Rita's perceptions of education are sometimes muddled and to Frank at times rather amusing. One illustration of this would be when Rita asks Frank "what's it like to be free" Rita assumes that because frank is educated he is free. Rita doesn't realize is that free to one person could be totally the opposite of what another person's perception of it would be. Again Rita shows her confusion when talking about makes of spread and types of bread. "Flora…it's all for people like you who eat pebble dashed bread" From this quote Rita thinks that being educated would allow you to eat and buy other varieties of food and currently she isn't allowed to have such privileges.
Rita's essay writing skills are what to be worked on but she shows her understanding when comes out with "Do it on the radio" when refereeing to how pear Gynt should be staged. Rita knows the answer but needs to persuading the examiner with her writing that she understands. Frank understands Rita and knows she needs "to discipline that mind" if she is "going to pass and sort of exam". By the end of scene four we can see that Rita has "connected" with Foster and understands what he has to say. She sees the wider picture whether he gets on her "tits" or not.
A major turning point and inspiration for Rita is when she goes to see Macbeth. "It wasn't borin'" She enjoyed it so much she even went out to buy the text and can now quote and refer from it. "It was fantastic" Rita shows real signs of enjoyment when speaking to Frank about the play. This really is the starting point for Rita as from now on she goes to see many more plays and begins visiting art galleries and places before she would have described as where educated people would go. Rita has also started reading a wider range of books. She still hasn't wiped out the pulp fiction but now mixed in with Franks recommended books.
Emotionally this is a turning point for Rita also her fortnight personality begins to be explained. "I take this piss because I'm, y'know , confident, but I wanna be, honest." Where as in the beginning she couldn't take criticism and always look for an escape goat by blaming books or changing the subject. Now she is gradually becoming more confident, this however is causing her to have to choose between falling out with Denny and going to tutorials. "Denny tried to stop me cumin here tonight, he tired to get me to go to the pub with him." Her education is separating her from what was her culture. Her education is forming a strong wall between the two. She is now referring to her self as two people, possibly the first stage of there separation. There is the one character which Denny married, and the other who has taken her place.
"Cumin here, doin this, it's givin me more life than ive has for years."
Predictably enough the two characters come to conflict when Denny burns her books. She seems at this point however to be more concerned about the damage of her books than Denny's feelings.
This is a crisis point for Rita; she reaches a point where she has grown out of her old culture before she feels totally confident with her new one. For Rita this must be terrifying she feels like a freak, her old friends have nothing to offer her but she isn't sure if her new ones will accept her. "I can't talk to the people I live with anymore. An' I can't talk to the likes of them on Saturday…because I can't learn the language. I'm a half caste"
There must come a stage when Rita really has to choose between the two, this happens when Denny gives his ultimatum, this is her last chance, and he is basically throwing her out. For Rita somehow this makes her feel even more determined to learn as she now can't go back her only choice is to fit in with the others.
Although we feel sorry for Rita being pulled between two lives we must also understand Denny's side of the picture. Denny doesn't want Rita to be educated as he doesn't understand what she is learning and is totally oblivious to know what drives her on. "I've tried explaining it to me husband but between you an' me I think he's thick." Rita has a must bigger idea of change where as Denny thinks of it as "movin off the council estate" When Denny burns her books he is getting her back, he is getting rid of what is keeping her away from him. It really isn't Denny's fault this is no longer the woman he married. To Denny she is having an affair with education; this is having the same effect as it would if she had an affair with another man.
Rita: "you'd think I was havin' a bloody affair"
Frank: "Aren’t you"
Denny tries everything in his power to get the old Rita back he tires buying presents but knows in the back of his mind he is losing to education. "He's wonderin' where the girl he marries has gone to"
Denny doesn't understand Rita's need for choice he think of choice as choosing between lagers in a pub.
Rita's educational development is too unnerving for Denny "he'd packed me case" Denny feels like Rita has betrayed him and Rita admits to it. "He said I'd betrayed him. I suppose I have"
Rita's development also has some serious effects on Frank. Frank doesn't really like himself too much and says he is an "appalling teacher". He also used to be a poet himself but says he stopped "For the good of poetry"
Frank really has some liking for Rita. This is clearly displayed when he refers to her as "The first breath of fresh air" that’s been in his room for years. He is often seen flirting with Rita. Telling her there are "a thousand things" he'd "rather do than teach" most of which are with her.
Although Frank is teaching Rita, Rita manages to help Frank reinvent his teaching skills as he customizes them to suit her.
