Top Girls: Act Two, Scene Two Summary & Analysis

The action flashes back to one year earlier; Marlene, Joyce, and Angie are in Joyce’s kitchen. Marlene is pulling numerous presents out of a bag for Angie, saying she’s brought “just a few little things.” Angie opens one of her presents—the fancy dress from Act One. Angie is thrilled with it, and Joyce tells Angie to go to her room and try it on. Angie wants to open one of Joyce’s presents, though; it is a bottle of perfume. Angie asks to put some perfume on, and encourages Joyce and Marlene to try some too so that they’ll “all smell the same.” She leaves, going up to her room to try on the dress.

As soon as Angie is out of the room, Joyce chides Marlene for dropping in unannounced, but Marlene is surprised to hear that Joyce didn’t know she was coming since Angie, over the phone, told Marlene that Joyce had asked for Marlene to come for a visit. Joyce is amused, and asks if Marlene ever wondered why Joyce wouldn’t have called Marlene herself. Marlene replies that Angie said Joyce was shy on the phone and didn’t like using it—Marlene protests that she didn’t know any better, because she doesn’t know what her sister is like in the first place. Marlene says, looking back, she had been surprised that Joyce wanted to see her. Joyce deadpans that she didn’t want to see Marlene at all.

Marlene offers to leave, but Joyce teases that she doesn’t mind seeing Marlene now that she’s here. She tells Marlene that she can come see Angie anytime she likes—Joyce won’t stop her. Marlene is the one who went away—Joyce and Angie have always been in the same place.

Angie comes back in wearing the dress, and Marlene compliments her on how pretty she looks. Joyce tells her to take it off so that she doesn’t get it dirty. Angie protests that she wants to wear it, and Marlene remarks that “it is for wearing after all.” Angie thanks Marlene profusely for the dress. Marlene asks Angie why she didn’t tell Joyce she’d invited Marlene down, and Angie replies that she wanted the visit to be a surprise—she hasn’t seen Marlene since she was nine years old. Marlene is shocked by how much time has gone by since her last visit.

Kit walks into the house “as if she lives there,” inserting herself right into the action. Joyce introduces Kit to “Angie’s Aunt Marlene.” Kit seems uninterested in Marlene’s presence, and instead asks Angie if she’s going to come out to play. Angie says she isn’t. Kit says the air in the room smells “horrible,” and then leaves. Joyce tells Marlene that Kit is a little girl Angie plays with sometimes, and that the two are like sisters; she tells Marlene how good Angie is with little children. Marlene asks Angie if she would like to work with children when she gets older, as a teacher or nursery nurse. Joyce answers for Angie, saying that Angie hasn’t thought of what she wants to do. Marlene presses Angie, but Joyce keeps answering for her, saying that Angie is not clever and hasn’t thought at all about her future.

Marlene pulls a bottle of whiskey out of her bag, and though Joyce protests at first, she eventually gets some glasses down so the two can have a drink. Marlene recalls that the last time the two of them got drunk together was the night their father died. Joyce says that she still keeps the grave decorated with fresh flowers. Marlene asks if Joyce has seen their mother, and Joyce replies that she visits her every Thursday.

Marlene asks Joyce to catch her up on all the neighborhood gossip—Angie is confused as the women trade stories from their own youth, and attempts to get Marlene to pay attention to her by reminding Marlene of her last visit, for Angie’s ninth birthday. Angie asks if Marlene remembers the pink cake from the party, and recalls to herself that her own mother and father were there, along with Kit. Marlene asks where Angie’s father is, and Joyce replies that he moved out three years ago. Angie is amazed that Marlene didn’t know, and tartly states that Marlene doesn’t know much of anything at all. Joyce states that Marlene was in America when Angie’s father left, and Angie becomes excited, remembering that she has a postcard Marlene sent from the Grand Canyon in her room. She runs up to fetch it.

While Angie is out of the room, Joyce states that she doesn’t know any of Marlene’s business—so it’s only fair that Marlene doesn’t know any of hers. Angie returns with the postcard and reads from it excitedly. She asks if Marlene will take her to America; Joyce tells Angie that Marlene is not returning to America, and calls her “stupid.” Angie asks Marlene to take her to America, becoming almost manic as she expresses her desire to be American. Joyce urges Angie to get to bed—Angie offers Marlene her own bed, saying she’ll sleep on the sofa, but Marlene, too, ushers Angie up to bed. Angie tells Marlene that she has a secret to show her up in her room; Marlene tells her she’ll be in to see her in a minute. Angie excitedly hurries to bed.

Joyce and Marlene talk idly about the weather and the neighborhood, and Joyce is a bit short with Marlene. Marlene tells Joyce she could have left town if she wanted to—Joyce replies she didn’t want to. Joyce tells Marlene she picked an inconvenient time to show up, on a Sunday evening. Marlene begins telling Joyce that she got in to town earlier that morning, and spent the day otherwise engaged, but Angie’s shouts cut her off. Marlene goes to Angie’s room, leaving Joyce alone for a minute, and then comes right back.

Joyce asks Marlene what the secret was; Marlene replies that it’s a secret. Joyce says she knows Angie and Kit have some “secret society”—Marlene teases Joyce for not knowing the “password.” Joyce worries that Angie is “useless” at school, even though she spends hours and hours writing in her secret society notebook. Marlene thinks Angie might be developing a plot to “take over the world,” but Joyce points out that Angie has been in remedial classes for two years now.

