SISTERHOOD

INTRODUCTION

In Caryl Churchill's play "Top Girls," which premiered in 1982, the opening scene features a
diverse group of historical and fictional women from different time periods and backgrounds.
They wear colorful costumes that represent their professions, nationalities, and social
classes. Initially, this scene suggests a vision of universal sisterhood and female
solidarity across history. However, Churchill challenges this idealistic view by portraying
these women interacting in ways that highlight their cultural, political, and class
differences. Through innovative dialogue techniques, Churchill shows that despite being
women, they struggle to understand and connect with each other due to their unique
perspectives and biases. For example, they argue over cultural practices and judge each
other's beliefs. In essence, "Top Girls" critiques the simplistic notion of universal sisterhood,
revealing the complexities and tensions that exist among women across different historical
contexts.

BODY PART

In "Top Girls," Marlene's attempts to relate to Lady Nijo reveal her limited understanding of
cultural values different from her own. She dismisses the emperor and Griselda's husband in
a disrespectful manner, highlighting her inability to appreciate perspectives outside her own.
Throughout the play's first act, Caryl Churchill emphasizes the divisions among the
historical women she gathers, rather than portraying them as a united group. In the
1991 televised production directed by Max Stafford-Clark, these strained relations are
accentuated with awkward pauses not present in the published text. The subsequent acts
continue to explore differences among women, particularly the breakdown of the
relationship between Joyce and Marlene, who are biological sisters with contrasting
ideologies. The play ultimately suggests that sisterhood, as depicted, is destined for
failure. However, through Churchill's use of Brechtian techniques, the play encourages
the audience to consider alternatives beyond its immediate narrative. While "Top Girls"
doesn't completely reject the idea of unified sisterhood, it portrays it as an ideal that
can only be achieved through significant societal change.

Caryl Churchill's questioning perspective on sisterhood in "Top Girls" reflects

contemporary political and feminist developments, particularly influenced by
Margaret Thatcher's prime ministership. Thatcher's leadership highlighted significant
ideological differences among women, challenging any simplistic notion of universal
sisterhood. Churchill herself remarked that Thatcher, despite being a woman, did not
embody the solidarity feminists hoped for; she wasn't a "sister" in the political sense.
During the 1960s and 1970s, feminists began realizing that assuming a universal sisterhood
among all women was problematic. They recognized that middle-class, white, Western
women couldn't speak for or set the agenda for all women worldwide. Churchill's play
similarly resists the idea of taking sisterhood as a given. It acknowledges that true female
solidarity can only emerge by addressing and bridging the differences between
women, rather than ignoring or suppressing them.
In "Top Girls" by Caryl Churchill, the chaotic dinner party scene contrasts with the organized
groups of women in suffrage pageants. These pageants showed unity by featuring famous
historical women who supported British feminist causes. At first, Marlene in "Top Girls"
seems like she will connect past and present actions. However, Marlene struggles to keep
control of the dinner party. Her efforts to find common ground with the other women
often fail. For example, her toast praising their courage and achievements comes off as
clichéd and self-centered, like when she compares herself to a managing director instead of
a Pope. Later, Marlene finds a more real connection when she acknowledges their
shared misery. The few moments of harmony among the women in the play are bleak,
focusing on their feelings of hopelessness and emptiness. If there's a shared female
experience among these characters, it's not empowerment but a grim sense of
endurance and survival.

Churchill resists measuring women's greatness solely by their success in a competitive,

capitalist society, which she views as limiting and patriarchal. She critiques the idea that
women achieving in traditionally masculine roles necessarily represents progress. For
instance, Churchill uses cross-dressing theatrically to critique rather than celebrate these
powerful women. Characters like Pope Joan, initially portrayed as breaking gender barriers,
ultimately suffer tragic consequences for challenging societal norms, highlighting the
dangers women face when they transgress prescribed gender roles.Similarly, Churchill's
portrayal of Dulle Gret, a woman warrior, contrasts sharply with empowering portrayals seen
in earlier pageants. Gret's adoption of a masculine role is depicted as defensive and
reactive, driven more by anger and survival instincts than heroism. This portrayal
underscores how assuming traditionally masculine roles can reinforce gender
restrictions rather than dismantle them. Churchill's inclusion of fictional figures further
underscores the limitations of women's power within patriarchal frameworks. Overall, "Top
Girls" challenges the notion of inherent female solidarity and questions the true
empowerment of women who succeed in men's terms within a society shaped by
patriarchal norms.

