Top Girls Dramatic Ending Act 3
Top Girls Essay
For the final scene we travel back in time, to a year earlier. Marlene is visiting her sister Joyce and Angie. The Act ends dramatically with a statement from Angie, we are aware of her environment and relationship with both her mothers, and the impact these have on her, her life is 'frightening'. I believe the last scene was left until the end because it makes the structure like a cyclic as the dream scene is at the beginning and you could argue that Angie has a nightmare at the end of the final scene because her mother takes her to bed and she later come down the stairs “frightened”, this is the part when it’s revealed that Angie is actually not Joyce’s daughter she’s Marlene’s tension is created at this moment for Joyce and the audience because its unclear to what exactly Angie has heard. It’s almost you can tell something is going to happen when the sisters argue; Joyce resents her sister's lifestyle and lack of commitment to her parents and child/niece. Both have different perspectives on their parents' lives. Marlene looks back on their father as a violent drunkard, while Joyce sees a wider social perspective where their parents were both trapped economically, with problems arising from that. Joyce comments that she knows nothing about how bad it really was because she went away, adding that from now on Marlene can stay away. Marlene accuses Joyce of never wanting her around, and they resume what seem to be usual arguments over who's the better daughter. The ending is quite dramatic and unexpected for the audience and they have to decide what part of the Angie argument
For the final scene we travel back in time, to a year earlier. Marlene is visiting her sister Joyce and Angie. The Act ends dramatically with a statement from Angie, we are aware of her environment and relationship with both her mothers, and the impact these have on her, her life is 'frightening'. I believe the last scene was left until the end because it makes the structure like a cyclic as the dream scene is at the beginning and you could argue that Angie has a nightmare at the end of the final scene because her mother takes her to bed and she later come down the stairs “frightened”, this is the part when it’s revealed that Angie is actually not Joyce’s daughter she’s Marlene’s tension is created at this moment for Joyce and the audience because its unclear to what exactly Angie has heard. It’s almost you can tell something is going to happen when the sisters argue; Joyce resents her sister's lifestyle and lack of commitment to her parents and child/niece. Both have different perspectives on their parents' lives. Marlene looks back on their father as a violent drunkard, while Joyce sees a wider social perspective where their parents were both trapped economically, with problems arising from that. Joyce comments that she knows nothing about how bad it really was because she went away, adding that from now on Marlene can stay away. Marlene accuses Joyce of never wanting her around, and they resume what seem to be usual arguments over who's the better daughter. The ending is quite dramatic and unexpected for the audience and they have to decide what part of the Angie argument