AQA A-Level English Literature A Paper 2: Texts in shared contexts (2B), June 2025: Question 9

25 marks · Hard difficulty · Extended Response

Examine the significance of the relationship between Marlene, Joyce and Angie in Caryl Churchill's Top Girls.

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Question

Question 09 asks: 'Examine the significance of the relationship between Marlene, Joyce and Angie.' Worth 25 marks.
Question text

09 Examine the significance of the relationship between Marlene, Joyce and Angie.

[25 marks]

Mark scheme

Show the mark scheme Mark scheme for Question 09 covering Top Girls by Caryl Churchill. It outlines indicative content across assessment objectives AO1 to AO5, noting Marlene's abandonment of Angie, Joyce raising Angie, Thatcherite vs socialist viewpoints, social and historical context of 1980s Britain, dramatic structure, and characterisation.

Question 09

Top Girls – Caryl Churchill

Examine the significance of the relationship between Marlene, Joyce and Angie.

[25 marks]

Possible content:

Please refer to pages 4 to 7.

AO5 Explore literary texts informed by different interpretations

Students might consider:

• Churchill’s use of Angie (Marlene’s abandoned daughter, who is raised by Marlene’s sister Joyce)

to give a direct human focus to the warring sisters’ relationship; she is damaged by her upbringing

and tells Kit that she wants to ‘kill her mother’

• how Angie’s apparent limitations relate to her disadvantaged socio-economic status, and illustrate

how far Marlene has moved away from her working-class family background

• the impact of Marlene’s harsh judgement of Angie as incapable of making her way out of poverty

due to her lack of intelligence

• how Angie’s relationship with Joyce – arguably leading to the loss of Joyce’s own child – is

essential to the message of the play, given that the two sisters symbolise the great culture wars

debate of the 1980s, with Marlene espousing classically Thatcherite views about the primacy of the

individual, and Joyce taking a socialist perspective that defends the traditional working class and

the need to help the vulnerable

• that Churchill presents Marlene’s rise to the top as entailing the sacrifice of her family relationships

with Angie and Joyce, who may be seen to represent the working-class culture she deliberately

chooses to reject

• the significance of Churchill’s decision to give Angie, Marlene’s abandoned daughter, the last line

of the play, ‘Frightening’

• the possible impact of particular production(s) on the interpretation of the question

• etc.

AO4 Explore connections across literary texts

Focus might be on:

• dramatic representations of female relationships as seen in modern literature

• dramatic representations of family relationships in modern literature

• dramatic representations of gender, power, class and culture as seen in modern literature

• dramatic representations of the relationship between the individual and wider society as a whole in

modern literature

• etc.

AO3 Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which

literary texts are written and received

Focus might be on:

• how these female characters are embedded within their respective social, historical and cultural

contexts as well as that of the 1980s, when the play was written

• how responses to the play when it was written and now can reflect changing attitudes over time

28• the ways in which dramatic methods are integral to the play’s presentation of these female

characters

• etc.

AO2 Analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in literary texts

Focus might be on:

• aspects of dramatic form

• non-linear structure, flashbacks

• use of black comedy, non-naturalistic effects, music, sound, lighting

• dialogue and action

• ironic/satiric methods

• use of characters as symbols of larger ideas or abstract concepts

• other possible stage effects and interpretations

• etc.

AO1 Articulate informed, personal and creative responses to literary texts, using associated

concepts and terminology, and coherent, accurate written expression

• quality of argument

• organisation of ideas

• use of appropriate concepts and terminology

• technical accuracy.

Accept any valid interpretations, any valid comments on contexts and any valid discussion of

authorial methods.

How to answer it

Top Girls: Significance of Marlene, Joyce, and Angie (Question 09)

AQA A-Level English Literature A • Paper 2: Modern Times • Section B Drama • 25 Marks

What this question tests

This question tests your ability to present a perceptive, sustained, and evaluative critical argument addressing the central human triad of Caryl Churchill’s play. High-scoring candidates avoid mere character characterisation and instead explore how dramatic form, non-linear structure, political context, and competing ideologies converge in these three characters.

AO1: Critical argument & terminology AO2: Dramatic methods & non-linear form AO3: 1980s Thatcherism & socio-economic context AO4: Literary conventions of family & class conflict AO5: Competing feminist & ideological interpretations

1. Deconstructing the Triad: Conceptual Core

Moving beyond character profiles into structural and political significance

💡 The Triadic Function

Marlene, Joyce, and Angie do not function as conventional naturalistic family members; they represent the fractured ideological landscape of Britain in the early 1980s:

  • Marlene: Embodies bourgeois/Thatcherite meritocracy, individualistic capitalism, and the rejection of domestic baggage.
  • Joyce: Embodies the traditional working-class, socialist solidarity, and the emotional and domestic labour underpinning society.
  • Angie: The emotional and socio-economic casualty caught between them; Churchill’s physical manifestation of the human cost of Marlene’s "success".

🧠 Exam Technique: Structuring the Argument

A top-band response explores how the relationship develops structurally across the drama:

  • Act Two, Scene 1 (Suffolk): Angie’s longing for Marlene, alienation from Joyce, and violent fantasies ( "I'm going to kill her" ).
  • Act Two, Scene 2 (London Agency): Marlene’s cold, dismissive appraisal of Angie ( "She’s not going to make it" ).
  • Act Three (A Year Earlier): The explosive ideological confrontation between Marlene and Joyce, reframing the origin of Angie's sacrifice.

