weaknesses
 Opportunities: what she might do in order to gain happiness, given her circumstances
 Threats: what restricts her, what threatens her chance of happiness and fulfilment

The groups dealing with Deirdre should also comment on her dual function in the play.

3 You will then go back to your original group and teach them about the character you have
researched.

35
 Characters
Task 1: What facts do we know about each of the following at these points in the play?

Character Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 Scene 4

Marie

Cassie

Nora

Deirdre

36
 Task 2: What do the characters say that we need to take note of at these points in the play?

Character Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 Scene 4

Marie

Cassie

Nora

Deirdre

37
Setting and staging

A wide variety of stage practices come under this heading. Lighting may be used in a natural way,
or it may be varied to indicate changes of mood or tone. Spotlights may be used to focus
attention on a character or to indicate a shift from naturalism to symbolism.

The set may be realistic, or it may be sparse and largely left to the audience’s imagination. It may
be used to reinforce some of the themes of the play or to suggest atmosphere. Sound effects too,
may have a naturalistic or symbolic value.
The play is constructed in four scenes.

 Scene 1 – Marie’s house

 Scene 2 – The Club
 Scene 3 – The Wasteland
 Scene 4 – Marie’s house

The action takes place over a relatively

short time span, around 14 hours.
However, the author must give us
information about the lives of the characters, and she does so using anecdote, soliloquies, and
some stand-out scenes such as the raid.

Used as a drama text, Bold Girls is a play that can be performed in a variety of modes:

 studio theatre (cast on the same level as the audience, with the possibility of using
curtains/walls/flats)
 theatre in the round: bare stage with some furniture and props
 traditional set: can include flats, furniture, curtains etc.
 radio play: reading with sound effects and music.

Dramatic Presentation - Stage Use (Gifford)d

Munro uses the stage with a strong sense of patterning – a patterning designed to reinforce the
arrangement of characters and ideas within the play. For example, the overall sense of what
happens onstage works out as a Marie-Club-Wasteland-Marie movement. This echoes Marie’s
mind - a kind of tired security moving to doubt and despair, returning to what can be seen as a
better kind of honesty? For the other characters, the play begins with Marie, then moving into
materialism, bitter quarrelling, darkness, and separation. And yet, isn’t there the suggestion that
forgiveness and a kind of community will once again be found with Marie? It’s worth thinking of
the ways in which the play arranges the bold girls in a kind of dramatic choreography which
continually changes to represent the action.

Probably the most striking examples of stage use occur in the brief, but startlingly effective non-
naturalistic moments when the natural dramatic action is suspended, and characters speak
directly to the audience as though revealing their innermost thoughts. The opening appearance of
Deirdre is the outstanding example of this. The play may open with Marie’s disorderly domesticity,
but the stage use challenges us with its almost immediate revelation of Deirdre outside the room.

38
If this and other similar scenes are considered with the effects made through differences of
lighting and focus, Munro’s clever use of stage effects becomes clear.

It’s not just Deirdre who is starkly revealed in her loneliness, her association with terrorism and
violence, through this method. Cassie and Nora have their direct say which reveals their anger and
bitterness respectively; and Marie will use this mode several times, culminating in her speech of
forgiveness at the end.

In the case of Deirdre’s actions in this mode, there are other points being made about issues
beyond the lives of the bold girls, such as Belfast violence – and perhaps even of ancient Irish
sorrows in legend and myth, seen dimly in this contemporary Deirdre of the Sorrows. She is used
at times as a kind of bleak chorus to the Troubles.

Munro exploits techniques which suggest off-stage presence with great skill. Notice how cleverly
the on-stage action links up with children who are never seen, but who are talked to, given to,
comforted. Doesn’t this ‘absent presence’ echo the absent presence of the menfolk of the bold
girls? Positioning is paramount; for example, when Marie, at the Club, is taken away from Cassie
and Nora to stand at the podium, their bitter wrangling breaks out worse than ever, or when
Deirdre intrudes, as she often does, into the threesome, distancing them from each other.

Activity
 Working in groups, read the stage directions at the beginning of each scene.
 Discuss the significance of each set and the props used by the actors playing the
characters.
 How does use of stage lighting and sound/special effects inform the mood at key points of
each scene? (Note: There should be a total of 20 lighting changes and 13 cues for effect.)

Moments of tension

Much of the tension in the play revolves around the presence of Deirdre. In your groups, discuss
how tension is created in the following three incidents.

1. How is tension created during Deirdre’s opening speech? How is it developed later that
scene?
2. Deirdre comes to Marie’s door seeking shelter. Discuss Cassie’s reaction to her presence.
3. In the club we see Deirdre in a different guise. How does she challenge each of the other
characters in this scene?
4. Explain what Deirdre is really looking for. How is her character developed as an outsider?
Consider the levels at which she doesn’t fit in.

Dramatic irony
1. Dramatic irony is when the audience knows things that the people on stage do not. Give
any examples of dramatic irony in the play.
2. Marie’s coping strategies as a widow and as a single parent depend on an illusion being
kept intact. To what extent does the audience know or suspect more than Marie herself
does about what Michael was really like?

39
Dramatic style

The play mixes two distinct styles:

 kitchen sink drama: realistic characters use real-life language in real-life events which take
place in a realistic set
 symbolic drama: events of characters are presented in an unrealistic or abstract way and
may make use of special lighting or sound effects.

Task
1. Identify a scene that mixes the two types of drama.
2. Draw up the prompt copy for this scene (see Appendix 2).
3. Show how lighting and sound effects contribute to the scene.
4. Referring to word choice and sentence structure, show how the tone changes and the mood
is altered. Note this on the cues column.
5. To what extent does mixing styles in this scene work?

Stage Directions
Look at the stage directions at the beginning of Scene 1 and Scene 2.
1. Which of the two scene descriptions is the most detailed? Why do you think this is so?
2. What impression does the dramatist wish to create from her scene description in each scene?
3. How does the set for Scene Two illustrate the theme of illusion versus reality?

Lighting
Consider the way lighting has been used in the play.
1. Identify the occasions when a spotlight is used to isolate a character. What effects are created using
this device?
2. What other lighting effects can you identify and what are their effects?

Sound Effects
1. Considerable use is made in the play of sound effects. Identify when these may come up and comment
on how each sound effect might enhance your perception of the play and its themes.
2. How do stage effects suggest that the action of this play goes on beyond the confines of the stage?
Why does the dramatist create this effect?

Setting
1 Write down any events associated with Belfast since the
‘Troubles’ re-started in 1969.
2 Write down any ways in which these events were likely
to affect the ordinary people of Belfast.
3 In the first set of stage directions, we are given a clear
description of the setting. What impression are we
given?
4 Choose any of the items listed in the stage directions
and say what it demonstrates about the nature of the
householder.
5 Why do you think the picture of the Virgin and the picture of the young man are referred to
together?
6 In the stage directions of stage two, choose any of the items which appear in the club and say what
they indicate about the atmosphere.
7 What does the setting of scene three suggest about the time and place?
8 How do the stage directions of scene four help set the mood for his scene?

40
 Language, dialogue, and humour

Language
Look at the first set of stage directions.
1. Language is used to create the atmosphere that Rona Munro wants us to feel or sense
before the actors enter. Why do you think she feels that the atmosphere is important?
2. How does she use language to create this atmosphere?
Read Deirdre’s first speech in the play and the first appearance of Marie.
3. Deirdre’s speech uses repetition. Read the speech aloud and then discuss the effect
repeating certain words and phrases has on meaning. What is the purpose of writing the
speech in this way?
4. Marie’s speech has a very different purpose. Describe what the dramatist is trying to create
and comment on the reason and purpose for the immediate contrast.
5. The characters use colloquial language – it is informal and uses the idioms of everyday
Belfast. From anywhere in scene one, choose a passage that graphically demonstrates the
differences between Standard English and that of the characters’. Make a note of the
differences. How does the use of informal English contribute to the play?

