Russells Treatment of Self-Discovery in Educating Rita :: English Literature

Russell's Treatment of Self-Discovery in Educating Rita (A) "RITA: See, I don't want a baby yet. See, I wanna discover meself first. Do you understand that?" Write about Russell's treatment of self-discovery and of its importance in the lives of the play's characters. The idea of self-discovery is a theme that runs throughout Educating Rita, demonstrating how it can be a personal mission as well as an accidental achievement in life. Both Frank and Rita, as well as the other, more minor characters, embark on this journey as Rita begins her Open University course. When Rita begins her the English Literature course, she is raring to go and wants to know "everything". She also puts in words, her personal desire for self-discovery. "I wanna discover meself." Rita knew from the beginning that she was on a mission and knew where she was going. Frank on the other hand, is quite content with his way of life and finds the idea of a "silly woman's attempts to get into the mind of Henry James" highly amusing although it does interrupt the monotony of his potentially extremely boring and predictive lifestyle. Russell demonstrates the idea of "self-discovery" through Rita by showing the way in which Rita has progressed during the play. At the beginning, Rita is the innocent student who wants "choices". She feels that she will be able to escape from the vicious circle that exists in working class society. The first signs of Rita's discovery are shown through her actions. Her first entrance is a forced entry into the office of Frank, whilst on her second visit she oils the door to make it easier for her to enter. Eventually, Russell no longer shows her entrance into the office but has her already there when the scene begins. Frank, shows less signs of self-discovery although he does in fact discover rather a lot about himself because of Rita. Frank has a drinking habit that he acknowledges but he does hide the signs of it and when Rita thinks she's "reformed" him he finds it highly amusing. Although Frank does not in fact cease drinking, he does get worse and it is the ultimate reason for his "sabbatical" to Australia. On the other hand, Frank's relationship with his former student Julia disintegrates as his fondness for Rita grows. Russell does this to show how the life of the teacher who is apparently stuck in a rut is also changing. The areas that Rita studies show how she has progressed. When she begins to form her own ideas which would hold their own in an examination, Frank doesn't appreciate it, he thinks that the progress