Marlene As A Woman example essay topic

How far women both in history and in the present modern world, have achieved happiness and freedom through their success in the male-dominated world. 1.0 Introduction Carry Churchill's Top Girls is an interesting play about how women have defined their roles in a male-dominated society. We are introduced to various women who have pursued their career at the expense of a personal life. The play begins with a dinner party at a restaurant among a group of women.

What is notably interesting about this group of women is that they are from different time periods and culture. Churchill does not explain how these women from the past and present are able to converse with each other but the concept of this illogical scene is soon forgotten due to the wittiness and courage shown by all these women to overcome the hardship that they endured in a world ruled by men. The women are; o Marlene: A 20th century woman who has made a successful career for herself. o Isabella Bird: Lived around the 19th century and had traveled widely. o Lady Nijo: Lived around the 13th century. She was the Japanese Emperor's courtesan, who later in her life, became a Buddhist nun. o Pope Joan: Lived around the 9th century and disguised herself as a man. Later she became the Pope. o Griselda: Lived around the 13th century and is an obedient wife who's story is told in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. o Get: She is the subject of the Bruegel painting in which a woman in an apron and armour leads a crowd of women charging through hell and fighting the devil. In this essay, I am going to discuss how far women both in history and in the present modern world, have achieved happiness and freedom through their success in the male-dominated world.

In order to make the discussion clearer, I have divided the essay into sections according to the characters in the play. Each character is discussed in detail to show to what extent these women have achieved happiness and freedom in their life. I have chosen to discuss six women in this essay. They are Marlene, Isabella, Lady Nijo, Pope Joan, Griselda and Louise, a woman who came to the employment agency to find a better job. 2.0 Marlene Marlene, who had just been promoted as a managing director in an employment agency, holds the dinner party that opens Act One.

The scene starts with Marlene ordering a bottle of Frascati. Here, the readers are introduced to Marlene as a woman who wants to be served. The fact that she is ordering the waitress and making a decision not to wait for the others before placing the order, shows a very confident woman who knows what she wants. Excellent, yes, table for six.

One of them's going to be late But we won't wait. I'd like a bottle of Frascati straight away if you " ve got one really cold. (Churchill: 1) I feel that Churchill has successfully established Marlene as a strong character from the beginning itself. Apart from that, Churchill had arranged the play in a way that the last act, Act Three, is actually set a year earlier, in Marlene's sister's kitchen. Perhaps, one can assume that the kitchen symbolizes Marlene who is supposed to be a mother or a wife but by putting the scene in the end, it could indicate that she had abandoned her duties as a mother / wife. Thus, the structure of putting the scene in the kitchen which is set a year earlier, in the end, while the scene of Marlene celebrating her career is put in the beginning to establish to the audience that Marlene is a career woman.

Marlene is also seen as a workaholic who wants to come up in the world of business, which is dominated by men. This is evident in the scene where Marlene seemed to be envious of Isabella who is able to travel around the world. Marlene is unable to do any traveling, as she is devoted to her work. It is obvious that Marlene puts a lot of effort into her career that she is willing to sacrifice the little pleasures of life such as taking a holiday, "I'd like to go somewhere exotic like you but I can't get away". (1) This shows that Marlene pushes herself to the limit to achieve success.

The fact that Marlene, being a woman, needs to prove herself in the male-dominated business world by working hard, shows that not only is she determined, she is also sacrificing her happiness by putting all her efforts in her career. Other than that, it has been years since she has been to church. This shows that religion takes a back step when one is busy advancing one's career. Marlene's attitude is more like a man than a woman. What is interesting to note here is that when the conversation steered towards clothes, Marlene insisted that she does not wear trousers to work even though she could wear it, "I don't wear trousers in the office. I could but I don't".

(8) It is as if Marlene is self-conscious of being labeled a man. By choosing not to wear trousers, Marlene seems to insists that she is still retaining her feminine side. Marlene does not have a man in her life. Perhaps this indicates she does not want to be burdened by wifely duties. Marlene wants to be independent. As an individual, Marlene does not have to explain her actions to anyone and is not tied down.

Thus, she has the freedom to do what she wants. At one part of the conversation, Pope Joan talked about feeling ill and regret after being made a cardinal. To that Marlene commented, "yes, success is very... ". (12). She did not complete her sentence.