Symbolism
A word or set of words that signifies an object or event which itself signifies something else: an image
which starts from the concrete; an object and radiates out to ideas; concepts or feelings. Some
conventional symbols include the Cross, dove, rose. Poets often use private or personal symbols, which
they develop themselves.

Some speeches by Deirdre, Marie and Cassie could be taken as symbolic in various ways. Look again at the
monologues spoken by these characters. Taking each speech in turn try to analyse its symbolic significance.
Consider the colours and noises, the weather, objects, events, and feelings.

Image and Symbol (Gifford)

The play’s title has open-ended symbolic suggestions; in that it points to several meanings of ‘bold’
(and even some different meanings of ‘girls’?). Boldness can be a term for bravery, for brash self-
assertion, even for selfish arrogance. Used with ‘girls’, it can carry sexual implications – and when we
see that ‘girls’ spans young teenagers to elderly women, the symbolic overtones and ironies increase.
There’s also the idea of sisterhood – backed up by the central toast the three make to themselves in
the Club. Doesn’t the title also challenge, symbolically, with its use of ‘bold’ for women, when
conventionally it would be used, especially in Irish culture and drama, in regard to ‘boys’ and men?
Perhaps from that very title we are supposed to be asking why it’s not men who are the bold ones –
so where are they?

An interesting characteristic of Munro’s use of image and symbol is the way she lets very ordinary
items and objects slowly gather their symbolic significance through repetition, using them almost as
motifs. Her use of bird-imagery, of the pictures of Michael and the Virgin, of Deirdre’s knife, of course
carry expectations of freedom (and captivity), secular and spiritual obligations, and violence
respectively. More unusual is the way she makes more mundane objects such as Mickey’s raspberry
ice-cream syrup, or Nora’s peach-coloured polyester fabric, or references to current TV shows and
films (including The Accused, Nightmare on Elm Street, Blind Date, The Hulk, Home and Away) into a
running symbolism indicating the cheapness of modern materialism and culture. This is what Irish
culture has come to in contemporary Belfast -perhaps what culture has come to in the Western World.
41
In a sense Munro makes everything symbolic – the children out of sight, the ignored explosions, the
Brits trampling flowers, the continual reference to absent men. It’s a measure of her creative richness
that, the more the play is considered, the more its situations and its contrasts of light and dark begin
to stand out, however; the use of the eclipse of the moon in scene three, and the use of the name
‘Deirdre’ for the lost youngster of Belfast.

The eclipse occurs at the play’s lowest point. Yes, scene four will bring horrific home truths into the
open, but this can be seen as positive, in that at least what’s been festering has broken out. It’s
important, too, that the eclipse darkens the wasteground on which Cassie once again avoids telling
the truth to Marie; the darkened moon and the wasted ground joining together as powerful symbols
for the darkened and wasted lives and situations of all the women. The lack of sun and freedom
we’ve already observed; now, with Deirdre’s destruction of Nora’s dreams, with Cassie’s continual
deception, of herself as well as Marie and her mother, and Marie about to have her last saving lie
shattered, even the last bit of moonlight in their wasted lives is going to vanish – our very own
shadow swallowing up all the light of the moon’, says Marie, more truly than she knows.

Munro has stated that she wasn’t conscious of having picked the
name ‘Deirdre’ as an echo of the famous tragic heroine of Irish
and Scottish mythology, Deirdre of the Sorrows. She has also
said that her Deirdre isn’t all that similar to the legendary
Deirdre, though she sees that her ‘desperate love and terrible
grief’ echoes that of the ancient Irish story. Authors, we know,
work at levels of imagination of which they are not always
conscious; and, whether brought about consciously or
unconsciously, one of the great achievements of the play lies in
the way the youngster Deirdre carries with her, like the older
Mrs Boyle in Juno and the Paycock, a burden of Irish history, its
agonies, and its dreams. She has dim memories of a greener,
older Ireland; she is a lost generation; and, though her story
lacks the magnificence of the older Deirdre’s tragic involvement
with great lovers and heroic kings, isn’t there almost a
supernatural feel to her waif-like appearances, suggesting that
in a way she embodies suffering Ireland, come down from
ancient glory to modern tragedy? And isn’t the implication of
the ending that ‘it’s nearly morning’, that she may yet find birds, sunshine, freedom? And is there
perhaps associated with this a last representation of Marie, generous to birds and children and
friends, protector of lame ducks, as an ironic but kindly comment that the real saints are closer to
home?

Deirdre as a Symbol
1 Deirdre operates on several levels and has several roles: a character in the play, a catalyst for
action, a chorus/choral character, and a symbol.
a. Consider Deirdre’s symbolic significance- as a child, victim, outsider (etc) and go on to write a
paragraph about her symbolic significance.
b. Sum up her role as a catalyst and a chorus figure.
2 Do you pity her, sympathise with her, identify with her as an ordinary character in the play?
3 Which of Deirdre’s roles do you think is most effective to the drama? Why?
4 What might Deirdre represent about a) the troubles and b) the position of women in
society?

42
Colour
Colour is described by the characters on occasion, each time for a different reason. Colours include grey,
white, green, red, blue. Find examples of each and discuss what symbolic value each colour represents.

Colour Where in the play Significance

Grey

Green

Red

Blue

White

Knife
In addition to being a theme in the play, the knife is a symbol of ‘hard
truth’. Find all the references to the knife and examine how they
could be symbolic of truth and how Deirdre’s arrival is as violent and
damaging as a knife. Knives are also used in surgery: could this be
relevant?

Motifs
Many plays have a series of motifs running through them. These are recurring words, phrases or
images which help underline some of the play’s central concerns in terms of theme or
characterisation.

Nora enters with a pile of damp sheets

Pick out from the rest of the play other occasions when Nora is associated with household
articles. What does this suggest about her character?
She’s a flock of owls come in special.
Pick out the occasions in the play when Marie speaks about or does things for the birds. What
do you think the birds and her care for them might represent?

43
Dialogue

In dialogue we have conversation between two or three characters. This allows us to witness how
the characters get along with one another and to see tensions between them. Keep in mind that
the essence of drama is conflict, and
that in a piece of literature everything
that is written down is put there for a
reason.

1. Discuss the contrasting attitudes

between Nora and Cassie during
the retelling of Sean’s arrest
(page 26).
2. To what extent is the use of
humour in the narrative
appropriate?

Humour

A lot of the humour from this play comes from the language used. There are very few novels or
plays that do not contain at least one funny moment. Much of the humour comes in the form of
speech used by characters.

1. Although ‘Bold Girls’ is not a comedy but a serious play, there are many funny parts!
There are many ‘one-liners’. Find three ‘one-liners’ and comment on why they are funny.
2. Sometimes the characters mean to be wittily sarcastic. Cassie’s ‘aqualung’ line is a good
example of intentional humour. However, we often find characters are unintentionally
funny: we don’t laugh with but at them. Find an example of this type of humour and
comment on what this tells us about the character we are laughing at.
3. In some cases, the situations themselves are funny. The second scene where the women
play ‘the Price is Right’ is an example. What do you think it is that makes us laugh? Show
how the joke is gradually built up and the effect it has on the serious discussion that Nora
and Cassie are having.
4. At the beginning of the play, but after Deirdre’s speech on page, there is a good deal of
interaction between the characters that is very amusing. Why does Rona Munro go to
such lengths to amuse us in what is to be a deeply serious play? How are your
perceptions about the banter in Marie’s home affected by seeing Deirdre first?

44
Monologue and soliloquy

A soliloquy is when a character in a play speaks outside of the action of the play, often addressing (or
appearing to address) the audience. This will give us a deeper insight into the action or understanding the
character and his or her motivation. Soliloquy is a speech where the character, alone on stage (often
at the front), speaks their innermost thoughts.

Monologue is a speech that is delivered by one character but is intended to be heard by the
audience and possibly responded to by the other characters.

Each character has at least one soliloquy.

1 For each character, summarise their soliloquies. Make a note of any important quotes.
2 For each soliloquy, make notes on what we learn about each character.

