Educating Rita – Notes
Frank is ‘educated’ but what he has is lots of knowledge from books, not really knowledge for living. He teaches what he knows to others, but has become a tired and frustrated alcoholic. He seems to be cut off from real life, unlike Rita, who is a very down-to-earth woman. Frank has stopped ‘looking’ at things (for example, the painting in his study) while Rita is looking at things for the first time; she sees things differently because she wants to learn about everything.
Right from the start it is clear that Rita will make Frank see things differently. Rita takes everything she sees and hears at face value, but she knows more about real life than Frank does. She knows how people work, especially her own type of people. However, despite her language being crude and ‘uneducated’, what she says is very intelligent as she has good insights into things. What Rita really wants is to escape her social class. For her, education is a means of achieving this.
Although Rita cannot think or write like Frank’s other students, her difference is like ‘a breath of fresh air’ to him. Frank wants her to discipline her mind, but what he means is to find a less personal way to look at literature. The irony is that this will make Rita less spontaneous and it might be an obstacle to her obvious passion for the truth and for life. Frank knows this, but has to insist on the ‘rules’. Literature essays have to be written to a sort of formula: ‘there is a way of answering examination questions that is expected, it’s a game, with rules. And you must observe the rules.’ Franks 'game' of university education has little to do with real life, but ironically it is the way many people qualify for a place in life. Frank himself is ‘successful’ but unhappy.
When she doesn't turn up for the party at Frank’s house we can see how she is beginning to reject her former self - she doesn't want to be a ‘court jester’, or ‘good for a laugh’. She thinks she is a ‘freak’ because she isn't one of ‘them’. She calls herself a ‘half-caste’ then tells him about her mother crying in the pub, saying: ‘there must be a better song to sing than this’. It is at this point that she makes the decision to stay. As she continues to learn and progress, Frank wants to stop her from changing because he knows she will lose her uniqueness.
Rita's change, seen through her increased confidence and ability to ‘perform’ at summer school, is evident. When she returns, Frank sees the change in her – she has given up cigarettes and she tells him about having ‘already done Blake’s poetry’ which disappoints Frank. Other changes include a newly found respect from the other students and Tiger’s invitation to her to go off with them to the south of France. She is moving on and leaving Frank behind.
As Frank deteriorates – drinking more and falling over in the lecture theatre – Rita becomes more distant. Frank knows that there is ‘nothing of you’ in the essay she does on Blake’s poetry, but ironically it will get a ‘good mark’ in the exam. She is now a ‘real’ student, but not, in Frank's eyes, the ‘real’ woman she was. Rita asks him to ‘leave her alone’ a bit because she doesn't need him to ‘hold her hand as much’. As she becomes more confident and ‘educated’, she is slowly but surely moving away from him.
Frank knows that she has lost sight of the ‘things that matter’, but Rita doesn’t see it that way that. Her education has begun to turn her into a snob and she has turned away from her roots to such an extent that she is now like a stranger. Frank says sarcastically that he has ‘done a fine job’ on her, when Rita claims to like Frank’s poetry. He thinks it is a ‘shit’ because it is not true to real life. By now he cannot bear Rita because he sees her as pretentious. All she has found is a ‘different song to sing'.
The final scene is a kind of reconciliation, but the outcome is left unresolved. Rita is now her own woman and Frank is off to Australia. She can now make her own choices and will do so. Her education is complete in that sense. Frank too has learned something and has been given the chance for a new start, but it is not made clear what will happen to either of them
Frank is ‘educated’ but what he has is lots of knowledge from books, not really knowledge for living. He teaches what he knows to others, but has become a tired and frustrated alcoholic. He seems to be cut off from real life, unlike Rita, who is a very down-to-earth woman. Frank has stopped ‘looking’ at things (for example, the painting in his study) while Rita is looking at things for the first time; she sees things differently because she wants to learn about everything.
Right from the start it is clear that Rita will make Frank see things differently. Rita takes everything she sees and hears at face value, but she knows more about real life than Frank does. She knows how people work, especially her own type of people. However, despite her language being crude and ‘uneducated’, what she says is very intelligent as she has good insights into things. What Rita really wants is to escape her social class. For her, education is a means of achieving this.
Although Rita cannot think or write like Frank’s other students, her difference is like ‘a breath of fresh air’ to him. Frank wants her to discipline her mind, but what he means is to find a less personal way to look at literature. The irony is that this will make Rita less spontaneous and it might be an obstacle to her obvious passion for the truth and for life. Frank knows this, but has to insist on the ‘rules’. Literature essays have to be written to a sort of formula: ‘there is a way of answering examination questions that is expected, it’s a game, with rules. And you must observe the rules.’ Franks 'game' of university education has little to do with real life, but ironically it is the way many people qualify for a place in life. Frank himself is ‘successful’ but unhappy.
When she doesn't turn up for the party at Frank’s house we can see how she is beginning to reject her former self - she doesn't want to be a ‘court jester’, or ‘good for a laugh’. She thinks she is a ‘freak’ because she isn't one of ‘them’. She calls herself a ‘half-caste’ then tells him about her mother crying in the pub, saying: ‘there must be a better song to sing than this’. It is at this point that she makes the decision to stay. As she continues to learn and progress, Frank wants to stop her from changing because he knows she will lose her uniqueness.
Rita's change, seen through her increased confidence and ability to ‘perform’ at summer school, is evident. When she returns, Frank sees the change in her – she has given up cigarettes and she tells him about having ‘already done Blake’s poetry’ which disappoints Frank. Other changes include a newly found respect from the other students and Tiger’s invitation to her to go off with them to the south of France. She is moving on and leaving Frank behind.
As Frank deteriorates – drinking more and falling over in the lecture theatre – Rita becomes more distant. Frank knows that there is ‘nothing of you’ in the essay she does on Blake’s poetry, but ironically it will get a ‘good mark’ in the exam. She is now a ‘real’ student, but not, in Frank's eyes, the ‘real’ woman she was. Rita asks him to ‘leave her alone’ a bit because she doesn't need him to ‘hold her hand as much’. As she becomes more confident and ‘educated’, she is slowly but surely moving away from him.
Frank knows that she has lost sight of the ‘things that matter’, but Rita doesn’t see it that way that. Her education has begun to turn her into a snob and she has turned away from her roots to such an extent that she is now like a stranger. Frank says sarcastically that he has ‘done a fine job’ on her, when Rita claims to like Frank’s poetry. He thinks it is a ‘shit’ because it is not true to real life. By now he cannot bear Rita because he sees her as pretentious. All she has found is a ‘different song to sing'.
The final scene is a kind of reconciliation, but the outcome is left unresolved. Rita is now her own woman and Frank is off to Australia. She can now make her own choices and will do so. Her education is complete in that sense. Frank too has learned something and has been given the chance for a new start, but it is not made clear what will happen to either of them