In “Educating Rita” Willy Russell conveys the idea that education changes people from the inside, and social class changes people on the outside. Rita wants to learn about literature, but also wants to know what kind of wine to drink and what clothes to wear. When she first comes to Frank, and he asks her “What can I teach you?” she replies “Everything.” This is comical because no one can ever learn everything, but Rita does not actually mean that she wants to learn everything, she wants to become educated and respected. She knows the way to do this is by becoming learned like Frank. This makes another point about education; it gives people the respect of others.
“Possessing a hungry mind is not, in itself, a guarantee of success.” Rita wants to learn, but does not yet have the discipline or concentration to put all her efforts into her education. Rita comes to Frank but when he starts talking about “Howards End” she says its “Crap” and she then says “Tch. Forget him”. Russell is saying that getting an education second time round is much more hard work than getting one the first time. Russell makes this serious point amusing when Rita says “I just don’t like Howards Bleedin’ End” the positioning of “bleedin’” is comical. The way that Rita talks about E M Forster being a “frustrated electrician” because of his “repeated use of the phrase ‘only connect’” shows her intelligence and wit, even though it is not as sophisticated as Franks.
Russell shows the audience that cultural background can make people hostile to education. Denny is hostile towards Rita’s education. She cannot work at it at home, so has to study at work. Rita’s conditions for learning are far from ideal. Studying at work limits her learning capability. In this scene Russell is saying that it is important to have a good working environment in order to learn. Denny does not want Rita to carry on having an education, he is afraid that she will not be the same person after she has been educated. He even thinks that Rita is having an affair with Anton Chekhov, a famous, and dead, Russian playwright, because she is spending so much time learning.
Russell wants the audience to realise that it is not the teachers that make a success of the exams, it is work put in by the students. It is important to find out things for yourself, this is the best way to learn. This is illustrated in “Educating Rita” when Frank, who is presented as not a very competent teacher, makes Rita find out what “only connect” means in ‘Howards End’ for herself. “You’ll have a much better understanding of something if you discover it in your own terms”.
Russell wants the Audience to see the link between social status and education. As Rita is learning, she is doing more upper class things like going to the theatre. At the end of Scene Five, Rita suggests that Frank and goes to see “The Importance of Bein’ Thingy” with her. The play is actually called; ‘The Importance of Being Ernest’. Russell chooses this particular play because to be Earnest means to be serious, and in education it is very important to be serious. The play is “an amateur production” and Frank is horrified at the thought of going to see “The Importance played by amateurs in a church hall.” Rita has not seen a live play before, and Frank wittily says that she “may not see a ‘live’ play” tonight. The use of the word “live” is comical because, Frank is suggesting that as it is an amateur production, the actors will perform badly. This is as may be, but Rita is still very excited. In Scene Six, she has now seen a professional performance of ‘Macbeth’. Rita now realises that it takes skill to act a play well.
Russell wants the audience to see that while Rita is trying to change on the inside she is still struggling with the educated class image. At the end of scene six, Frank asks Rita to come to dinner at his house with a few others. Rita wants to know what to wear. This would only be an alteration on the outside and not a development in her education. Russell is showing the audience that to move forward in education it is important to change from the inside. Frank thinks that Rita can fit in with their conversation and what she wears is not important. In Scene Seven we find that Rita could not make it to dinner. She did not know what to wear, and had brought the wrong sort of wine. These are both superficial. Rita was also unaware of the type of conversation appropriate for the educated classes. When Russell is addressing important issues, he sometimes leaves out the comedy. Rita is in crisis because Denny thinks she is moving away from their lifestyle and is afraid so he tries to prevent her from doing so.
“I tried on five different dresses. They all looked bloody awful.” She is trying to impress Frank and his friends by fitting in, but is only trying to do so with her appearance rather than her conversation
In scene eight Willy Russell illustrates how serious the division, caused by education, between social classes can be. Denny becomes so sure that Rita has changed into someone he cannot love that he has thrown her out. Russell abandons humour in this scene, as Rita is deeply upset.
Russell shows the Audience that Education tries to make people all the same. Rita writes an essay on Macbeth. “It’s an unashamedly emotional statement about a certain experience.” Frank thinks it’s wonderful as a piece of writing, but for exam use, it is “worthless”. Russell shows that an examiner ignores some good writing because it does not fit the criterion. In this sense, education makes everyone the same.