You may like to consider:

 Deirdre – being outside

 Marie – her wedding
 Cassie – her family life
 Nora – stories she could tell

Find an example of each type of speech and analyse it in detail.

 Who is speaking?
 What is the situation?
 How is she feeling?
 What is the tone?
 Look at word choice, sentence structure and any imagery used
in this speech.
 Is this meant to be heard by other characters on stage?
 Is this the speaker sharing her innermost thoughts?

Monologues and Crosstalk (Gifford)

Some of the most striking features of the way the bold girls talk
are connected to their essential loneliness, despite the
appearance of communal living and sharing of washing, shopping,
socialising.

Nora and Cassie frequently talk without listening to what the

other is saying, and even Marie will reminisce without noticing if
anyone is paying attention. The effect is at first humorous – for
examples, the opening discussion between Cassie and Marie
regarding the red knickers, which is interspersed with Nora’s
unheeded reminders about the washing machine boiling over, or
the way in which shortly after, with distant explosions and troops
coming up the road, Marie and Cassie talk about computer games
and heaters while Nora laments her nasturtiums. Munro is, of

45
course, making the point that all of them are so hardened to this backdrop of the Troubles that
explosions no longer merit more than a moment’s concern; but isn’t she also showing a habit
which in the end reveals that all of them have taken refuge in humdrum domestic chat which
really doesn’t communicate, but which papers over the real and tragic difficulties and distances in
their lives? A good example for analysis occurs in scene one when Deirdre has arrived; Nora and
Cassie casually have one eye on the TV, the other, distrustfully, on Deirdre. Munro adds another
comment here; that modern absorption with the trivia of TV puts distances between real life and
media-imagined life; they are watching Blind Date, and Munro slyly suggests ironic contrasts
between the lives of the bold girls and the dream world of the TV show.

The idea of breakdown of communication deepens as the play goes on. Notice the random
disconnectedness of what the girls say at the one-minute silence for the latest casualty of the
Troubles; significantly, the opening is ‘I didn’t know him’, echoing the play’s main theme of
loneliness. Marie, typically, shows sorrow – Nora talks of her cramp, Cassie of her sore feet. This is
even more pronounced during Marie’s spell at the lectern. Guessing prices for tea-sets and
computer games; Cassie and Nora really begin
to dig each other up – yet manage to switch
back continually to the price game, in between
insults. What began as strategic deafness and
non-listening goes on to become serious
evasion of reality and home truths; for example,
the scene three eclipse exchanges between
Marie and Cassie, where increasingly Cassie
finds she can’t reveal the truth about Michael
to Marie. We should remember that Marie
herself, with her protective sentiments about
brave Michael the Good Daddy in Heaven,
probably doesn’t want to hear either.

Doesn’t all this prepare us for the realisation that it is society itself, and local community, which
has broken down in terms of communication and truth? Direct, honest face-to-face talking and
listening only comes at the end of the play – and by then it is perhaps communication too late for
reconciliation.

It’s worth, too, looking at Nora’s almost ritual self-deception and self-celebration. No-one else has
ever appreciated her, so her habit is to ‘frame’ the past, violent, or happy, into set pieces which
give her a sense of importance. These arranged and edited memories have presumably been
heard by the others many times. ‘The Night They Took Joe’, ‘Sheila’s Kids and the Magnolia Paint’
– Nora has several pieces in her repertoire which serve to buffer her from harsh truth. She turns
things like the brutality of the British troops to women into comic episodes – the alternative,
facing the truth, being impossible.

The play has striking expressive monologues. Deirdre has four (1, 8, 16, 32); Marie three (8, 21,
33); Cassie three (20, 29, 47) and Nora one (36). In terms of the play’s theme of the breakdown of
communication, these reinforce the idea that central truths are being avoided, since the honesty
of these direct, almost surreal moments cuts right across the grain of evasion and mutual
deception which is typical of the Bold Girls. It’s significant that Deirdre and Marie – the two
characters seen to be at least partly redeemed in the end – break out of expressionist and surreal
monologue to talk frankly to each other in a way which brings catharsis, the purging of hatred and
distrust, and a willingness to go forward.
46
Extract 1 - Marie’s speech (pages 13–14/ 8-9): ‘There’s shooting on the main road … It was a
terrible wet day … just seventeen after all.’

This extract begins with a short dialogue, a short monologue and then Marie’s longer speech.

1. Referring to each of the above, explain how two contrasting aspects of the Troubles are
revealed by what the characters say in the dialogue and in the monologues. (4)
2. Read the information about the lighting changes in this extract. Explain what effect is
created by these the lighting changes. (4)
3. Identify the tone of Marie’s speech. Referring to two examples of word choice, sentence
structure or rhythm, explain how this is developed. (5)
4. Identify two differences between the 17-year-old Marie and the woman who is speaking
now. (2)
5. Referring to this speech and to at least one other part of the play, explain to what extent
Marie’s attitude to her late husband is changed by events in the play. (8)

Extract 2 - Deirdre’s monologue (pages 24–25/16): ‘I need a knife … point where you liked.’
6. Using your own words, explain what Deirdre is telling us she has seen. (4)
7. Using your own words, explain what she says she wants. (2)
8. Deirdre uses the idea of the knife metaphorically. Explain how effective you consider the
metaphor to be. (2)
9. Referring to two examples of language, explain how Deirdre is shown to be a threatening
force. (4)
10. By referring to this speech and at least one other part of the play, discuss to what extent
Bold Girls is a play about truth and self-deception. (8)

47
CRITICAL READING TASKS SUGGESTED ANSWERS

Extract 3 - Nora and Cassie’s dialogue (pages 25–28), Daddies scene (pages 31–32)

The scene begins with a short dialogue, an interchange between Marie and Cassie and then Cassie’s
speech, followed by Marie’s reference to the pigeons.
1. Outline the event which has preceded this.
2. Referring to Marie’s speech ‘I just bring him … your daddy can see us’, show what is
revealed about her character.
3. How do Nora and Cassie react to what Marie has said? What do their reactions tell us
about them?
4. Referring to Cassie’s speech, show what is revealed about the relationship between Cassie
and her father.
5. Referring to another part of the play show the impact this bond has had on Cassie’s
relationship with Nora.
6. When Marie talks about the birds, to what else is she referring? Explain the metaphor.

8 Marker task

To what extent would you agree that Bold Girls presents us with a pessimistic view of the women’s
lives? In your answer you should refer to more than one part of the play.

To help you, consider the difficulties the women face on a daily basis. What are these? What are
their coping strategies? What do they have to help them deal with their problems? Is this all bad or
is there some positive aspect to their lives?

Extract 4 - Marie’s speech (pages 32–33) ‘I like the pigeons … Sometimes he even did that.’

1. To what extent does feeding the birds fit in with what we’ve learned throughout Scene 1 of
Marie’s nature?
2. The birds are an important part of Marie’s life. Identify their significance. Where else they are
mentioned? Why is mentioning them at this point in the play significant?
3. How did she deal with Michael’s unexplained absences when he was probably engaged in acts
of terrorism?
4. Explain the other dramatic function that the speech achieves.

8 Marker task
To what extent does the dramatist create sympathy for a character in the play? Referring to this
speech and to other parts of the play, show how we feel about Marie.

To help you, consider her role as a single mum, a grieving widow, a feeder of birds, provider of
shelter to Deirdre. At what point does she finally snap?

48
Extracts 5 - Cassie’s speech (page 43)

1. Who does Cassie blame for forming men’s attitudes? Discuss why this might be the case.
2. What is the connection between what Cassie says in this extract and what Marie says in
extract 6 about how men’s minds work?
3. What do you consider to be the tone of Cassie’s speech?
4. To what extent do you agree with what the character says?