Did she want to say that success is very fulfilling or just the opposite? Were all her sacrifices worth the success that she is enjoying now? Perhaps this gives a hint that Marlene is slightly disappointed with her life. She may be very successful in her career but she has no one to go back to when she goes home. There is no family to greet her when she goes back home or to show her love.

Although one can assume that her unfinished sentence could indicate a tone of regret, Churchill quickly establishes that Marlene is against having a family. This is indicated when Pope Joan mentioned about her baby and Marlene's immediate question was, "Didn't you think of getting rid of it?" (15) Marlene's callousness is evident here. Marlene sees children as inconvenience. She sees babies as barriers, an obstruction to become successful.

This is further seen when Marlene was interviewing Jeanine, a girl who wants to look for another job with better prospects, Marlene asked Jeanine not to mention the fact that she was going to get married, during her job interview. Marlene: So, you won't tell them you " re getting married? Jeanine: Had I better not? Marlene: It would probably help / There's no need to mention it when you go for an interview. (31) Perhaps, Marlene feels that a married woman would not succeed in securing a good job. This could be because married women would have to take maternity leave and this would not be in favour of the employer.

This would definitely affect their performance at work. This could explain why Marlene herself is not married. She even had two abortions, "I've had two abortions / it wasn't a problem / I don't want a baby". (81) Marlene was not willing to keep any of her babies because she does not want any family responsibilities to get in the way of her career. All the efforts and energy that Marlene put into her work, finally paid off when she was made the managing director of her agency. She was picked over another male for the post.

It is a post that Marlene deserves as she worked hard and sacrificed a lot to reach that position. This is supported by her colleagues who felt that Marlene deserved the post compared to Howard Kidd, a male worker. Howard thinks because he's a fella the job was his as of right. Our Marlene's got more balls than Howard and that's that. (46) Although Marlene is a woman, it is clear that Marlene is better than Howard in her job.

Howard could not accept the fact that he lost the post of managing director to a woman. He fell sick due to this. Perhaps Howard felt that it would be a disgrace to take orders from a woman. This is confirmed when Howard's wife comes to see Marlene and asks her to give up her job to him. What's it going to do to him working for a woman? I think if it was a man he'd get over it as something normal.

-/ It had crossed my mind if you were unavailable after all for some reason, he would be the natural second choice I think, don't you? I'm not asking. (58-59) It is as if Howard's wife is threatening Marlene to give up her job as she mentioned in the end that she was not asking. She was probably ordering Marlene to step down as it would be a disgrace for her husband to work under a woman.

She even goes on to accuse Marlene of not being sympathetic and cursed Marlene that she would have a miserable life, "You " ll end up miserable and lonely. You " re not natural" (59). Mrs. Howard feels that a woman should not be more successful than a man. That could be the reason why she felt that Marlene was not natural. Just like what Mrs. Howard said, Marlene is living a lonely life. Could she truly find happiness by only having a successful career?

There is also competition among the female workers for a higher position. This is evident when Marlene asked Nell if she felt bad because Marlene got the promotion instead of her to which Nell answered, "I don't like coming second" (50). The competition among them resembles a male power structure. In addition, the language used by these working women when talking among themselves, such as "more balls", "nerd" and "little bugger", indicates that they have even adopted the style of speech that is commonly used by males. Do women have to be like men in terms of character and attitude in order to compete with them? Do women also become the oppressor when they have become successful?

Success has made Marlene to become a very harsh person. She commented to one of her friends that Angie, her own daughter, would not be successful in life. She stated that Angie would most probably end up being a packer at Tesco. She even went on to call her stupid, "She's a bit thick. She's a bit funny / She's not going to make it" (66). Apart from that, in a conversation with her sister, Joyce, Marlene suggested that Joyce could have left their place like she did, to which Joyce asked, "How could I have left?

/I said how could I?" (76). Unlike Marlene who ran away from her responsibilities as a mother and daughter, Joyce thought about taking care of their own mother, her husband and the daughter that Marlene had abandoned to pursue her career. Marlene got pregnant when she was seventeen and left her baby in the care of Joyce. She knew that a baby would only be in the way of pursuing a career for herself. In order to have a successful career, Marlene had become harsh and selfish. She is not bothered about other people and feels ashamed to be associated with the working class.

