Subversion Of Sisterhood In Caryl Churchill’s Vinegar Tom, Cloud Nine, And Top Girls

Designated as a feminist playwright, Caryl Churchill holds an ambiguous identity which is still not easy to define. The exposure of women’s inequality under male domination and the self-reflection over the dilemma of feminism co-exist in her theatre. She is unique with her critical perspective, through which she keeps distance from any form of grand narrative and holds a detached attitude towards those old values that people falsely take for granted.Sisterhood is no longer a new thing, but it to some degree stood for an event which once influenced an age. People were forced to accept and celebrate it, since it worked for the sake of unity and liberation under the oppression of binary social structure. But Caryl Churchill, as a self-claimed feminist writer, has never blindly worshipped this once trendy slogan.This thesis intends to elaborate on Caryl Churchill’s deconstruction and subversion of sisterhood as a grand narrative in three plays from the perspective of postmodern feminism. The analysis and demonstration of their theme help to illustrate Churchill’s rebellious spirit, self-critical consciousness and her identity which transcends the limitation of a woman or a feminist.Chapter one presents a dystopian feminist stage built by the playwright, making a sharp contrast between the complicated female relationships described by Churchill and the unified sisterhood advocated in the second feminist movement. This is a parody of idealized sisterhood, which as a form of grand narrative has been deconstructed and subverted.Chapter two and chapter three elaborate on the theatrical devices Churchill explores to demonstrate the theme of subversion in three plays. Chapter two focuses on Churchill’s employment of language. The playwright employs innovative language forms like overlapping dialogue, monologues and fragmental expressions to present the variety and conflicts within female group. And in her plays Churchill has built a world where women seize the power of discourse to criticize the hierarchical rank and to question the dichotomy.Chapter three discusses the technique of cross-dressing performance. Judith Butler’s theory of "performativity" suggests the sociality and indeterminacy of gender. Since Churchill’s use of cross-dressing technique questions the definition of women, sisterhood has been completely subverted. However, unlike the first two plays, Top Girls reveals the identity crisis caused by cross-dressing act, from which it can be inferred that Churchill has not totally discarded the concept of woman and she is still hopeful for "sisterhood".Caryl Churchill has borrowed postmodern elements to invent innovative techniques which help to parody and deconstruct the stereotype of sisterhood; however, even from the miserably-illustrated picture of female relationship her slight hope and endless inquiry for a real solid human relationship can still be detected. She has her advantage of noticing details others ignore; but in the meantime, she cannot get rid of the bondage of the times, and this could be associated with the dilemma of contemporary feminist movement. The significance of Churchill’s plays lies in her insistent analysis of the complicated relationships within the female group and her efforts to find a solution to the liberation of women and human beings as a whole.