Extract 6 - Marie’s speech (page 78–79)

1. What conflict does Marie believe men face?

2. Do you think she believes this is the case with all men, regardless of social class and
environment? Find evidence from the passage.
3. To what extent has the understanding of men which she talks about created a problem for
Marie?
4. What is the tone of her speech?
5. To what extent do you agree with what the character says?
6. What are the ideas about female/male relationships being discussed in these scenes and in
the play as a whole?
 You might wish to explore why Cassie is not looking forward to her husband being released from
prison.
 How does Munro let us know the men have to deal with inner conflicts also? You might wish to
look at what Marie tells us about Michael.

Extract 7 (pages 56–57)

1. Read the stage directions on page 56. What does the sentence structure suggest about
Cassie’s feelings and her mood?
2. How is Cassie feeling at this point and why might this be so?
3. How does Marie’s speech reflect aspects of her character?
4. Find evidence of how the characters find living in such a close-knit community difficult.
Comment on word choice and imagery.
5. Comment on the use of the word ‘martyr’. To what extent are women’s lives regarded this
way in the play as a whole?
6. Summarise the ways in which Nora deals with having a son in Longkesh prison.
7. Select another example of dramatic irony from the play and explain its contribution to your
understanding of plot/character.

49
 CRITICAL READING TASKS SUGGESTED ANSWERS

Revision Notes/ Answers

Character Profile

Marie
Biography:
Character Name: Marie
Marie is a widowed housewife with two children. She works in a poor job and struggles for money.
Despite this, she appears to be very happy and always makes sure her house is welcoming for
visitors.

Observation Evidence Analysis

Even before Marie speaks, we
are given a very positive
impression of her by the stage
directions. It is immediately
clear that she makes the most
of what little she has. She is a
good mother and a good
hostess.
‘toys that are new and Marie puts her children before
gleaming and flashing with herself. In order to make sure that
lights and have swallowed up they have the latest toys, she is
the year’s savings.’ willing to sacrifice all of her savings.
‘It’s pots and pans and steam This tells us that Marie is a frequent
and the kettle always hot for hostess. She ensures that no guest
tea.’ will go without refreshments.
‘it’s furniture that’s bald with The age and condition of the
age and a hearth in front of furniture tells us that Marie does
the coal fire that’s gleaming not have much money. However,
clean.’ she makes the most of this by
making sure that everything is
clean and tidy. This tells us that she
is skilled in domestic chores.

Marie looks upon her dead
husband Michael with an
admiration which matches
religious devotion.
‘There is a small picture of
the Virgin on one wall, a
large grainy blow-up photo
of a smiling young man on
the other.’
Marie’s large picture of Michael is a
centrepiece on the stage. The fact
that it is bigger than the picture of
the Virgin Mary suggests that she
places him on a pedestal like an
icon. It tells us a great deal about
Marie’s priorities in life.

Indirect characterisation When trying to convince The idealised view of Michael held
suggests to us that Marie is Marie to go to the club, by Marie is not shared by other

50
naïve and worships a false idol.
Marie is kind, caring and
motherly. When Deirdre knocks
on the door, she is unable to
ignore her visitor and is willing
to let her stay.
Marie is shy. She does not enjoy
being the centre of attention.
Marie is a good friend.
Cassie says to Nora:
‘Sure he was hardly here
when he was alive.’
‘You better sit down by the
fire’
‘Well you wouldn’t have me
turn her out on the street in
a towel, would you?’
‘Oh I hate standing out in
front of everyone.’
‘Feel a bit like the last meat
pie in the shop out here,
Cassie.’
When Cassie reveals that she
is afraid of what will happen
when her husband is
released from jail, Marie
reassures her by saying:
‘I’ll be just across the road; I
won’t let you go crazy. You
just see what you’ll get if you
try it.’
51
characters. This suggests to us that
she is possibly delusional and may
become very unhappy when
confronted with the truth.
Even when confronted by a
complete stranger, Marie is unable
to turn her away. Instead she
invites her in and shows concern
for her well-being.
Even after Deirdre has exploited
her hospitality, Marie remains
considerate.
When she wins the chance to play
‘The Price is Right,’ Marie is very
reluctant to go up as everyone will
be looking at her. This shows that
she prefers to remain in the
background.
As Cassie dances extravagantly,
Marie is sent to get her by Nora.
Her movements are cautious, and
she is unhappy that everyone is
looking at them. This further shows
her reluctance to take the spotlight.
Instead of being shocked by
Cassie’s revelations, Marie is very
supportive. She shows that she will
be there even when times are
tough.
 CRITICAL READING TASKS SUGGESTED ANSWERS

‘I don’t know how you coped Marie offers a sympathetic ear for a
with all Joe’s carry on. I troubled friend. She reassures her
don’t. You were the martyr friend that her suffering is not
there, Cassie. imagined.

Marie’s selfless, gentle, and
caring nature is also evident in
her treatment of animals.
‘she’s worried she won’t be
out of her bed to feed the
sparrows their crusts first
thing’
This shows how selfless Marie is.
Instead of going to bed after getting
home late, she scatters crumbs for
the birds as she is worried, she will
sleep in. Her first thoughts are
never for herself.

‘She wouldn’t tread on a Cassie’s observation again

spider if she found it in her
shoe.’
highlights how caring Marie is. Even
when it is an inconvenience, she is
not willing to treat other beings
with anything other than complete
care and affection.

Marie is a positive character
who can put a positive spin on
even poor circumstances.
When Cassie asks why she is
so happy, Marie says:
‘I’ve a lot to be thankful for.
I’ve my kids, my job, a nice
wee house and I can still pay
for it.’
Although she is impoverished and
struggling to cope financially, Marie
is thankful for what she has. While
she has to suffer, she is pleased
that she is still able to provide for
others.

Despite her apparent positivism
and delusional nature, Marie is
very self-aware.
‘I know nothing at all. That’s
the only story I’m fit to tell
you about, about nothing at
all… Except being brave and
coping great and never
complaining and holding the
home together.’
Marie is fully aware of the way
others see her. It is clear from this
that her apparent ignorance is an
intentional construct which she has
built to save herself from complete
misery.

Cassie

Cassie is an extroverted mother of two. She is the daughter of Sean and Nora, the brother of
Martin and is married to Joe. She admires her dead father and despises her husband. Her
desperation to escape Belfast reveals a lot about her character. Unlike Marie, she is not a natural
mother. Moreover, she has had a number of extra-marital affairs, including one with Marie’s
husband Michael.
52
 Observation Evidence Analysis

Cassie is not Cassie scares Michael Junior by Here, Cassie uses fear as a
naturally motherly. describing what will happen to him if controlling device. This shows
This is one reason he keeps eating a tub of raspberry ice- that she is willing to achieve her
why she struggles to cream syrup: goals using methods which may
fit into a society in hurt the child. These are not
‘I’ll tell you what happens to all those
which women are qualities we associate with good
men that drink whiskey and all those
valued for being motherhood.
wee boys that drink raspberry ice-
good mothers.
cream syrup; their intestines get
eaten away and their stomachs get
eaten away and all the other bits just
shrivel up and die.’

Cassie is insensitive In scene one, Nora says:
and can seem
‘God forgive me for bringing a child
uncaring.
into the world with a heart of flint and
a tongue to match.’
This metaphor portrays Cassie as
a cold person who is incapable of
sensitivity or sympathy. The fact
that her own mother is saying
this reveals a negative aspect of
her personality.

Cassie does not ‘Oh so should I just get back in my box Cassie objects to her mother’s
agree with the and wear bin liners till he’s out, belief that she should not wear
values of a society should I?’ revealing clothes in the absence
which values men of her husband. She likes looking
over women. good and wants to grab the
attention of others.

‘Do you know that you never put a
plate of food in front of me before he
had his.’
Cassie was hurt by the clear
favouritism showed to her
brother Martin. She knows that
society values men over women
but does not accept these values.

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CRITICAL READING TASKS SUGGESTED ANSWERS

Cassie is very When Marie informs her that Cassie is very different to Marie.
confident and enjoys everyone is watching her dance, While Marie is uncomfortable
being the centre of Cassie says: with attention, Cassie thrives on
attention. it.
‘Let them.’

