1258), Dull Gret (1562), Pope Joan (854-856) and Griselda (Canterbury Tales). All of these women are intelligent, courageous, and adventurous, but the patriarchal societies in which they live have demeaned, restricted and robbed them either of their self-esteem or of their children. It is noteworthy that the fathers of Isabella and Lady Nijo are architects of their repression, as well as their husbands (particularly the Emperor in Lady Nijo's story and Griselda's Marquis Walter, whom she had to obey in all things, even to the point of giving up her two children at his request). .
Churchill's choice of dinner guests is absolutely brilliant although fictitious, as they represent various cultures and eras, religions and creeds, all of which could be said to have been agents of oppression at one time or the other. With regard to religion, it is deeply disturbing that Joan resorts to treachery to become Pope and although she is now Pope, she is disappointed that God does not speak to her because He knows that she is a woman and as she says, "Women, children and lunatics cannot be Pope"[Car82]. In addition, when it is discovered that she is a woman, she and her new-born child are dragged out of the city and stoned. To further illustrate the role religion indirectly plays in undermining femininity, Isabella Bird as the daughter of a Church of England cleric, is restricted to doing "Needlework, music, charitable schemes" although she is more suited to adventure and exploration [Car82]. Then take, Lady Nijo of Japan, who becomes a Buddhist nun and tours the country on foot for twenty years, to fulfil the promise she made to her father, but much more as penance for her 'sins': "The first half of my life was all sin and the second all repentance" [Car82] . However, it is not only religion that has placed these insurmountable hurdles on the path of women; but also culture, and periods in history.
