An Analysis of the Textual Space and Characters in Educating Rita

• Main Authors: Tzeng, Yu-Fang, 曾于芳
• Other Authors: Liu, Chin-Li
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2013
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/q6k2bc

碩士 === 國立臺灣藝術大學 === 戲劇學系 === 101 === Educating Rita is a famous play for the British playwright Willy Russell. This work describes the interactions in the classroom, between a working-class woman Rita, and a middle-class university teacher, Frank. After taking the refresher courses in Open University, Rita obtained abundant knowledge and enhanced intrinsic qualities, and shortened the gaps between different classes, and also changed Frank's prejudice against Female schooling. In this study, the objects were found in the textual space in Educating Rita first by applying Roland Barthes's theory of semiotics, extending from Saussure's theory of linguistics. Then the researcher explored these objects in their original denotations, functions, and connotations. Finally, the researcher analyzed time and space scenes in Educating Rita, and tried to find how the textual spaces become a variability of space by the interactions among characters, objects, and the developments of the plot. This study aimed to introduce Educating Rita, which has no Chinese translation in Taiwan. By the use of Roland Barthes's theory of semiotics, the researcher found the connotations of objects and classroom, and analyzed the relationship between the textual space and characters in Educating Rita.