Cassie is forthright When Marie fails to confront Deirdre Cassie refuses to act in any way
and confrontational. over the thefts, Cassie takes it upon which may be considered weak.
herself to do so: She is annoyed by Marie’s
‘I hope you’ve not taken a fancy to submissiveness and feels that
anything else that’s caught your eye, protecting her friend is her duty.
like my handbag.’
Cassie is selfish. ‘I could leave her the children.’ Cassie is so desperate to escape
that she is even willing to leave
her own children behind. This
again shows that she is not a kind
and caring mother.
Cassie views herself ‘Heart like a Brillo pad, that’s me.’ In both quotes, Cassie shows that
in a negative way. ‘I’m just wicked.’ she does not have a high opinion
of herself. She sees herself as
being unkind, uncaring, and
lacking in humanity.
Cassie is not a good ‘That’s what I’m telling you Marie. We Cassie has not only betrayed
friend. were both lying to you for years.’ Marie but has kept this
information to herself. She
deliberately tries to destroy
Marie’s happiness out of jealousy
as she herself is deeply unhappy
having learned that her money
has been stolen.

Nora

Nora is Cassie’s mother and the wife of the now dead Sean. She was unhappy in her marriage but
loves her son Martin dearly. Her relationship with her daughter is at times very tense. She is
obsessed with home improvements.

54
 Nora is fiercely protective of
her family.
Nora is caring.
Nora is old-fashioned.
Deirdre is a sixteen-year-old girl who is desperate to learn the truth about her father Michael.
She has not had a good life. Her mother neglects her and the male role models in her life are
either absent or violent.
Roles played by Deirdre in the play:
‘“I’m that boy’s mother-in
law, and before you take
him, you’ll have to answer to
me.”’
As Cassie complains about
Deirdre taking a shower,
Nora says:
‘That child needs help from
someone’
She spends lots of money on
fruit for her imprisoned son
and son-in-law.
In Nora’s house, the men are
always served their food
first.
‘You’ve a job to do bringing
up that family and making a
decent home for you and
your man, so get on with it.’
Deirdre
55
As Joe is being arrested,
Nora bravely confronts the
soldiers taking him even
although she is risking her
own safety. Cassie describes
her as ‘lioness’ and this
highlights just how much she
cares about her family.
Although Deirdre is acting in
a way which does not invite
sympathy, Nora is able to
see that she is a troubled
young woman.
She wants to ease the
suffering of family members
even although it comes at an
expense she can hardly
afford.
Here, Nora shows that she
thinks that the job of women
is to make life comfortable
for the men in their lives.
She is unable to sympathise
with Cassie’s complaints as
she does not feel that
women should put
themselves ahead of others.
 CRITICAL READING TASKS SUGGESTED ANSWERS

A conventional character - With a past.

- With a present.
- With a purpose.
- With typical characteristics of a teenager.
A ‘ghost’ - She resembles Marie’s dead husband.
- She wears clothes which forces Marie to remember her past.
A parasite - She exploits Marie’s kindness and hospitality.
- She steals literally and metaphorically from others.
- Defines herself in relation to other people.
A catalyst - Reveals the past.
- Forces confessions.
- Uncovers the ‘truth.’
- Destroys dreams.
- Changes the mood of the play.
A link - Links Marie’s home and the violence and crime outside.
- Links the past and the present.
- Between the present and the future.
An observer and a - On the physical setting.
commentator - Evoking mood and atmosphere.
- As a spy or a detective.

Observation Evidence Analysis

Deirdre is an outsider. Stage directions: While the other characters are

safe and warm in Marie’s
‘Deirdre is not in this room; she’s
home, Deirdre is trapped
crouching on all fours on her own
outside. She is on ‘all fours’
talking out of darkness in which
which makes us think of an
only her face is visible. She is wary,
animal. It makes us think that
young.’
she lonely and frightened.

Deirdre is determined. ‘I’m wet, I’m cold. I want to get
inside. There’s burning making the
sky black. The sky’s full of rain and
the sound of the helicopter. I want
to get inside. Can’t keep me out.’
While this underlines
Deirdre’s outsider status as an
outsider who is exposed to
the harsh outside world, it
also reveals more about her
personality. Her repetition of
‘I want to get inside’ makes
her ambition very clear. She
wants to invade the

56

Deirdre lacks basic She does not thank Marie for her
manners and courtesy. hospitality and takes a shower
She is also a thief. without asking permission.
Moreover, she steals Marie’s
clothing and earrings as well as
Cassie’s two hundred pounds.
Deirdre is destructive. ‘I need a knife. A wee blade of my
own… A wee bit of hard truth you
could hold in your hand and point
where you liked.’
‘She looks at the broad, smooth
stretch of material then starts to
slash at it, ripping it, trampling it till
she’s breathless.’
Deirdre is cunning. ‘It was in a car. A blue car.’
Deirdre is neglected and ‘She’ll have locked me out.’
57
comfortable domestic world
represented by Marie’s home.
The final line shows that she
will stop at nothing in her
attempts to achieve this.
This perhaps suggests that
Deirdre is self-centred as she
wants takes what she wants
without thinking about the
possible consequences. It may
also suggest desperation. She
is so weary of her second-rate
life that she is willing to
involve herself in criminal
activity to escape the harsh
reality of the outside world.
Deirdre’s determination is
apparent in her willingness to
destroy obstacles to the truth
in a violent way. She believes
that a knife empowers her and
gives her the chance to get
the truth on her own terms.
As the pressure is turned on
her, Deirdre subtly lets Cassie
know of the power she
possesses. She knows of the
affair between Cassie and
Michael and is willing to use
this knowledge for her own
purposes.
Deirdre’s mother is guilty of
 CRITICAL READING TASKS SUGGESTED ANSWERS

abused. When she is asked who bruised her, terrible neglect. Instead of
Deirdre says: worrying about the
whereabouts of her sixteen-
‘Just the fella she’s got living with
year-old daughter, she is
her just now.’
willing to leave her locked out
when the streets are a
warzone. Moreover, she
continues to live with a man
who is abusing her daughter
physically

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 Relationships between the Characters

1- Marie and Cassie

From the start of the play, we are made aware of the close relationship between these two
characters. Cassie is willing to ask Marie a deeply personal question about her underwear and even
helps deal with the behaviour of Michael Junior. The closeness of this relationship is further
revealed when Cassie confides her fears about the release from prison of her husband Joe in Marie.
There are no barriers between the two characters and Cassie even reveals her desire to escape
Belfast even if it means leaving her children behind. Beneath the surface of this seemingly close
relationship though, there is a story of betrayal. Cassie is jealous of her friend’s ability to appear
happy despite her poor quality of life and reveals a hidden secret- her affair with Michael. This
causes a huge change in their friendship and Marie screams at Cassie to get out of her house.

2- Cassie and Nora

Conflict is central to the relationship between Cassie and Nora. They are very different women who
have very different beliefs. Central to their conflict is their differing memories of Sean. While Cassie
idolises a man she remembers as a ‘lovely,’ ‘gentle’ man, her mother recalls the physical abuse she
was subjected to. Cassie maintains that Nora brought the beatings upon herself as she would
constantly nag her husband. They also disagree about Cassie’s husband Joe. While Cassie despises
him, Nora remembers him as an ideal husband.

Cassie does not remember her upbringing fondly. She feels that she was taught only to be a second-
class citizen who was to look up to men. While her brother Martin was spoiled, she was constantly
in trouble. She complains that he was always served dinner first as part of his clear role as his
mother’s favourite. There appears to be some foundation in Cassie’s complaints. When Nora
complains about Cassie’s revealing dress and failure to wear a bra, Cassie points out that she had no
problem accepting Martin’s womanising ways. Nora denies that Martin fathered an illegitimate
child despite being presented with obvious proof. It is obvious that there are double standards at
work.

Another reason why Cassie resents Nora is the role her mother is playing in the upbringing of her
children. She feels that Nora has stopped her from developing a close relationship with the children.
This is revealed when she says:
‘Teresa turns to her before she turns to me and Brian’s getting all the washing and polishing
and wee cups of ice cream to keep him smiling that Martin ever got.’