This is supported by Joyce's statement accusing Marlene of being ashamed of her own sister... you " re ashamed of me if I came to your office, your smart friends, wouldn't you, I'm ashamed of you, think of nothing but yourself. (85) In her pursuit of a career, Marlene had become hard on the inside. Perhaps Marlene sees emotional attachment as a weakness. Marlene also believes that only those who work hard will succeed. Anyone can do anything if they " ve got what it takes / If they " re stupid or lazy or frightened, I'm not going to help them get a job, why should I? (86) Here, Marlene's selfishness and individualism comes across.

Success has made Marlene to look down on other people. She is tough and thinks that anybody else, who is not strong enough, does not fit to be in the working class world. She has become just like a man. She has become the oppressor. Has success brought freedom to Marlene?

Yes, she does have freedom to do what she wants but what about happiness? Marlene is so busy trying to get ahead of her career that she has no time to take a vacation or go out with men. She has to give away her own daughter. She has no one to go back to at the end of the day.

She has no family. She has no one to love her. Marlene may be successful in her career but in life, she is one lonely woman. 3.0 Isabella Isabella Bird is a traveler who lived around the 19th century. She is a person who cannot sit still. She is always traveling.

During her travels, Isabella mentioned that she did miss her sister, Hennie, but she did not go back as she is not suited for the quiet life that her sister enjoys. The fact that Isabella had met the Emperor of Morocco shows that she has traveled wide. Isabella is a very independent woman. She did not get married until the age of fifty, "And I didn't get married till I was fifty" (3). This shows that she is able to live without a man for a long time. Her marriage does show that for all her independence, Isabella still needed a man in her life.

However, Isabella did not marry because she loved he husband, rather it was the dedication and compassion he showed towards her sister when Hennie was ill, that made her marry him. It was Doctor Bishop's devotion to her in her last illness that made me decide to marry him. He and Hennie had the same sweet character. I had not. (11) Isabella did not marry so that her husband can protect her. Perhaps she married him hoping that his good character would influence her and do her some good as she stated that she did not have his "sweet character".

She is also a very knowledgeable person. Even though Isabella lived around the 19th century, her father taught her Latin although she was a girl. This shows that her father wanted her to be educated. This could explain why she is not like many of her other contemporary woman who are uneducated and sit in the house. However, Isabella claims that she is more suited for domestic work. My father taught me Latin although I was a girl / But really I was more suited to manual work.

Cooking, washing, mending, riding horses. (3-4) This seems to be in contradicting to her character that is not able to stay in a place for long. Perhaps if Isabella did get married at a young age, she would probably make someone a good wife. Through the character of Isabella, Churchill brings across the idea of feminine in a man's world.

Although Isabella travels widely and is independent, she insists that she is still a feminine. Well, I always traveled as a lady and I repudiated strongly any suggestion in the press that I was other than feminine. (8) By stating that she travels like a lady, Isabella comes across as a strong character as she is not afraid to travel as a lone woman. She is also proud being a woman. This shows that Isabella has a lot of freedom in a male-dominated society. When her husband died, she did not give up hope.

This shows she has a lot of courage and determination as she was already fifty-six years old at that time, "I determined to leave my grief behind and set off for Tibet" (12). The fact that she decided to go to Tibet shows that she is a woman who takes control of her own life. Furthermore, evidence of her tough character clearly comes across when she goes mountain-climbing with a group of people. She proved that a woman can be better than a man when she managed to finish the climb. We were crossing a mountain pass at seven thousand feet, the cook was all to pieces, the muleteers suffered fever and snow blindness. But even though my spine was agony I managed very well.

(13) Isabella had proved that women are not weak and sensitive. They can be brave and tough and should be treated with respect. Similar to Marlene, Isabella leads a lonely life. After her husband died, she did not remarry or have any close relationships with men. Her only companion seemed to be a horse named Birdie. I never had any children.

I was very fond of horses / Birdie was my favourite. (18) She described her favourite horse in a very loving manner as if she was describing a child. Perhaps there is a hint of sadness here as like Marlene, Isabella does not have a family to go to. This could explain why she got actively involved in community work. She needed to occupy herself, something to keep her busy so that she would not be lonely. Isabella has been successful in her own right where she has proved herself to be worthy in a male-dominated society.

