Frank on the other hand feels he has lost the true, happy, real Rita who was “The breath of air” that first came into the room and keeps quoting things Rita has said to him like when she told him assonance means getting the rhyme wrong. Susan, which is Rita’s real name because she changed her name to Rita at the start, when she first goes and sees Frank in his lecture room. Frank at this time is under the influence of alcohol he starts to call him-self ‘Mary Shelley’. At first Rita didn’t understand what Frank was saying but when Frank explains to Rita that Mary Shelley is the author of Frankenstein. Frank says this because he feels he has created a monster when he looks at what Rita has become. Frank created Rita’s new look, the look that’s lost that uniqueness and “the breath of air” that first came into his lecture room and was initially the truth Rita.
Rita thinks that frank is just jealous of what Rita has become (An educated woman) and what she can do with her life now. When Rita says to frank “I don’t need you. I’ve got a room full of books. I know what clothes to wear, what papers and books to read. I can do without you”. Frank replies, “Is that all you wanted. Have you come all this way for very, very little?”.
Frank probably feels that Rita can do so much more but all she has done is stopped there. Rita has the life she has so wanted and set out to achieve. On the other hand frank has gone back to his usually self, DRINKING. At the start Frank drunk a lot to deal with day today life but during the middle of the play Frank stops drinking so much because he doesn’t need to. At the end of the play Frank goes back to his normal self. He starts to drink more to cope with what has happened to Rita and is probably still unsatisfied with has life style so maybe that’s another reason why he wants to try out life in Australia. Frank as changed slightly through all the play but some how he still needs more of a different kind of life style and a different job. Maybe Frank going to Australia will be better for him because different surroundings may help him find a better and happier job and life style.
My conclusion is that Frank is reacting to what he has done maybe he feels angry and upset for how he has changed Rita (Susan). After all what has gone on in Rita’s life now she has no time for Frank because of her new job at the bistro. I must admit when I first started to read this play I thought Rita would pack it in and Frank would have to persuade Rita to stay and continue her course because she can definitely be educated if she tried. So she even proved me wrong. When Frank goes to Australia for 2 years for his new job he offers to take Rita but Rita turns him down and leaves him to go we don’t really know what’s going to happen to them its really up to us what we think. The play is really ‘an open ender’ because Willy Russell could of if he wanted write a second educating Rita play to show us what happened to the two main characters. Just before Frank goes to Australia he gives Rita a dress that symbolises her newfound education.
I also watched the video of Educating Rita, which has many differences between the book and the video for example some of the dialog had mean changed around but it was mostly the same, there were a lot more people in the video than just Frank and Rita. So at the end of the play Rita can make choices in her life now and they can both look forward to their new life’s.
I reckon and im probably right that educating Rita was really ‘Educating Willy Russell’. I think this because Willy Russell worked in a hairdressers shop for 6 years and he even bought his own shop. After working in this profession for so long he wanted a change he wanted to become a writer. Willy Russell enrolled in a night class for O levels and in the end he went to collage and get his qualifications he so wanted to become a writer. So the book was really about Willy Russell’s life and what he did to change it.
I think the play was pretty good but if I had the choice I wouldn’t read it again because the play got a bit boring with just two characters. I think the play shows you that if you have a dream then you can for fill it, if you try.