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CRITICAL READING TASKS SUGGESTED ANSWERS

At the end of the play, Nora tries to force Cassie to admit that her dad was not a saint. The
subsequent argument leads to a revelation which helps us to understand the poor relationship
between the two women. Cassie tells her mum: ‘I never hated you… I just wanted you to make it
happen different.’ From this it can be taken that Cassie resents her mum for not putting a positive
slant on things in the way Marie does with her children. She even admits that her mother has had a
tough life when she tells Marie, ‘Mummy’s heart is made of steel. She had to grow it that way.’

3- Marie and Deirdre

At first, Marie’s warmth towards Deirdre and willingness to overlook the theft seems bizarre.
However, it is possible that she feels an obligation to the girl as it is clear that she resembles
Michael. Moreover, she may see Deirdre as the daughter she never had. Deirdre, at first exploits
this in a way which makes her seem contemptible. However, by the end of the play she has changed
and is willing to give back what she has taken after a stressed Marie lashes out at her. On the final
page Deirdre is invited to stay for breakfast and Marie tells her about the joys of feeding birds. This
is a positive ending which leaves room for optimism. We feel that the future relationship between
these characters represents hope for the future.

4- Marie and Michael

Marie idolises Michael and memories of their relationship help her to survive alone in a war-torn
environment. She believes that this relationship was built on trust, truthfulness, and respect. When
she explains her reasons for being thankful, she neatly surmises the role Michael plays in her life,
‘I’ve had better times with Michael than a lot of women get in their whole lives with a man.’

After the affair is revealed, there is a brief change in Marie’s view. Her destruction of the picture
along with her failure to finish the story she tells her children and her reference to her husband’s
‘lying head’ suggests that her love and respect for him have been destroyed by the truth. However,
she goes on to admit that she herself concealed the truth she knew about the inevitable fate shared
by men like her husband. She concludes by saying, ‘I loved him. I can’t throw that away even now. I
loved him.’

5- Cassie and Joe

Cassie tells her mother that she regards her decision to marry Joe as a mistake made someone too
young to know better. She confides in Marie about her true feelings towards her husband when she
says:

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 ‘‘‘I tell you Marie I can’t stand the smell of him. The greasy, grinning, beer bellied smell of him.
And he’s winking away about all he’s been dreaming of, wriggling his fat fingers over me like I’m a
poke of chips- I don’t want him in the house in my bed, Marie.”’
This tells us why Cassie feels the way she does about her husband. Her reference to him ‘wriggling
his fat fingers over me like I’m a poke of chips’ shows that he sees his wife as a possession and an
object. He treats her without any respect as he believes that she is his personal belonging.

The full extent of this hatred is revealed in the final stanza when she reveals that she has been
plotting to kill him to avoid the continuation of their marriage when he is released from prison.

6- Cassie and Sean

Cassie looks up to her father. He is the only male she seems to exclude from her general
condemnation of the gender. Despite his obvious faults she remembers him as a kind, caring and
gentle man who was driven to an early grave by the unholy alliance of Nora and Martin.

7- Nora and Sean

Nora remembers Sean as a violent drunk who made her life a misery. Her unwillingness to
remember him in a positive way causes a great deal of conflict with her daughter.

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CRITICAL READING TASKS SUGGESTED ANSWERS

Symbolism and Theme

Truth versus Escapism

The main theme in ‘Bold Girls’ is the nature of the truth. While Marie, Nora and Cassie try hard to
escape from the truth, Deirdre is desperate to discover it.

Each of the characters escapes reality in different ways.

Marie escapes reality in the following ways:

- By remembering the quality of her married life fondly. This is symbolised by the huge picture
of Michael which dominates her living space.
- Feeding the birds. As birds have connotation of freedom and escape, it is clear that they
symbolise Marie’s desire to flee from the truth. On the final page, she reveals that she
admires the resourcefulness of smaller birds. They are the model by which she lives her life.
- Drink large amounts of alcohol.
- Keeping her house in good order. Houses and the inside represent safety from the outside
world. By maintaining her home, Marie is able to block out the darkness of the outside
world.

Nora escapes from reality in the following ways:

- Constantly decorating her house. The peach polyester symbolises her escape from everyday
life as her attempts to secure it dominate her mind over everything else.
- Drinking large amounts of alcohol.

Cassie escapes from reality in the following ways:

- By telling herself that she will be able to escape Belfast using the money she has been
saving.
- Affairs with men.
- Drinking large amounts of alcohol.

While Marie and Nora seem reasonably happy in consequence of their chosen methods of escape,
Cassie’s honest assessment suggests that escapism is not successful in blocking out reality. She tells
Marie that her affairs have not stopped her from getting ‘damp.’ The idea that escapism has not
benefited her is continued when she says:

‘Grabbing onto some man because he smells like excitement, he smells like escape. They
can’t take you anywhere except into the back seat of their car. They’re all the same.’

62
This perhaps suggests that escapism is not the answer. Does the truth bring happiness in the play
though?

The bleak reality the characters are trying to escape is symbolised both by the colour
grey and by rain in the play. At the start of the play Deirdre is caught in the rain. It is
raining on Marie’s wedding day until she is taken to the home which she can make her
own in order to escape this reality. In saying that her mode of escapism didn’t work,
Cassie reveals that she was not sheltered from the rain.

Throughout the play, the truth is symbolised by the knife. Deirdre wishes to get one as she believes
this will allow her to find out the truth. When she finds one and destroys Nora’s peach polyester,
she sets in motion a series of event which lead to the truth being revealed.

Does the truth bring happiness?

Discovering the truth about Michael destroys Marie’s artificial reality. She is no longer able to
comfort herself with her memories of her ‘perfect’ marriage and uses the knife to destroy his
picture (the symbol representing this form of escape). For her, the truth is destructive.

Learning the truth about the unlikeliness of her escape makes Cassie deeply unhappy. She lashes
out and destroys her friendship with Marie out of petty jealousy at her friend’s ability to be happy.

Deirdre is desperate for the truth, but Marie is unable to provide her with the truth she wanted as
her knowledge of Michael’s personality was flawed. The revelations she has set in motion by
destroying the symbol of domestic bliss seems to have made everyone unhappy.

Therefore, Cassie’s reflections on the nature of the truth seem to be supported by the events of the
final scene:

‘…he did always tell you the truth, but there’s only so much of the truth anyone wants to
hear.’

Marie seems to agree with this when she tells Deirdre that she did not share the truths she knew
with Michael and withheld the parts he would have found upsetting as they would have required
him to change.

Therefore, in reflecting upon the truth, the play seems to suggest that the full truth is a destructive
force which causes deep unhappiness. Only truths which will fall on welcome ears should be shared
in order to maintain happiness.

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CRITICAL READING TASKS SUGGESTED ANSWERS

The Role of Women in Society

In the play, the respective roles of women and men in society (at the time of the play) are also considered.

Men Women

Fight for justice. Be good mothers.

Work to provide for their family. To put the interests of the males in their lives
before their own needs.

Care about the appearance of their home.

While Marie and Nora fit with the expected role of women in society at this time, Cassie and
Deirdre are excluded.

Cassie is excluded as she has been forced to stay at home by her personal circumstances. She is
unable to create a happy household which will allow her to escape reality. Moreover, the presence
of her mother stops her from developing her skills as a mother.

Deirdre is excluded from this as she has been denied the presence of a male who she can look up to
as a child. She has not had the opportunity to develop the skills she will need to successfully
integrate into such a society.

Food and Drink as a Symbol

In the play, food and drink symbolises the subordinate position of females in Irish society during this
historical period. Men and boys are always served first, and it is the role of wives and daughters to
prepare and serve meals. This is symptomatic of the wider role of women who are expected to use
their domestic skills to make a nice home for their husbands and children. Nora’s treatment of
Brian suggests that this is a vicious cycle which is being repeated. Cassie objects to this and as such
is excluded from the form of escapism shared by Marie and Nora who use their domestic duties as a
distraction from the harsh world outside of their doors.