She has not only traveled the world on her own but she has proved that for a woman, she is as capable as a man. However, her interest in traveling and the idea of independence had eluded her from having any serious relationship with men. Thus, could Isabella truly be happy with the life she has chosen? Perhaps her active involvement in community work gives a clue of her unhappiness and her feelings of not wanting to be lonely. 4.0 Lady Nijo Nijo is the Japan's Emperor's concubine who lived in the 13th century. She became his concubine at the age of 14.

When Marlene asked if she was raped by the emperor, Nijo denied it and defended the emperor's act by saying that it was her duty to serve him. I belonged to him, it was what I was brought up from a baby. I soon found I was sad if he stayed away. It was depressing day after day not knowing when he would come.

(3) Nijo needed the emperor. She wanted to be with him. Since small, Nijo had been told that she was to serve the Emperor. Thus, without the Emperor, Nijo feels incomplete.

The Emperor made her happy as she did not fell lonely. Nijo is portrayed as a dutiful daughter. She became a nun because that is what her father wanted if she could not make the emperor happy anymore. Serve His Majesty, be respectful, if you lose his favour enter holy orders. (3) Nijo did as her father asked. Nijo admits that half of her life was spent in a sinful manner by serving the Emperor while the rest of it was spent looking for atonement for her sins (5).

When Pope Joan asked her which life she liked best, she answered 'repentance'. She found happiness in her later life. Perhaps Nijo felt guilty that all this while she not only led a life of sin but also a life of comfort. While serving the emperor, she enjoyed being lavished in good clothes. This is evident by her comment, "What I enjoyed most was being the Emperor's favourite / and wearing think silk" (4). Here Nijo shows her feminine side.

Unlike Isabella, Nijo prefers to stay at home and serve the emperor. She liked the comfortable life. The only time she showed any defiant towards the emperor was when she hit him with a stick in protest of her and the other courtesans' treatment by the emperor's servants. This is the only time we see Nijo going against the norm. As a woman in the 13th century, Nijo showed a lot of courage by hitting the emperor. Afterwards, there was a terrible fuss.

The nobles were horrified. 'We wouldn't even dream of stepping on your Majesty's Shadow'. And I had hit him with a stick. Yes, I hit him with a stick. (27) However, this success that Nijo enjoyed in the male-dominated society may actually hinder the freedom of other women of similar position to Nijo. According to Jones in his article, Gender Roles in Churchill's Top Girls, Nijo attacking her Emperor is likely to have caused the Emperor to restrict significantly the liberty of his concubines, the liberty that Nijo enjoyed.

In this way, future women are prevented from achieving what Joan and Nijo do. (1999) Thus, Nijo's defiant act could actually result in less freedom for future concubines of the Emperor. On the other hand, Nijo's action could be seen as the opening all the other women need to get men to teat them with respect. Nijo had set and example for all the other woman to fight for their rights and to be taken seriously. It is interesting to note that most of Churchill's women characters gave up their babies. Marlene gave up her baby so that she could get a career and make something out of herself.

Griselda gave up her babies as a sign of love and devotion to her husband. Nijo gave up her babies to be in favour of the Emperor and lead a comfortable life as the emperor's concubine. Nijo became pregnant with her lover's child and had to give up the baby in order to be in the favour of the emperor. Subsequently, Nijo gave up all her three babies as she was afraid the Emperor would punish her as the babies were not his. Here, we can see that Nijo has no freedom to do what she wants in her life.

Nijo cannot be truly happy with her life as she had to give up her children. When the group of women was talking about Griselda getting back her children, Nijo commented that she did not get her children back and she started crying (25). Nijo may have been successful in being the best concubine to the Emperor but she could not find happiness as in the later part of her life, she lived alone without anybody to care for her. 5.0 Pope Joan Pope Joan was a woman who lived her life as a man and went on to become the Pope in the 9th century. When she was twelve, Joan dressed as a boy, not only to protect herself but it was also the only way she could learn theology.

During her time, women were not allowed to study, "Women weren't allowed in the library" (8). We can see how determined Joan was that she was willing to pretend to be a boy even at that young age. Her determination and courage is something to be looked up at but she had to dress up as a boy to do this. Joan had to hide behind a boy's appearance to be someone.

Later on, when Joan was made a Cardinal, she felt ill and for two weeks she did not speak to any one as she was full of terror and regret. Perhaps she was afraid that her disguise might be found out or it could be that she was guilty of her success as she got it through pretending to be a man. It could also be the fact that to be given such heavy responsibility had made her anxious. It can be clearly seen that Joan went through a lot of unhappiness and guilt in her pursue of a career. Later, she was made a Pope, the highest post in the Christian religion. One can see that Joan has become a very successful person as she was at the pinnacle of her career.