Marlene tells Joyce that she arrived in the country this morning, and spent the day visiting their mother in a neighboring town. Joyce asks if their mother recognized Marlene, and Marlene defensively states that she was “very lucid.” Marlene comments on the “fucking awful life” their mother had, but Joyce tells Marlene to stop. Joyce points out that Marlene left home and went away, and doesn’t get to comment on the people she left behind. Marlene states that their mother is not only Joyce’s mother, and Angie is not only Joyce’s child. She asks why she can’t visit her own family without dredging up ill will. Joyce wants to avoid an argument, but asks Marlene not to comment on their mother’s life when Marlene hasn’t been to visit in so many years, while Joyce goes weekly.

Marlene suggests that Joyce would feel better about things if she didn’t go to visit their mother every week; Joyce states that Marlene couldn’t get out of town fast enough. Marlene agrees, pointing out that she didn’t want to stay and marry a working-class drunkard. Joyce says she can’t believe Marlene went off and left her own child. Marlene points out that Joyce was “quick enough to take her.” Joyce protests that she only took Angie because she didn’t want her to go to an orphanage, or a stranger. Marlene suggests that Joyce, who had been unable to conceive in three years of marriage, got “lucky” when Marlene offered her Angie. Joyce comments that the deal worked out well for Marlene, too, who is able to hoard her salary rather than spending it on raising a child.

The two women argue back and forth about marriage and child-rearing; Marlene keeps insisting that she essentially did Joyce a favor by allowing Joyce to take Angie and raise her as her own. She asks if Joyce doesn’t want Angie anymore, and offers to take her back to London this instant. Joyce says she of course wants Angie; Angie is her child.

Joyce confesses that when Angie was six months old, she did become pregnant on her own—but she miscarried, because she was so exhausted and strung out from looking after the infant Angie, who cried nonstop. In response to this story, Marlene angrily retorts that she herself has had two abortions, but doesn’t want to tell Joyce about them because “it’s boring.” She doesn’t like “messy talk about blood” and “gynecology,” she says, and she certainly doesn’t want a baby.

Marlene confesses that she was afraid of fighting with Joyce when she made plans to visit, and she breaks down in tears. Joyce attempts to cheer Marlene up, telling her she loves her. Marlene asks Joyce to let her cry—she likes crying. The two women laugh, and Marlene thanks Joyce earnestly for looking after Angie. Joyce tells Marlene she’s drunk, and fixes her some tea. As she does, she concedes that their hometown is a “dump,” and admits she understands why Marlene wanted to leave. 

Marlene asks Joyce what happened with her husband—Joyce reveals he was cheating on her incessantly, and she kicked him out. Marlene asks if Joyce’s ex sends her money, but Joyce says she doesn’t take his money, and instead has four cleaning jobs that help her support herself. Marlene asks if Joyce has taken up with anyone else, but Joyce says there aren’t many options for her. Joyce asks Marlene about her job, and Marlene says it’s a good one. Joyce asks Marlene if she’s involved with anyone, but Marlene says no; every once in a while she goes out with “fellas who like to be seen with a high-flying lady,” but finds that none of them can “take the day to day,” and in the end always want her to “turn into the little woman.”

Marlene predicts that despite her lack of romantic success, the eighties are going to be “stupendous”—she is going to rise “up up up,” and the country’s economy is going to get back on its feet thanks to Margaret Thatcher. Joyce urges Marlene to drink her tea and shut up. Marlene keeps going, though, saying it’s “terrifico” that the UK has gotten its first woman prime minister. Joyce says that Margaret Thatcher is a terrible choice, and suggests that Marlene would have “liked Hitler if he was a woman.” Marlene cruelly teases Joyce for “parrot[ing]” their father’s working-class, anti-establishment values, never thinking for herself. “I believe in the individual,” she says; “Look at me.” Joyce replies stonily that she is looking at Marlene.

Marlene urges Joyce to stop quarreling with her over politics. Joyce, though, doesn’t want for Marlene to blame everything on their father, who “work[ed] in the fields like an animal.” Marlene states that their father was an abusive drunk, but Joyce excuses his behavior by pointing out how terrible both their parents’ lives were—they didn’t get to go to America “and drive across it in a fast car.” Marlene accuses Joyce of being jealous of her, but Joyce expresses contempt for Marlene’s high-class lifestyle and says she’s “ashamed” of having a sister who thinks of nothing but herself. 

Marlene asks if Joyce is going to accuse her of hating the working class, and then outright admits that she does. Joyce retorts that she “spit[s] when [she] see[s] a Rolls Royce,” and scratches up nice cars with her ring. The women berate one another’s lifestyles, talking over one another until Marlene at last states loudly that she doesn’t believe in class. She thinks that “anyone can do anything if they’ve got what it takes,” and if they’re “stupid or lazy or frightened,” it shouldn’t be up to her to help them get a job.

Joyce asks what Marlene would do about Angie, then, who is “stupid, lazy, and frightened.” Marlene assures Joyce that Angie will be all right, but Joyce says she doesn’t think she will be. She predicts that Angie’s children—if she has children—will one day talk about what a “wasted life” she had, because nothing in their country has changed since their parents’ generation, and certainly won’t under Thatcher.

Marlene asks Joyce if they can stop fighting—she says she “didn’t really mean” any of what she said. “I did,” Joyce retorts. Marlene asks if they can be friends anyway, and Joyce says she doesn’t think they can be. Marlene remarks that it is “lovely to be out in the country,” and then says she wants to go to sleep. Joyce gathers up some blankets for Marlene to use on the sofa, and then goes up to bed.

Marlene wraps herself in a blanket, sits on the couch, and has another drink. After a moment, Angie walks in, calling for her mother. Marlene asks Angie what the matter is, and Angie again asks for her mother. Marlene tells Angie that Joyce has gone to bed, and reminds Angie that she is only her “Aunty Marlene.” “Frightening,” Angie says. Marlene asks if Angie had a bad dream, and reassures her that everything is okay now—she’s awake. “Frightening,” Angie says once again.