2. In-Depth Dramatic & Contextual Analysis

Covering AO2 (Authorial Methods), AO3 (Context), and AO5 (Different Interpretations)

✅ Model Critical Perspectives (AO5 & AO3)

  • Angie as the Sacrificial Lamb: Angie's cognitive limitations and socio-economic stagnation reveal the lie of meritocracy. When Marlene coldly decrees, "She's a bit thick... She's not going to make it," Churchill illustrates that individual advancement requires abandoning those who lack competitive capital.
  • Motherhood Transferred & Penalised: Joyce suffers a miscarriage while raising Marlene's illegitimate daughter. Joyce bears the physical and psychological brunt of domestic care while Marlene enjoys metropolitan autonomy, underscoring the socialist feminist critique that female corporate success is parasitical upon female working-class labour.
  • The Final Word: The play ends chronologically out of sequence in Act Three with Angie whispering "Frightening." Rather than ending on Marlene’s corporate triumph, Churchill grants the last word to the traumatised, disenfranchised youth facing a bleak, divided future.

🧠 Analysing Dramatic Form & Dialogue (AO2)

  • Overlapping Dialogue: In Act Three, Churchill uses forward slashes ( / ) to denote simultaneous speech. Marlene and Joyce speak over one another, dramatising irreconcilable ideological dogma—neither sister listens, reflecting Britain’s fractured political dialogue under Thatcher.
  • Props and Costume: Angie wearing the cheap, ill-fitting red dress she has outgrown mirrors her desperate attempt to step into adult womanhood and emulate Marlene's glamorous agency world, resulting in grotesque incongruity.
  • Reverse Chronology: By placing the bitter sisterly conflict of Act Three after we have already seen Angie in London (Act Two), Churchill forces the audience to view Marlene’s polished corporate ascendancy through the lens of family devastation and abandonment.

3. Step-by-Step Essay Architecture

A 4-part structure to achieve Level 5 / Level 6 (21–25 marks)

📐 Essay Blueprint

  1. Introduction: Define the triad as an ideological allegory rather than mere domestic drama. State your thesis: the relationship exposes the irreconcilable divide between Thatcherite individualist feminism and socialist communal responsibility, with Angie standing as the silent casualty.
  2. Body Paragraph 1 (Angie & Marlene): Analyse Act Two (the London agency visit). Explore Marlene's brutal verdict ( "She's not going to make it" ). Contrast Angie’s hero-worship with Marlene’s transactional view of human worth. Connect to 1980s free-market Darwinism.
  3. Body Paragraph 2 (Marlene & Joyce): Examine Act Three's political dialectic. Contrast Marlene’s reverence for Thatcher ( "Superwoman" ) with Joyce’s reality of multiple cleaning jobs and grief over lost children. Analyse Churchill's non-naturalistic overlapping dialogue.
  4. Body Paragraph 3 (Angie & Joyce): Discuss the maternal friction in Suffolk (Act Two, Scene 1). Angie's violent fantasy ( "I want to kill her" ) rooted in socio-economic deprivation and Joyce's exhaustion. Explore the tragic irony that Joyce sacrificed her own fertility to raise her sister's child.
  5. Conclusion: Focus on the structural significance of ending the play with Act Three and Angie’s closing utterance: "Frightening." Evaluate Churchill’s warning regarding the future of a society stripped of collective empathy.
AQA Mark Scheme Distinction: Band 4 (16–20 marks) describes characters' relationships with relevant textual references. Band 5 (21–25 marks) provides a perceptive, sustained exploration that links the trio's dramatic interaction directly to Churchill’s formal techniques (non-linear structure, epic theatre devices) and overarching ideological critique.

4. Examiner Commentary: Pitfalls vs Excellence

What distinguishes top-percentile scripts from average responses

❌ Common Errors (Where marks are lost)

  • Treating the play as a soap opera: Writing narrative retellings of family gossip and domestic squabbles without linking them to class or ideological conflict.
  • Ignoring Angie’s thematic weight: Treating Angie merely as "stupid" or "lazy" rather than understanding her as a victim of systematic deprivation and emotional abandonment.
  • Ignoring Dramatic Form: Discussing the sisters as real people while completely overlooking stagecraft, overlapping dialogue, non-linear timeline, and Brechtian alienation.
  • Total demonisation of Marlene: Failing to recognize that Churchill presents Marlene's choices as a product of a patriarchal society that forces women to sacrifice children for career mobility.

✅ Top-Level Distinctions (Level 5/6)

  • Explores Structural Juxtaposition: Explains why Act Three was placed at the very end despite occurring a year earlier—ensuring the emotional and political fallout lingers with the audience.
  • Contextual Nuance: Distinguishes between bourgeois feminism (equal rights to exploit the free market) and socialist feminism (dismantling systemic inequalities).
  • Precise Close Reading: Explores motifs such as tea/whisky drinking, the physical shelter in the Suffolk backyard, and Angie’s touch/physical clinginess towards Marlene.

Topics

Modern times: literature from 1945 to the present day · Top Girls

Question and mark scheme from the AQA A-Level English Literature A examination, Paper 2: Texts in shared contexts (2B), June 2025. QuestionVault is an independent revision resource; questions remain the copyright of the awarding body.