In "Top Girls," Caryl Churchill critiques the way suffrage-era pageants celebrated female
martyrs. While those pageants praised women for their heroic sacrifices for collective
causes, Churchill shows martyrdom in a different light. She presents female martyrs as
victims of a sexist society that forces them to make unreasonable sacrifices for
limited social power. Instead of highlighting their greatness, Churchill's martyrs are
shown as oppressed and submissive.This critique is clearest in the character of Patient
Griselda, who appears late in the first act. Griselda is an obedient wife who completely
submits to her husband's cruel desires, unlike the other "extraordinary" and "courageous"
women at the dinner party. Although she has also made sacrifices, such as giving up her
children, Griselda's extreme sense of duty and forgiveness makes her different from the
other women. Their reactions to her range from sympathetic horror to confusion. Marlene,
the organizer, finds Griselda's presence particularly hard to tolerate and resorts to heavy
drinking to cope.This tension among the women disrupts the dinner party, contrasting
with suffrage pageants where martyrdom helped unite women around common
political or spiritual causes. Churchill's portrayal suggests that traditional martyrdom,
especially for women like Griselda, reinforces rather than challenges societal norms.
Griselda's role, shaped by male-authored texts, highlights how patriarchal ideologies define
and sustain her, making it difficult to see her as a feminist icon.Overall, "Top Girls" questions
the value of female martyrdom in a patriarchal society, challenging the suffrage-era
idealization of women's sacrifices for collective causes.

In "Top Girls," Caryl Churchill contrasts the unity seen in early 20th-century suffrage events
with a bleak view of sisterhood in the play's social setting. However, she doesn't completely
dismiss the idea of sisterhood. Elin Diamond notes that Churchill uses Brechtian techniques
that make the audience think deeper about the characters' motives and actions. Churchill
suggests that sisterhood is a missing value in women's relationships, urging the audience to
imagine better possibilities. The opening scene briefly shows an ideal of sisterhood across
different times and places, reminding us of an ideal that becomes harder to achieve as the
play progresses. Despite the chaotic dinner party, there are moments of connection and
empathy among the women. In the televised version, the women respond to shocking
revelations with empathetic silence, showing they understand each other despite their
differences. In the final act, Marlene and Joyce share moments of heartfelt communication
before their political differences separate them again. The women’s shared laughter
suggests they have a common connection and potential for rebellion, fitting the idea that
laughter can be a powerful tool in feminist discussions. Overall, "Top Girls" highlights the
challenges and limitations of sisterhood within current societal structures, but Churchill
leaves room for the possibility of solidarity and subversion. These potentialities suggest that
true sisterhood can only be achieved through broader sociopolitical changes beyond the
play's confines.

In "Top Girls," Caryl Churchill avoids giving a clear resolution, highlighting the idea of
cohesive sisterhood as something not yet achieved. The play ends with a long argument
between Marlene and Joyce, showing their differences in politics, class, and values.
Churchill uses the timing of events to emphasize this unresolved conflict.In the final scene,
there's a hint that the sisters might reconcile, but it never happens. Marlene tries to overlook
their differences and seek friendship, but Joyce rejects these attempts, stressing the deep
divide between them despite being family. The play ends with their opposing views still in
place, with no resolution. Even when Joyce does something kind, like getting blankets for
Marlene, she refuses to talk further, highlighting their unresolved tensions. This invites the
audience to think about possibilities beyond the play.Critics like Kritzer say that the final
clash between Marlene and Joyce shows both of their views as problematic, encouraging
the audience to imagine better conditions for sisterhood. By focusing on the failures of
sisterhood in the play, Churchill invites viewers to consider how these relationships could
improve outside the story.

In "Top Girls," Caryl Churchill uses an all-woman cast to show the potential for sisterhood
that the characters themselves fail to achieve. The groups of women in the play—whether
historical figures, Marlene's colleagues, or Marlene and her sister Joyce—do not
successfully represent sisterhood. However, Churchill's use of an all-woman cast serves two
main purposes. First, it uses Brechtian techniques to prevent the audience from fully
identifying with the characters, encouraging them to see the performers as a close-knit group
separate from their roles. Churchill believes this creates a sense of camaraderie among the
actors, making their performance more effective.Second, having an all-woman cast,
especially when it was rare in 1982, draws attention to the idea of women working together
harmoniously. This presents a positive model of sisterhood that contrasts with the strained
relationships in the play.By separating the characters from the actors, Churchill suggests that
true sisterhood is possible outside the play's story. This requires the audience to actively
engage and imagine better relationships, offering a hopeful alternative to the contentious
ones shown on stage.

CONCLUSION

In "Top Girls," Caryl Churchill uses pageantry, historical characters, emblematic costumes,
and iconography to envision a future fantasy of united sisterhood, contrasting sharply with
suffrage pageants' idealized spectacles. She exposes tensions within unity, reflecting
feminist diversity awareness by highlighting ideological and power differences among
characters. While critiquing idealized sisterhood, Churchill doesn't discard it but presents it
as a notable absence in the play—a compelling yet unarticulated alternative to fractured
relationships. This highlights the potential of unified sisterhood as an aspirational goal,
needing continuous effort. Her approach aligns with Chandra Talpade Mohanty's call for
actively cultivated sisterhood, challenging simplistic views and promoting nuanced
understandings of women's solidarity.