During the conversation among the group of women, one could sense the power that Pope Joan held over the people when she stated quite briefly, "I never obeyed anyone. They all obeyed me" (21). We must not forget that this is a woman who lived in the 9th century and she made men to obey her and kiss her feet. This is definitely a feat hard to follow. On the other hand, it is clear that Joan did not find much happiness in her life.

All her live, she lived in pretence. She has to sacrifice her feminine side in order to pursue a career. Furthermore, Pope Joan is ridden with guilt as she held the notion that God does not speak to women. She thought that once she was made the Pope, she would be able to communicate with God and know everything.

This proved to be false and she thought it was because she was a woman, "I thought God would speak to me directly, but of course he knew I was a woman" (14). God is seen here as someone who is bias as God only communicates with men and not women. Pope Joan could have led a successful life until the end if it was not for her lust. She became pregnant and had no means of getting rid of the baby as she did not know how. She gave birth to a child in the middle of the street during a procession. As the result of the embarrassment and humiliation she caused the church, Joan was stoned to death together with her child.

It was a tragic end to someone as intelligent as her. In her conversation among the group of women, Joan sates, I shouldn't have been a woman. Women, children and lunatics can't be Pope. (15) There is a lot of frustration in Joan.

Joan knew that she would have been a very good Pope if she had carried on but the fact was, she was born a woman, and as a woman, there was nothing she could do or accomplish in a male-dominated society. Similar to all the other women characters such as Marlene, Isabella and Nijo, Pope Joan achieved great success in her career but there was a lot of unhappiness in her life. She had to live her life pretending to be a male. She had no freedom to be herself. Although she enjoyed the life of comfort and luxury of being the Pope, guilt was eating her up as she knew that God knew the truth.

Pope Joan had to sacrifice her happiness and freedom to be successful in the male dominated world. 6.0 Griselda Griselda is a woman who lived around the 13th century. She is portrayed as an obedient wife who is too good to be true. Churchill introduces Griselda by stating that she 'arrives unnoticed' to the party hosted by Marlene.

Perhaps Churchill wants to show that just as how she was not noticed immediately by the group, Griselda's sacrifice and success in her life also went unnoticed and unappreciated by her husband. Griselda's wedding was like a fairy tale, where the poor peasant girl was rescued by a rich marquis. What started off as a fairy tale, did not continue to be one. Griselda, as the obedient and dutiful wife, did not once question any of her husband's actions.

Griselda knew her wifely duties very well. But of course a wife must obey her husband. /And of course I must obey the Marquis. (21) Even when Marlene was critical of her husband, Walter, Griselda was quick to defend him, saying that Walter really loved her.

He was very kind / I'm sure he loved me, Marlene, all the time. (22) Perhaps Griselda was just trying to convince herself that her husband's love for her was genuine and deep. The phrase, "I'm sure he loved me" suggest an uncertainty in Griselda's part. She was not firm in making the statement. Thus this could suggest that Griselda herself has doubts of her husband's love towards her. What brings out Griselda as a strong character is that she had endured all her suffering with a lot of courage.

Griselda had to give up her first-born, a daughter, to prove her loyalty towards her husband. She was willing to be separated from her child and knowing that her child would be killed, she still gave her daughter without any struggle as she had promised her husband that she would obey him. When her husband asked for their daughter with the intent of murdering the baby, Griselda gave her up willingly to show her obedience to her husband. I asked him to give her back so I could kiss her.

And I asked him to bury her where no animals could dig her up. /It was Walter's child to do what he liked with. (23) Griselda felt that her husband had all the right to do what he wanted with their child. She did not harbour any ill feelings towards her husband and stated that "We were very happy together.

We never spoke about what had happened" (23). Perhaps it was the fact that they never spoke about it, helped their relationship because her husband did not have to defend his actions to her. Six years later, Griselda again was willing to give up her two-year-old son because her husband had asked her to. All he had to do was ask, and she was willing to obey. What freedom or happiness does she get for being such an obedient wife?

