Protagonists in Top Girls (Caryl Churchill)

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LE essay: Who is/are the protagonist(s) in Top Girls?

        A protagonist is a term used to refer to a figure or figures in literature whose intentions and character are the primary focus of a story, the protagonist can also be seen as being the most important character in terms of giving meaning to the story and transmitting the playwright’s messages to the audience.  In ancient Greek drama there could only ever be one protagonist, with other important characters given names in relation to the main character such as the foil, the antagonist etc.  We can wonder whether the idea of a single protagonist holds true in Top Girls, if there is one at all.  Indeed, the story of Top Girls is not particularly evident, and if the play has no real story then it is impossible for there to be a protagonist according to the definition.  If, however, there is a protagonist then we can wonder what exactly the roles of the other “main” characters are.  

There is very little action in Top Girls; almost all of what we see is dialogue, through which Churchill presents her characters’ attitudes to themselves and the world in which they lived.  Indeed, this dialogue means that in Top Girls there is an abundance of storytelling but very little else.  Although we could see Marlene’s promotion as being something of a story, in reality it is just another part of the conversations, and in fact happens before the play even begins.  In fact, the only real actions can be seen in the characters meeting to have dinner (and some of what ensues) and the character’s going to see each other.  As all of these characters, except Marlene and Angie, only appear in one scene or one act (for the restaurant scene) it seems that the story of the play must be that of Marlene and Angie.

Out of these two characters Marlene is the most obvious candidate for the role of protagonist, as we follow her throughout the majority of the play.  However, she is completely absent from the second scene of the second act except when Angie speaks about her briefly ,without actually naming her, to Kit.  In this scene, the focus is entirely on Angie, and thus we can wonder if she is in fact the “real” protagonist of Top Girls or whether she has another role.

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Marlene’s almost continual presence in Top Girls is evidently not the only reason why she can be seen as the protagonist.  However, the fact that she appears so often on stage is one of the key ways it is shown.  What is more, she makes her presence felt; participating in conversations, giving orders and clearly giving her opinions, as we see in the third act during her arguments with Joyce.  It is thanks to the many dialogues which she participates in that we learn so much about her background, which leads to her being a very well developed character.  As well as this, ...

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