... Girls, where Marlene has thrown a dinner party to celebrate her promotion and has invited Isabella Bird (1831-1904), Lady Nijo (b.1258), Dull Gret (1562), Pope Joan (854-856) and Griselda (Canterbury Tales). All of these women are intelligent, courageous, and adventurous, but the patriarchal societies in which they live have demeaned, restricted and robbed them either of their self-esteem or of ... to conform to existing norms. She opines that where there is a deviation, it is often deliberate [Goo03]. For example, in Act one of Top Girls, where the protagonist dines with characters fro...

• Word Count: 3095
• Approx Pages: 12
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... hell; Pope Joan - the transvestite early female pope who sacrifized her womanhood and having a family for her career and last but not least Griselda, an obedient wife out of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. However, she is the only fictive character of all the other historical figures. As the evening continues we are involved with the stories of all five women and the impending ... Marlen's own life. Personally I think that Caryl Churchill made a very good comparison to the historical women figures and the women in the modern times. Furthermore the comparison shows that all characters in his...

• Word Count: 283
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: Undergraduate