All she ever endures is the suffering of giving up her children. When Nijo asked her if it was easier or harder to give up her child the second time, Griselda simply replied, It was always easy because I always knew I would do what he said" (23) It is always not easy to give up a child, especially if you have nurtured the child for two years. What her husband asked her to do was a sacrifice that no mother would want to face. However Griselda had promised to obey her husband and this is the principal she holds on to. No matter what happens, her husband's happiness always comes first. Griselda's success is seen through her obedience to her husband.

She has no freedom to choose what she wants. Everything is dictated by her husband. Twelve years after taking away her son, her husband wanted to be separated from her. The explanation he gave for sending her away was that the people wanted him to remarry so that he could produce an heir. What is ironic here is that he was given an heir when Griselda gave birth to a son but he took it away. Now he claims that he needs to remarry so that he would have an heir.

Griselda never objected to being sent away. In fact, she volunteered to go back to her father because she knew that was what he wanted. So I said I'd go home to my father. I came with nothing / so I went with nothing.

I took of my clothes. He let me keep a slip so he wouldn't be shamed / I was perfectly content. (24) Griselda gladly accepted her fate. She did not make a scene or accuse her husband of anything. She did not demand for anything and left to her father's house with no clothes except for a slip. I believe she would have gladly even left without a slip if it would not embarrass her husband.

That was the extent of her obedience. On the other hand, perhaps, Griselda is void of any feelings because she had accepted and endured a lot of hardship and struggle in her life. Thus being sent away is not something new to her. This could explain why she did not show any emotion and accepted her fate without question. Griselda did not have much happiness in her life as her children were taken away from her and later she was left by her husband. However, towards the end, Griselda did have some happiness when she was called back to her husband's house and was presented with her children.

Griselda was over-joyed because her husband did not kill the children as she had thought. Perhaps, for all the struggle and hardship she has gone through, she was finally rewarded. Even until the end, Griselda, the ever dutiful wife, did not blame her husband for all the hardship she went through. In fact, she stated that her husband also "suffered so much all these years" (35).

No one can go through life as Griselda did. She showed a lot of admirable qualities in enduring her life and came out of it with success and was rewarded in the end with happiness. 7.0. Louise Louise is a 46 years old lady who had worked for the same company for the past 20 years. She came to the employment agency to look for a better job than her present one. Win, who was interviewing Louise, commented on her age.

For a woman, being old can be seen as a disadvantage in finding for a job. Louise: Forty-six Win: It's not necessarily a handicap, well it is of course we have to face that, but it's not necessarily a disabling handicap, experience does count for something. (51) Being middle-aged for a woman can be seen as a barrier to attain good jobs. During the interview, win suggested Louise applies for jobs that are catered more for women. There are two reasons for Win's suggestion. First, Louise would have to compete with younger men and second, being above 40 and a woman, chances for Louise to get a job is very slim. vacancies are going to be ones where you " ll be in competition with younger men...

There are also fields that are easier for a women, there is a cosmetic company here where your experience might be relevant. (52-53) In a business-world dominated by men, experience does not count much if one is a female. The reason Louise is unhappy with her present job, is the fact that she had been overlooked when it comes to promotion. She had been doing the same job for 20 years. Men, far younger than her, have all been promoted to better jobs. I've seen young men who I trained go on, in my own company or elsewhere, to higher things.

Nobody notices me, I don't expect it, I don't attract attention by making mistakes, everybody takes it for granted that my work is perfect. (52) Although Louise is a good worker who hardly makes any mistakes, she felt that she was overlooked for any promotion because she was a female. Louise herself acts like a man. Being a woman, she looks down on other women's capabilities of doing a job.

This is evidently clear when she stated, There was one, she was my assistant, it was the only time I took on a young woman assistant. I always had my doubts. I don't care greatly for working with women. (52) Louise does not trust another woman to do a job well.

There was only once she had a woman to assist her. Instead of helping other female to come up in a male dominated-business world, Louise expresses her doubts on another female carrying her duties well. Not only does Louise have a male attitude, she also compares herself to a man. "I think I pass as a man at work". (52) Perhaps she is comparing herself to a man to show the extent of how hard she works.

She sacrificed her social life for the company that she works for. I've lived for that company, I've given my life really you Could say because I haven't had a great deal of social life. I've worked in the evenings. (51-52) Louise felt that even though she worked hard and dedicated her life for the company, she was not appreciated.

Louise is extremely unhappy trying to compete with men..