When Rita comes back from summer school, Act two, she has changed dramatically. Rita has developed her knowledge of poets. “William Blake?…We did him at summer school.” Rita has however become quite arrogant. Russell illustrates that education is not always beneficial. Frank had been saving Blake for Rita to do when she would entirely appreciate him. When he finds out that Rita has already done Blake, he is upset, and instead of comforting him, Rita simply says “you don’t do Blake without doing innocence and experience, do y’” This is almost ‘rubbing it in his face’. Rita is working hard and now that she has left Denny, is living with an academic, and enjoying learning. Here, Russell shows that a good working environment helps the learning process.
In scene two, Rita has changed her voice; she is trying to talk ‘correctly’. Russell makes this funny when Frank says she is talking like a “dalek”. Rita’s Flatmate, Trish, told Rita that “there is no point in talking about beautiful poetry with an ugly voice.” Russell is showing Rita go through another superficial change in order to try and become upper class. Frank knows it is just superficial and does not like it because it is another sign of Rita conforming to the stereotype, and loosing her individuality. Russell is saying that education tries to make everyone the same, not only in essay writing, but also in life.
At the end of scene two, Rita asks Frank if her essay would look out of place with the real university students. Frank says it would, “Dead honest”. Russell’s placing of the word “Dead”, is interesting because as well as saying it would fit with the other essays he is saying that the essay itself is “dead”, it has nothing of Rita in it and has only conformed with everyone else. Russell abandons comedy here because the mood is very sombre.
Education has given Rita confidence, but as well as that, it has made her very arrogant. Not only when she was talking about Blake with Frank, but also in scene two where she tells Frank how she was talking to a student about some novels, and “set him straight” when his view disagreed with hers. In this case, Frank is disappointed in Rita, so Russell abandons the comedy. At the end of scene three Frank says he has read ‘Rubyfruit Jungle’ and he thinks it’s “excellent”. Rita puts him down when she says, “Of its type it’s quite interesting. But it’s hardly excellence”. This illustrates two things about Rita, firstly she can recognise and analyse good literature, this is a step forward in her education, but secondly, she has become arrogant and almost a ‘snob’.
In scene four, Frank realises that Rita does not depend on him anymore. Instead, she depends on Trish, her flatmate. Rita is turning up late, frequently now. She thinks she does not need Frank anymore. Rita thinks she is able to do things without any help now. Rita has become educated, but has not done it in her own way. She simply talks about what other people say.
Frank gives Rita his poetry to write an essay on. Instead of her own view, Rita consults Trish and finds out what she thinks. Although Rita is making literary criticism, it is not her own thoughts; it is what other people think. Rita has now conformed to the ‘correct’ way of writing and Frank is not pleased. Rita thinks she has accomplished what she set out to do. She says “I know what clothes to wear, what wine to buy, what plays to see,…and what books to read.” It is ironic that Rita says, “I know” because what she really means is that Trish has told her. Rita has used Trish as a role model throughout the second act and Frank sees this. “Found a culture have you Rita? Found a better song to sing…? No—you’ve found a different song,”. What Frank means is that Rita is only copying, and making superficial changes, she is back were she started because she is only thinking what she has been told and has not “found” herself, she has simply found other people. Russell illustrates this at the end o the scene when Frank reels of a list of names of famous female poets after Rita says that she has left the name ‘Rita’ behind her. Russell abandons the comedy because Frank and Rita are fighting. Russell is showing that education alters everyone to be the same, and if you stop finding things out for yourself, you become dependant on others.
In scene seven, Rita realises that she has learnt a lot but it is not her thoughts. Russell is saying that the ability to pass exams does not mean that one is educated. She realised that she had “just ended up with a load of quotes an’ empty phrases;” She wanted an education so much that she did not want to be questioned when she did something. Russell shows that it is not always good to rely on other people for everything when he has Trish try and “top herself”. The comedy comes back in this scene. Frank has been sent to Australia and he talks about their most famous beer, “Forster’s Larger…of course they get the spelling wrong.” Frank has still not lost his wit.
At the end of the scene Frank gives Rita a dress, he bought it to try and keep the old Rita. Willy Russell is giving another example of education changing people so that they loose their individuality.
Throughout “Educating Rita” Russell makes three main points about education. Education should be taken advantage of, “A hungry mind, in itself, is not a guarantee of success.” Education should be a change from the inside, not a superficial one, and “you’ll have a much better understanding of something if you discover it in your own terms.” Russell conveys these points, and a few others, effectively throughout the play and with the use of comedy, Frank’s dry wit and the clash of social backgrounds, keeps the audience listening.
