How Does Rita and Franks Relationship Change Between Act One Scene 1 and Act 2 Scene 1?
How does Rita and Franks Relationship change between Act one scene 1 and Act 2 scene 1?
Frank is a university lecturer and will be teaching Rita what she wants to know about literature and another world outside of her own. Russell has interpreted the character of Rita as a copy of himself. This is because he was also a hairdresser and went to a night school to do his O levels before he became a famous writer. When we first see Frank he is in his office and appears to be looking for a book on the shelf. The audience then realises that he is actually looking for a bottle of whisky that he has hidden behind a book. This is symbolic for that Frank is hiding his drinking problems behind his work and education. Another example of Frank hiding his problems away from others is that when he drinks the whisky from a mug. This is so people won’t see his problems and the contents of the mug. The first time in which Rita in introduced to the play is her first encounter of what it’s like in Frank’s world. She gets to Frank’s door but it appears that it is stuck. She struggles to enter but eventually she gets in. This problem with the door is symbolic for that Rita will find it very hard to get in to the way of living in an educated environment. Immediately we see that they are confused about each other’s behaviour, like a couple of dogs would be about each other’s scent. Rita seems to have a very 'Socratic ' way of being intelligent since she is perfectly aware of her own ignorance and that gives her the possibility of being able to ask for more 'knowledge ' in order to achieve what she wants: to succeed in life. She knows that the only way of doing so is by means of fighting against ignorance. Rita is a very clever and strong woman since, as far as this scene is concerned, she shows a clear awareness of what life is about when she tells Frank that she has tried to make her husband realise that she wants a better life for them but, she explains, he does not understand a word
Frank is a university lecturer and will be teaching Rita what she wants to know about literature and another world outside of her own. Russell has interpreted the character of Rita as a copy of himself. This is because he was also a hairdresser and went to a night school to do his O levels before he became a famous writer. When we first see Frank he is in his office and appears to be looking for a book on the shelf. The audience then realises that he is actually looking for a bottle of whisky that he has hidden behind a book. This is symbolic for that Frank is hiding his drinking problems behind his work and education. Another example of Frank hiding his problems away from others is that when he drinks the whisky from a mug. This is so people won’t see his problems and the contents of the mug. The first time in which Rita in introduced to the play is her first encounter of what it’s like in Frank’s world. She gets to Frank’s door but it appears that it is stuck. She struggles to enter but eventually she gets in. This problem with the door is symbolic for that Rita will find it very hard to get in to the way of living in an educated environment. Immediately we see that they are confused about each other’s behaviour, like a couple of dogs would be about each other’s scent. Rita seems to have a very 'Socratic ' way of being intelligent since she is perfectly aware of her own ignorance and that gives her the possibility of being able to ask for more 'knowledge ' in order to achieve what she wants: to succeed in life. She knows that the only way of doing so is by means of fighting against ignorance. Rita is a very clever and strong woman since, as far as this scene is concerned, she shows a clear awareness of what life is about when she tells Frank that she has tried to make her husband realise that she wants a better life for them but, she explains, he does not understand a word