A Study Of Top Girls From The Perspective Of Role Theory

As an influential female playwright in Britain, even in the international playdom, Caryl Churchill presents her understanding about some social issues through her works. The publication of Top Girls in 1982 arouses instant attention of the society and literatus, meanwhile this play wins a lot of awards and it has always been seen as one of Churchill’s master works.Top Girls centers upon Marlene, and this play portrays the women like Marlene who pay a heavy price for their success in their lives. Based on the close reading of the text and the application of role theory, this thesis analyses women’s different roles in family, society and culture, and presents the potential role conflicts and role strains. The women characters in this play sacrifice a lot for their own success, although people may have different standards for the success.The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter one introduces Caryl Churchill, her writing career and Top Girls briefly, and presents a short literature review about this play according to the related articles and materials available. With reference to the works and ideas of scholars like G. H. Mead, Erving Goffman and Ralph Linton, the development, main opinions and major items of role theory are presented. And all this helps prove the possibility and necessity of the text interpretation. Chapter two compares and classifies their roles as daughter, wife or mother in familial sphere. Facing the role conflicts at home, some try to make a balance while the others give up on some roles. Chapter three focuses on their role playing in the social occasions, career and politics. The role conflicts between their gendered roles and the personal pursuits or career development cause them problems. They struggle in their life choices and they face different life choices. Chapter four interprets the issues in the broader cultural context. The contrast between the religious pursuits presents the similar dead end for women. On the other hand, women also play irreplaceable cultural roles in food and dressing. They make significant contributions to the culture in their own way. Chapter five is the conclusion of the thesis.