Top Girls

In the Top Girls Employment Agency office, Nell, played by the actor who plays Griselda, and Win, played by the actor who plays Nijo, have just begun their workday. Win tells Nell about a married man she is seeing who invited her over while his wife was away and showed her his prized rose garden. Nell gossips about Howard, their coworker, who is late this morning. Howard was up for Marlene’s promotion and thought he was entitled to it as a man, but Nell asserts, “Our Marlene’s got far more balls than Howard and that’s that” (46). Nell and Win consider their prospects at the agency and conclude that they’ll both have to move on eventually. Since Marlene was promoted, there isn’t much room for them to advance. Employers are always trying to poach both Nell and Win, but so far, none have offered what they’re worth. Win comments that she’s fine where she is for the moment unless she decides to move to Australia. They discuss some of the agency’s employers and clients seeking work. In particular, Nell is regretting that she agreed to help one man who is trying to get a job and relocate while his wife wants to stay put. They talk about their weekends.

Nell tells Win that Derek has proposed again, but she is more interested in her career than “going to play house” (48) with him. Marlene enters and Win and Nell tease her for being late to work now that she’s the boss. They talk about Howard, who has ulcers and a heart condition and ought to quit drinking, smoking, and working. Marlene comments that she has to take care of a stack of clients that has been piling up while another colleague has been out, although Nell describes the waiting clients as “half a dozen little girls and an arts graduate who can’t type” (49). Win tells Marlene about the rose garden, and Nell is appalled when Win says she had to lie in his car’s backseat to sneak into the house without the neighbors seeing her. Nell jokes about telling his wife and suggests that Win should go ahead move to Australia. With an edge of resentment in her voice, Nell tells Marlene that she’ll soon be promoted even higher. Marlene asks, “Do you feel bad about it?” and Nell replies, “I don’t like coming in second” (50). Win chimes in that they’re glad Marlene got it rather than Howard, and they’re happy for her. At Win’s prompting, Nell agrees.

Win is interviewing Louise, who is played by the actor who plays Pope Joan. Louise has been working in the same office for 21 years. She’s 46, which Win candidly tells her is “a handicap, […] but not necessarily a disabling handicap, experience does count for something” (51). Win questions Louise about why she wants to leave a job where she makes good money and has spent so much of her life. Louise explains that she has no scandals or anything sordid prompting her to go. She stays out of office conflict. She has been a model employee and does excellent work. But Louise has devoted her life to this job, and she has created a department that runs smoothly, yet she is invisible. Louise hopes that when she leaves, they’ll understand her worth. She’s the only woman working in the office “apart from the girls of course” (52), although she thinks of herself as masculine and believes she has succeeded in being seen as no different from the men. Win warns Louise that she’ll be competing with young men, but she has a cosmetics company that might value her experience. Win asks if Louise drinks, and Louise defensively asserts that she doesn’t, although she isn’t a teetotaler because she thinks that’s just as bad as being an alcoholic. Win tells her that she drinks, and Louise repeats that she doesn’t.

In the main office, Angie surprises Marlene, who doesn’t recognize her at first. Marlene is perplexed as to why Angie is in her office and what she is doing in the city. She asks about Joyce, annoyed that her sister didn’t tell her that Angie was coming. She tells Angie apologetically that she’s too busy to take her shopping or sightseeing. Marlene asks when Angie is leaving, realizing that Angie is expecting to stay with her. She doesn’t have another bed, but she offers the couch. Angie insists that she would be willing to sleep on the floor. Marlene tells Angie that she’s only in the main shared office until the end of next week, when the person currently working in her new office will leave, and Marlene will be taking his job. Angie wants to see it next week, and Marlene is taken aback that she expects her visit to extend until then. Angie claims that her mother knows where she is and what she is doing. She tells Marlene that when she visited Joyce and Angie last year, it was the best day of her life. Angie won’t answer the question about how long she’s staying, but she gets defensive and offers to leave if she isn’t wanted. Backed into a corner, Marlene reassures her that she is welcome to stay.

