The Drama of Daughterhood in Great Britain and Scandinavia: Caryl Churchill’s and Margareta Garpe’s Plays of the 1970s and 1980s

This thesis explores the representation of daughterhood through a psychoanalytical and feminist critical approach in a selection of women playwrights from Great Britain and Scandinavia in the 1970s and 1980s. Motherhood and sisterhood have been pivotal topics of second-wave feminism; the purpose of this study is to change perspective and look at the daughter as both observer and active participant in the feminist battles. Starting from a presentation on the theoretical and methodological framework which centres on motherhood and daughterhood in psychoanalytical and feminist discourse, a historical overview of the different literary contexts will be provided. More specifically, the emergence of Thatcherism in Great Britain and its implications in feminist politics will be analysed in contrast to the consolidation of the social state in Scandinavia. The analysis will focus on two case studies, Caryl Churchill for Great Britain and Margareta Garpe for Sweden. Caryl Churchill is considered one of the most inventive and visionary living playwrights in the UK, with works that have already entered the literary canon. Her investigation on motherhood and daughterhood related themes will be tackled in three of her most celebrated plays: ownership and motherhood in Owners, the performance of motherhood in Cloud Nine, and the mother/daughter battle in Top Girls. Margareta Garpe is one of the most important voices of contemporary Swedish theatre; she famously collaborated with fellow playwright Suzanne Osten in realising political plays that aimed at igniting the public debate on feminist topics. This study will take into consideration the most influential of these collaborative works, Jösses Flickor! Befrielesen Är Nära, which will be followed by two more intimate plays: Barnet and Till Julia. The final part of the thesis will provide a contrastive analysis of the case studies, to look at the different themes in a broader perspective.