A perfect mess

Rita goes to class with Frank for the first time in this act. As she enters the room she starts going around without sitting down. She cannot stay still...

Rita sees Frank's room as an ideal place where she feels she can get an education. As she puts it "everything is in its right place". When one finds things where they belong, one can feel at ease. The teacher's place is in Frank's chair, where he should teach her. Rita's place is... actually, all around the room, as she does not like sitting down very much...

Rita believes "proper students" should make the best out of their good luck, as they are able to study right after leaving high school. They have been "the lucky ones", being able to continue studying as they didn't have to go along with what friends and family thought was best for them.

One day, Rita decides to follow her own thoughts and enrolls at the O.U. She decides she wants a change in herself, and the only way to change is through education.

Educating Rita - Act 1

I have seen the movie made based on this play some years ago, while studying English... I don't remember if I liked it or not, but reading the book now brings some memories...

I've chosen question 1: Why does Rita want to study?

Rita is a twenty-six-year-old woman from the working classes who enrolls in a course from the Open University. This programme is meant for people who didn't have the chance to go to university in the ordinary way due to time or money issues.

Rita is a hairdresser and her husband wants her to have a baby in order to start a family. In spite of this, she wants to study Literature. She longs for knowledge she believes she can get through the course. She wants to know everything possible in order, according to her, to become a better, more complete person in life. In her own words, she wants to "discover" herself before doing anything else in life.