Mrs. Kidd, played by the actor who plays Isabella, enters and introduces herself to Marlene as Howard’s wife. She has come to see Marlene because, she claims, being passed over for the promotion is affecting Howard’s health. He’s been unwell all weekend, and he hasn’t been able to sleep, which means that Mrs. Kidd hasn’t been able to sleep either. He’s upset that after so many years working for the company, he not only didn’t get promoted, but he has to suffer the indignity of working for a woman. If a man had gotten the promotion, Mrs. Kidd posits, “he’d get over it as something normal” (58). She tells Marlene that as his wife, she’s bearing the majority of his anger and vitriol, adding that Marlene will have to be very aware of his feelings and be extra careful not to hurt his ego when acting as his boss. Marlene reassures her that she will treat Howard with respect, but it’s the same respect that she offers all employees. Mrs. Kidd isn’t satisfied, and Marlene realizes that she is tacitly suggesting that Marlene ought to give up the job so Howard can have it to support his wife and children. Marlene starts to lose patience with Mrs. Kidd, and finally she tells her to “piss off” (59), and Mrs. Kidd leaves. Marlene suggests that Angie come back later because she has a lot of work to do. Angie just marvels at the way Marlene handled Mrs. Kidd and tells her that she’d prefer to wait, as the office is “where [she] wants to be most in the world” (60).

Nell interviews Shona, played by the actor who plays both the waitress and Kit, who is currently working as a salesperson. Shona is making good money, so Nell questions why she wants to make a change. She enjoys being on the road and selling, but she also wants to have management status. Nell says employers are reluctant to hire women to sell, because they think woman are too nice and empathetic of people’s feelings, and they don’t push to close the sale. Shona assures her that she “never considers people’s feelings” (61). Nell, who was a salesperson for six years, tells her that she can sell anything, and she’s friendly, but she isn’t particularly nice. Shona replies that she isn’t especially nice either. Shona wants to sell computers, but Nell explains that she will be competing with primarily young men. Shona describes in great detail her supposed life on the road, down to how she prefers her salad, and Nell realizes that her application is all lies. She admits that she’s 21, not 29, but Nell suspects that she’s really 19. Shona has no experience, but she insists that if given the chance, she can do the job.

In the main office, Win finds Angie in her chair. She makes a “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” joke, but it goes over Angie’s head. Angie wants to know how Win got her job. Win explains that she was working for another employment agency and had been headhunted by Top Girls, which means they offered her more money to break her contract. Angie asks if she can work there too, but she has no skills or credentials and can’t type. Angie questions whether Win has all those qualifications. Win launches into a monologue of her life story. She tells Angie that she has all of that as well as a degree in science. However, medical research paid badly, so she went into sales. But everywhere she went, Win would start to outshine the men who talked a big game about their job performance. People would start to dislike her. She supported a man for four years who couldn’t find a job. She moved to California then Mexico, and then she had a mental breakdown. The psychiatrist who treated her deemed her intelligent and eventually declared her sane again. Win “got married in a moment of weakness” (65), but her husband has been in prison for the last four years, and lately, she hasn’t been visiting him much.

Win got out of sales because she realized that she wasn’t aggressive, and she was tired of coercing people who didn’t really want to talk to her. This job at the employment agency is like sales, but she hopes she’s helping people. Nell enters and points out that Angie is no longer listening because she has fallen asleep. Nell comments that Marlene never talks about her family. She shares the news that Howard is in the hospital after suffering a heart attack. Mrs. Kidd had gotten the news and hurried away. Marlene enters and comments about Howard, calling him a “poor sod” (66). Nell remarks that it’s fortunate that he wasn’t promoted since his heart obviously can’t handle stress. Win tells Marlene that Angie wants to work at Top Girls and calls her a “nice kid” (66). Marlene replies that she’s more likely to work as a bagger at a grocery store, adding, “She’s a bit thick. She’s a bit funny,” to which Win replies, “She thinks you’re wonderful,” and Marlene answers, “She’s not going to make it” (66).