Top Girls and Feminism

This play really captivated me.  I loved the opening scene in the restaurant, very conversational.  I first thought it difficult to read, but once I realized that the overlapping was happening I immediately felt as though I was at lunch with my own matriarchal family!  The similarities are crazy, especially all the talk of gaining the upper hand against men.  My family is extremely matriarchal and we have VERY few men in our family, so this play really just reflected a typical day at lunch with my aunts and cousins! The play, being set in Britian, really opened up a whole new dimension of Feminism practices for me.  So often in school we are taught about gender equality, but we never study the movements of feminism that arose in countries other than America.  This play does a superb job of commenting on the contrast between American feminism, which celebrates individualistic women who acquire power and wealth, and British socialist feminism, which involves collective group gain.  This also peaked my interest in other feminist movements throughout Europe, especially because my topic for the research paper is about Ibsen and the Rise of Feminism in Norway.  The play argues against the style of feminism that simply turns women into new patriarchs and argues for a feminism where women's instinct to care for the weak and downtrodden is more prominent. The play questions whether it is possible for women in society to combine a successful career with a thriving family life and the challenges of tearing yourself apart to rise to the top.
Top Girls was a very pleasant read that was a bit abstract at times, but brought the overall message of how our society is still dealing with gender equality and the struggle that women face to become better than their male counterparts.  The structure is very unconventional, however, the dreamlike style that lives inside of this script complemented what Caryl Churchill was trying to translate.  I would love to see this performed, especially with all of the historical figures being parallel to the actual characters in the main story line.