Despite Franks feeling for Rita he does something extremely thoughtless at one point when he invites her to his house. She isn't yet at the stage where she would comfortably fit in. Frank failed to look at it from Rita's point of view.
Frank also shows his selfishness when he is reluctant to teach Rita to pass her exams, he isn't sure if he wants her to know. I think he feels he might lose her. To give him some credit he is doing it because he feels that what Rita has is "valuable".
The second stage of Rita's development is when Rita returns from summer school. She returns with a remarkable confidence boost. The most apparent change we see in Rita is the "new second hand clothes"
She has now begun to change on the outside to suit the change from the inside. She has also remarkably quit smoking When Rita bursts through door after retuning from summer school we can immediately see her confidence boost, she describes summer school to Frank as "fantastic". Rita tells Frank "honest to god" that she stood up in the lectures. This would take any person especially Rita a lot of confidence. Probably the most impressive for Frank is the essay she writes him. She has made it, the essay she wrote fits in with the other students ones.
Initially she is still the same down to Earth Rita after returning from summer school but to Frank's dismay she has grown awfully over confident and now seems quite arrogant.
Rita proudly describes to Frank how she opposed a student in the college who said he prefers, Lady Chatterley's lover to Sons and Lover By D.H Laurence. This is awfully overconfident as he was only expressing his own opinion, everyone is entitled to that and there is no wright or wrong answer as Rita believes.
Another example of her pretentiousness is when she comes in talking strangely; Trish has rubbed off on her.
Rita is developing certain arrogance that she feels Frank is jealous she is educated now, but he is actually concerned about the way she was taught. Rita is also giving the impression that she is too good for the tutorials and thinks she is learning more from the people she is talking to rather than going to Frank's tutorials. Rita feels like Frank is "still treatin' me as though" she's still "hung up on Rubyfruit Jungle" Rita is coming out and saying that she no longer needs frank. In her eyes she has made it. But as Frank says she is now "singing a different song" not a "better" one
Rita has lost her uniqueness and opinion she is now relaying others voices and thoughts. She now just quotes what other people have said she has learnt "to consult recognized authorities"
Frank is bitter about the change in Rita he hates to see her so "hollow" and manufactures. She has failed her test. Frank openly expresses his opinions "Why don't you just go away I don't think I can hear it any longer" Frank feels she has turned into just another one of the students he gives lectures to.
To Rita's defense when Frank gives Rita she takes them home and both she and Trish really love them. Frank is secretly happy about this because he knows that what she is saying is honest and it isn't what she has read up on. Know one has written about Frank poetry for Rita to copy.
As well as Rita's development over the summer Frank has changed also. To start off when Rita first enters his room he is writing poetry again. Rita's affect on Frank has made him start writing again; this is definitely a good thing. Frank is Dependant upon Rita's encouragement to keep him going. Franks drinking shows his growing dependence on Rita. When she comes to see him more he drinks less and when she comes less he drinks more.
Frank has now become jealous of Rita's new influences where as before when the only person she listened to was him now he has to compete for the attention and respect. Frank doesn't like the idea that not only is she learning from him but from others as well. Most of all Frank was quite upset that and disappointed that Rita had already covered Innocence and experience this was one of the areas Frank really enjoyed doing. Rita didn't appreciate Frank's feelings when she was telling him this and for him she seemed to be rubbing it in and showing off.
As Trish's influence on Rita becomes evermore apparent Rita stops coming to tutorials what so ever. Frank really had likes here and had views on romance but it's now clear that's way off track. As Rita moves further and further away Franks Drinking problems begin to come even more serious showing his total dependence upon her.
The last stage in Rita's education is when she makes a personal discovery and finally realizes what she has become. Rita has realized that she is in fact "a load of quotes an' empty phrases." Just as Frank had tried to tell her before. The influence and inspiration for Rita's reconsideration was the suicide for Trish the person she had looked up to and followed. This made here think about all that Frank had told her and what he was worried about. She now "had a choice" because of what Frank had given her. She can now chose whatever she wants to do that is what the education had given her. She can be individual again. Now from her own and other peoples perceptive she is the educated woman she had always wanted to be.
The effect this has on Frank is "fantastic" he know the old Rita is back. Frank is ready to make a new start at life in Australia; he asks Rita is she will join him this is his last chance to hold her. Also Frank manages to admit his attraction for here when he talks about the dress he bought for her. This is the dress Frank had promised to buy Rita once she had succeeded in her goals.
Rita loves the dress but feels that she has never given anything to Frank, this of course is the furthest away from the truth as it could be, Rita in fact has given Frank the second change on life that he deserves.