64
Betrayal

Colour is very important as a symbol in the play. We learn a lot about the characters from the
colours they wear.

White is a positive colour which has connotations of purity, innocence, being angelic and of
wedding dresses.

Red has more negative connotations. As it is associated with Satan and hell, it is seen to represent
evil and sinfulness.

Wears White Wears Red

Marie Cassie

Deirdre

As Cassie cheats on her husband and betrays Marie, she is wearing a red dress. The mentions of this
dress earlier in the play hint at her fallen status as a sinner.

Marie wears white as she is pure and innocent. She is a character we are supposed to admire in
consequence of her bravery and resourcefulness.

We are at first surprised that Deirdre is seen wearing white. Her initial acts suggest that she is not a
character we should identify with. However, the full revelation of her character shows that she is
blameless and is a victim of circumstance. The colour she wears hints that she is a character we
should feel pity and sympathy for.

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CRITICAL READING TASKS SUGGESTED ANSWERS
Critical reading tasks suggested answers
Passage 1
Question
Expected response
1 Understanding of the three
elements should be central to
the response
2 Answer must show how the
lighting changes are in keeping
with the mood
3 The answer should indicate that
while Deirdre’s speech is angry
and explosive, Marie’s speech
which follows is nostalgic, and
while she acknowledges the
part that the Troubles have
played in her life, she can find
an optimistic reference to them
The answer must touch on word
choice, rhythm, and sentence
structure
Additional guidance
Dialogue: matter-of-fact way the news is taken,
they are interested but not shocked.
Irony that while this is happening close by, they
have to listen to the radio to get the details.
Monologue: Deirdre
Doom laden, full of depression, anguished in tone;
she is like an abstract representation of the
violence. Speech focuses on the negative aspects:
cold, isolation and violence.
Monologue: Marie
Speech is nostalgic, romantic and a personal
account of how the Troubles impacted on her own
life. She mentions the comedy in the situation and
gives an example from her own wedding.
Lighting focus on the character signals a change in
the dramatic style. The tight focus on Deirdre in
her own space:
 takes attention away from the other women
 is almost like a searchlight picking out her
features
 the next light cue places focus on Marie
 at the end of her long speech, the lights return
to normal, and the other women return to the
scene
Deirdre’s speech:
 Short simple sentences create a staccato effect,
as does repetition.
 Builds to a high pitch of emotion.
 Word choice denotes and connotes wet, cold
and depression, isolation, and violence.
 Repetition of personal pronoun reinforces
strength of individual experience.
In contrast, Marie’s speech:
 Long complex sentences create slow-moving,
reflective mood.
 Use of questions adds to mood of reflection.
66

4 Answer should deal with how
she feels about Michael at the
start of the play and how her
illusions are shattered by Cassie
5 Answer must show that she has
moved from innocence to
experience
 Use of ‘And’ to begin sentences adds to
continuity of mood.
 Simple words and phrases, e.g. ‘only boy’ and
‘wee girl’ add to note of nostalgia and romance.
 Use of idiom, ‘sure’ adds to reflective,
contemplative mood, recalling a happy
memory.
 Constant measured rhythm created by long
sentences and conjunctions.
In the speech it is clear that Marie idolises her dead
husband. He represented everything she wanted in
a man: bold and brave, physically attractive with a
‘bit of the devil’ in him, apparently loyal to her.
Towards the end of the play Cassie reveals that she
had an affair with Michael. It is also shown that he
was Deirdre’s father.
Language used is that we should expect from a
younger girl.
She recalls her despair at roadblocks keeping her
from her wedding.
References to her ‘mummy’.
Refers to herself as a ‘wee girl in a damp wedding
dress’.
But the older woman is present when she recalls
her relief at being married and says ‘I was just
seventeen after all’ – the person speaking is a
mother and Michael’s widow.
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CRITICAL READING TASKS SUGGESTED ANSWERS
6 Answer should refer to specific
events and landmarks of the
Troubles
Normally a bride wears white,
carries flowers, is taken to her
wedding in a fancy car, and has a
reception with a cake and
speeches, but Marie’s experience
is very different
7 Mark on merit, but answer
should refer to the effect of the
combination of abstract and
realistic styles
Roadblocks.
Father shouting at the Brits that they were
ruining his daughter’s big day.
Saracen armoured vehicle (which gave her a lift
to the wedding).
“There were wanted men at the wedding and
everything”
Importance of Deirdre: the use of monologue
and soliloquy to reveal the characters’ feelings
and dilemmas.
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 Passage 2
Question
Expected response
1 Deirdre wants the truth to
be her knife
2 Mini essay
Look back at your notes on
truth and illusion in the
themes section. What is the
truth about life for each of
the four women in the play?
What is each woman trying
to cover up or deny?
Additional guidance
Deirdre is aware that people are keeping secrets
from her and from one another. One of those
secrets is Cassie’s affair with Michael.
If the truth came out about that, it would cut Marie
to the core. To that effect, the metaphor of truth
being a knife to cut through deception is very
effective.
Marie worships at the shrine of her dead husband,
whose picture has equal prominence with that of
the Virgin Mary. While she knows he was engaged
in terrorist activity, as were many in her family, she
tells her children that their daddy was a good man.
She is in denial of Michael’s faults, one of which was
his infidelity, which involved her best friend and
also produced Deirdre.
Nora is a loving mother and desperately house
proud. This is how she comforts herself for her bad
marriage and her widowhood, for her son’s
imprisonment, for having to live in an area where
her home can be invaded by troops without notice.
Cassie is married to a man she does not love, who is
about to be released from prison. She dreams of
running away. Her father, whom she adored, is
dead and there are tensions between Cassie and
her mother over Cassie’s refusal to acknowledge
her father’s faults, which included being violent to
her mother. She is hiding her affair with Michael
from Marie, an affair which Deirdre exposes.
Deirdre, unlike the others, is not trying to cover up
an uncomfortable truth; instead she wants to
expose the harsh reality they are hiding from.
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CRITICAL READING TASKS SUGGESTED ANSWERS
Passage 3
Question
Expected response
1 Marie’s son has been bullied
at school about his father’s
death/ He has been having
nightmares
2 Marie is a loving mother
who comforts her child and
wants to protect him
3 Nora approves and supports
Marie
Cassie is not responding –
she knew the truth about
Michael
4 Cassie was close to her
father
5 Cassie’s feelings for her
father have led to tension
between her mother and her Later in the play we learn that Sean was violent towards
6 The birds provide an outlet
for Marie’s generous, loving which she craves.
nature
Her actions in feeding them
reinforce our idea of her as a
good and praiseworthy
character
7 Mark on merit
The mini essay should state
the main aspects of each
character’s plight and back
this up with a quotation
using the PEE format
Additional guidance
Awareness of what is and what is not appropriate to say
to the child of a dead parent.
Show understanding that the women are trying to show
compassion.
She also idolises her late husband and uses his memory
to give meaning to her life.
Nora is genuinely affected. ‘Marie – that’s lovely’.
She does try to repress her emotion.
She is used to bottling feelings up.
Cassie says she wants ‘out of this place’.
She had an affair with Michael and feels guilty when she
hears Marie sing his praises.
She idolises her father’s memory in a way that parallels
Marie’s feelings for Michael.
Cassie blames Nora for not looking after her man
properly.
his wife and Nora blames Cassie for turning a blind eye
to this.
The birds also symbolise the freedom from violence,
None of the women have an easy time in the play. Nora
and Marie are both widows. They both have family
members in prison. As mothers they are struggling to
make ends meet and are trying to make the best of
things.
Cassie’s husband is in prison, but she dreads his release,
as the marriage is unhappy.
Deirdre appears fatherless – an outsider and an orphan.
However, the closeness between Cassie, Marie and
Nora suggests that their friendship has sustained them
through much of their difficulties, which makes Cassie’s
betrayal of Marie all the more bitter.
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 Passage 4
Question
Expected response
1 Feeding the birds fits with our
idea of Marie as generous,
nurturing and caring
2 The birds symbolise freedom,
escape, but also choice
3 She makes excuses for Michael,
suggesting that he wasn’t
completely part of the terrorist
cell that included the other men
4 Marie is alone, and she is
examining her feelings for
Michael
The closing lines indicate that
she was aware that things were
not as perfect as she has always
suggested
5 Mark on merit
A good answer will touch on
each scene in the play and
should use the PEE format
Additional guidance
Stage directions indicate she is slowly tidying up and
shredding bread for the birds. All through Scene 1
we have seen her being motherly, welcoming
friends to her home, taking Deirdre in and engaging
in acts of generosity.
The pigeon she refers to can fly away but has
chosen never to go beyond Turf Lodge. The pigeon
reference might suggest that Michael himself was a
stool pigeon, used to take the blame in order for
Government targets on arrests/killings to be met
‘he wasn’t even the man they wanted, but they shot
him; that made him the man they wanted’
‘they didn’t really go round together’
Suggestion that he was in the wrong place at the
wrong time, but in Scene 4 we are aware that she
knew what Michael did but was able to deal with it
as long as it wasn’t close to where they lived.
She is aware that he drank too much.
She is aware that he gambled and wasted money on
drink.
She suspects he wasn’t completely sincere in his
declaration of love.
‘Sometimes he even did that’ implies that while she
still sees him as an ideal husband, that she is also
aware that she has created an illusion.
Sympathy for Marie is created: her motherly,
hospitable nature, her qualities as a good friend and
her loyalty to her dead husband are all tested in the
play.
By the close of the play she has finally become
angry and let her anger out when she slashes the
picture of Michael and faces up to the ways in which
he betrayed her.
At the end of the play there is forgiveness and
acceptance of Deirdre.
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CRITICAL READING TASKS SUGGESTED ANSWERS
Question Passages 5 and 6
Expected response
Cassie Passage 5
1 Cassie blames women having
double standards for forming
men’s attitudes
She thinks that women train
their daughters to be strong but
subservient
2 Marie offers a similar comment:
that in the end the women are
left to pick up the pieces
3 Tone might be reflective, but
also bitterly cynical,
acknowledging that while there
are wrongs, the women
perpetuate them by not
changing how they treat their
children
4 Mark on merit
Marie Passage 6
1 Marie thinks the men feel they
have to live up to a stereotypical
image, but given a real choice
would not act in such a
destructive or macho way
2 She thinks the same problem
applies everywhere
3 If Marie had voiced such
feelings, Michael might have left
her
Additional guidance
She cites her own experience of being told to help
in the house while her brothers were indulged and
allowed to make a mess.
Mothers are harder on their daughters, criticising
their appearance and conduct. She says that
mothers often ‘ruin’ their sons to make up for
disappointment in their marriages.
‘you’ll always have it all to do’
‘so they leave and we’ve it all to do …’
A good response will look at the flawed relationship
between Cassie and Nora
‘half the time all they want to do is something
better for us all …’
‘they don’t want to be raging and screaming and
hurting more than they can ever forget in the booze
or the crack or the men beating men …’
‘I don’t think they know what they want at all …’
‘So it will always go on … until we learn some way to
change.’
‘This place is no different to anywhere else.’
‘crazy to talk about it’
‘Sure, what good would telling that kind of truth do
you?’
‘If he heard you he’d have to change.’
‘Maybe he’d sooner leave. I didn’t want him to
leave. I loved him.’
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4 The speech is delivered in a
gentler tone
5 Mark on merit
Both
passages
1 Theatre direction: instructions
2 A good answer will identify that
through the speeches the
characters have spoken aloud
how they feel about their
situations as wives and
daughters, and why things do
not go well for them.
Mini Mark on merit, but deal with
essay both Cassie and Marie, their
marriages, and their upbringing
She is calming both herself and Deirdre down by
exploring the nature of relationships between men
and women, and the dilemma faced by the men in
their hard-line community
A good answer will explore what Marie says about
realising the need for change but remaining silent for
fear of losing her man. With hindsight, given
Michael’s death, Marie might be in fact voicing her
regret.
Answers should refer back to the SWOT analysis
notes in Part 3.
Consider the point in the play where the speeches
come, in separate scenes.
Cassie: awareness that when it comes to sons and
daughters the mothers bring their girls up to deal
with the tasks of being strong wives and mothers,
while encouraging bad behaviour in their sons, which
will not lead to them becoming good husbands.
Marie: realises that the men also have dilemmas, and
that by not speaking her concerns aloud, for fear of
losing her man, she in fact accepted something that
she could have changed for the better.
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 CRITICAL READING TASKS SUGGESTED ANSWERS

