Women are motivated by money and success in Top Girls. This is evident when
(2)However, Success for women in The Handmaid Tales is not defined by money but by surviving while keeping their values intact. The Handmaidens “learned to whisper without sound” and “learned to lip read” so that they could “exchange names”. By using the verb “learned” Atwood shows these women capable to acquire knowledge to adapt to situations while doing this together the women exchange pieces of their identity with one another establishing a stronger relationship. (3)In the past women hadn’t had the same freedom they once did. For example the character, Lady Nijo in Act One stated how she “belonged” the Emperor a position she was “brought” up from a “baby”. The word belonged suggests how she is a possession, an object, a thing without feelings to her a woman capable of making her own decisions. It implies it is the purpose of women to serve men; it’s what they’re bred for. The recurring b’s her conveys that she felt angry but there was very little she could do about it.(4) By contrast the women in the future dystopian novel once had freedom before and lost when Gilead came into power. Offred compares the value of the board game Scrabble when it was “once the game of old women”, “Now of course”; the value is “Now it’s different” it “is freedom”. Atwood uses the repetitive “Now” to emphasize how the sight Scrabble is intoxicating Offred and how she longs for freedom. It also demonstrates how the short sentences here to have more impact and importance to the statements. She also shows how simple luxuries like a common game of Scrabble can contribute to freedom that the citizens of Gilead used to have, one that the reader can relate to. (5) The reminiscence of Marlene’s guests in Act One of their past might explain why Marlene is so keen to take responsibility of her life; her life is not different from theirs, she had a drunkard as a father, so bad that “he drank all the money” and so ”she couldn’t get out of here fast enough” Churchill uses this figure of speech to convey just how much hatred Marlene has for her father and her home because all her memories of them are terrible. 7)Marlene’s determination is impressive - but Churchill is critical not she’s only helping herself and not helping other women succeed due to her individualist views. So because of it, her success is no longer perceived as a inspiring. This is evident with the blunt comment “She’s not going to make it”, Churchill here shows how Marlene has already prejudged her own niece Angie as being not very smart so labeled her future as a “Packer in Tesco”. Churchill uses these words to help emphasise just how terrible it is to not help save someone’s future, but to write it off by Marlene labeling Angie like that shows Marlene thinks of her more like a possession with no sort of value so she’s written her off. This is also presented in Act 3 when Marlene and Joyce are discussing Marlene’s morals “If they’re stupid, lazy or frightened, I’m not going to help them get a job, why should I?” Churchill uses Marlene’s speech as an opportunity to express her views on how the females in society of the 1980’s are wrong to think that they (6) In the same way in The Handmaid Tales, Atwood highlights Moira’s success in escaping the Centre as not so inspiring when Offred and Moira have their final encounter in a toilet at Jezebel. Moira resigns to her new fate being a prostitute as the “food is not bad and there’s drinks and drugs, if you want it” Atwood presents the struggle for identity here as Offred is in shock of the resignation and lack of emotion in Moira’s voice in fear that the Dystopian Regime had finally gotten to her. Moira’s success had inspired Offred to continue believing that she could break free from this oppression and so hearing Moira’s lack of emotion affected her greatly.
Many of the characters in Top Girls only represent their own individual success they have all sacrificed too much in order to achieve their own, personal success. But Churchill criticizes the patriarchal society, not the victims of it. She says that it’s our responsibility to find a solution to break this oppressive society together. Marlene appears to be hardened to prevent colleagues from seeing weakness but really she is a victim to the domineering male society. However one can argue that could be to prevent herself from being exploited at work due to the competitive environment she works in. However The Handmaid Tales demonstrates how working together creates hope and potential solutions. Through the relationship of Moira and Offred, Offred and Ofglen and although their successes seem meager compared to Top girls Success they take much greater steps to increase their solidarity and unity as much as they can because of the oppression of their society is stronger compared to the 1980’s setting of Top Girls.

STRUCTURE: HMT structure use is told in flashbacks- Top girls is told through a non-linear structure to influence viewer’s perception of Marlene as a positive one.