The Way of Life Frank Represents Compared to Ritas :: Educating Rita Relationships Willy Russell Essays

The Way of Life Frank Represents Compared to Rita's Rita is seeking a better way of living her life and Frank represents the life style she wishes to live. She understands she is of a working class background, and wants to be more cultured. Rita wants more meaning to her life. She wants to know the right things to say and what wine to buy, the type of attributes she admires in Frank, and people similar to him. She does not want to be just a housewife and mother, the two exact things Denny her husband wants her to be in order that she fits in with the rest of their society. He tries to control her and prevent her from learning, he burns her books and constantly nags at her to come off the pill so that she can have a child and settle down, just like everyone else they know. Denny's ideas are evident when he says; 'There's a time for education. An' it's not when y' twenty-six an' married.' Basically she has to make a choice between her education or her family, because as she changes to become a more sophisticated and educated woman, she widens the gap between her and the people in her old life, them being ignorant and uncultured. First of all, it is noticeable that because of Rita's working class background, one particular quality of hers is her lack of self-consciousness, which prevents her from being prudish. This is revealed in Act 1 Scene 1 when Rita comments on Frank's picture on the wall; "Look at those tits," she says bluntly, within minutes of meeting her new tutor. Frank, having had a middle class upbringing is embarrassed by her frank observation. He has the good judgment to realise that on first being acquainted with someone this kind of comment is not really appropriate, whereas Rita is almost like a child, not having the expected amount of subtlety and the sense to be discreet. These qualities are what hinders Rita from becoming more like Frank. However, it is this type of behaviour which draws Frank to Rita, he finds her new, unique, and original because she does not follow the unspoken rule of how to behave on meeting a stranger. In Act 1 Scene 1 he describes her as; "The first breath of air that's been in this room for years." He views his life as dull and stale, Rita stepping in begins to make his life seem more interesting, she livens it up. On becoming more educated, Rita also has to leave behind a positive aspect of her old life, a close-knit community with close links.