Passage 7
Question Additional guidance
Expected response
1 Cassie feels guilty and Semi colon: stresses pause called for by ‘Cassie doesn’t
embarrassed answer for a minute’.
She wants to avoid Marie’s Commas: split the second part of the sentence up to show
questions three evasive actions: looks…hesitating…drops her eyes.
Full stop omitted allows action to flow into speech without
In the second set of stage interruption.
directions her anger and ‘she gets up kicking the ground’ shows a mood of
frustration are shown frustration/guilt/anger that is close to breakdown.
2 Cassie is uncomfortable
because she knows that
having a relationship with
her friend’s husband was
wrong
3 Marie is too trusting, Answer should refer to:
humane and sympathetic ‘I wouldn’t blame you … at all’
for her own good (contrast how Marie does react when the truth is revealed)
4 Answer should deal with There is no privacy in this community, keeping a secret would
the simile and with the be ‘like trying to keep a snake in a matchbox’ – a creature
reference to ‘tarring and which would be hard to restrain and too big for the
feathering’ container. Furthermore the reference to tarring and
feathering also shows how this community would treat
anyone who didn’t observe the rules. Public ritual humiliation
would make life impossible.
5 Answers should explore the Both martyrs and women experience distress
comparison between how a /torment/death to support a system of values. Marie, Nora,
martyr (one who suffers and Cassie struggle to comfort, sustain and support family
and dies for a belief) and members in circumstances which shatter family life and do so
women face trials with courage, dignity, good humour, etc.
6 Nora loves her sons and In this case her spoiling them means gifts of fruit purchased
wants to spoil them, just as by her ‘tenner’ (money she can ill-afford), minus Cassie’s levy.
she did when they were This might seem a small extravagance. It is really a gesture of
small boys love. She can give them nothing but a small token, but wants
them to know their mummy still adores them.
7 Dramatic irony – must deal with at least one other incident and follow the PEE format

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Bibliography

Links

About the author

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rona_Munro

Reference materials
http://digital.nls.uk/scottish-theatre/bold-girls/index.html
http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/scotlit/asls/Laverock-Bold_Girls.html

Essay planning
http://kilchoman.wikispaces.com/Bold+Girls+Notes+and+Essay+Plan
http://misspantonenglish.wikispaces.com/search/view/Bold+Girls

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Appendix 1: Glossary

The Falls (road) The main Catholic Republican area of Belfast.

The Brits The British soldiers.

Name of a Celtic legendary heroine, Deirdre of the
Deirdre
Sorrows.
Saracen Saracen armoured car used by British troops.
Media euphemism for Catholic Republican area of
‘West of the city’
Belfast.
Anderson town, another Catholic Republican area of
Andytown
Belfast.
Royal Ulster Constabulary, the police force during the
RUC
troubles. It had a large number of protestant officers.
Turf Lodge Another Catholic Republican area of Belfast.
Long Kesh Prison, a place where many Republicans were
The Kesh
incarcerated.
Crumlin Road Another main prison in Belfast.
The Provisional IRA, the extreme wing of the Republican
The Provos
movement.
Popular game show from the 1980s hosted by
Blind Date
Liverpudlian singer Cilla Black.
Another popular game show from the 1980s, copied in
The Price is Right
the scene in the club.

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Appendix 2: Cue sheet

Text of extract Cues: what the actors should LX: lighting effects SFX: sound and
be doing other special
effects

77