Top Girls - Act Three

Top Girls Act Three, Scene One 74-97

Although the play is clearly unconventional in structure, the final act draws together some of the apparently unrelated narrative arcs of the preceding acts, notably Joyce’s conflicted feelings towards Angie, Angie’s fixation with Marlene and Marlene’s ambition, spurred on by her desire to avoid following in the footsteps of her mother’s and sister’s wasted lives. The act offers a glimpse of what life is like for those whose who do not move to London to become ‘top girls’.

p.90 = Joyce’s revelation that she had a miscarriage because Angie was such a demanding baby wrong foots Marlene who retaliates that she has had two abortions and "it wasn’t a problem". The fact that Marlene bursts into tears suggests perhaps that this assertion is not entirely true, and…