Women in the play (pages 21-23) The History Boys Women in the play (pages 21-23)

Feedback on pages 21-22 What do you learn about each of the boys. AO1, AO2 Feedback on pages 21-22 What do you learn about each of the boys. Focus specifically on Bennett’s portrayal of their sexuality. How does their language add to the depiction of their character? Be ready to analyse at least two quotations.

Women in the play In pairs, mind map all of the ways in which women have been portrayed/ discussed in the play. Which women have we met? Which women have been mentioned? Find quotations to support your ideas.

Fiona… Fiona is the headmaster’s secretary with whom Dakin has an affair. Fiona is a physical character in the film but never appears in the play – she is only discussed. This means that Mrs Lintott (nicknamed ‘Totty’) is the only real female character.

AO2 DAKIN: Currently I am seeing Fiona, the Headmaster’s Secretary, not that he knows. We haven’t done it yet, but I’m hoping when we do one of the times might be on his study floor […] It’s like the Headmaster says: one should have targets.’ Annotate this speech. How does Bennett present Dakin’s relationship with and perception of Fiona? What is the effect of making her a silent/ unseen character?

Hector and Mrs Lintott: p. 22 Before reading, look back at the earlier conversation between Hector and Dorothy on pages 9-10. What is their relationship like? How does Bennett use their characters to contrast: One another? The other teachers (Irwin and Felix)? The relationship between the boys? How is Dorothy, as the only visible female character, portrayed?

Hector and Mrs Lintott: p. 22-23 How does Bennett use Dorothy to comment on men in this scene? What effect does it have that she, as a woman, speaks these lines? To what extent is Dorothy presented as a victim? Can you find examples for and against this concept from other scenes? ‘Men are [clever] at history, of course.’ ‘Story-telling [is] what men do naturally.’ ‘My ex, for instance, he told stories.’ ‘I would have said [Dakin] was cunt-struck.’ ‘They’re all clever, I saw to that.’

Women’s Rights in the second half of the 20th century: 1950s 1956: In Britain, legal reforms say that women teachers and civil servants should receive equal pay. The Sexual Offences Act defines rape under specific criteria, such as incest, sex with a girl under 16, no consent, use of drugs, anal sex and impersonation. 1958: The Life Peerages Act entitles women to sit in the House of Lords for the first time. Baroness Swanbourough, Lady Reading and Baroness Barbara Wooton are the first to take their seats.

Women’s Rights in the second half of the 20th century: 1960s 1964: The Married Women’s Property Act entitles a woman to keep half of any savings she has made from the allowance she is given by her husband. 1965: Barbara Castle is appointed Minister of Transport, becoming the first female minister of state. 1967: Labour MP David Steel sponsors an Abortion Law Reform Bill, which becomes the Abortion Act. The Act decriminalises abortion in Britain on certain grounds. The contraceptive pill becomes available through Family Planning Clinics.

Women’s Rights in the second half of the 20th century: 1970s 1970: Working women were refused mortgages in their own right as few women worked continuously. They were only granted mortgages if they could secure the signature of a male guarantor. Britain’s first national Women’s Liberation Conference is held at Ruskin College. The Equal Pay Act makes it illegal to pay women lower rates than me for the same work. The Miss World Competition is interrupted by feminist protestors claiming the contest is a cattle market. 1971 Over 4,000 women take part in the first Women’s Liberation march in London. 1975: The Sex Discrimination Act makes it illegal to discriminate against women in work, education and training. 1977: International Women’s Day is formalised as an annual event by the UN General Assembly. 1979: Margaret Thatcher becomes Britain’s first female prime minister.

Women’s Rights in the second half of the 20th century: 1980s 1983: Lady Mary Donaldson becomes the first woman Lord Mayor of London. 1984: During the Miners’ Strike, wives of picketing miners organise themselves into a powerful women’s group. 1985: The Equal Pay (Amendment) Act allows women to be paid the same as men for work of equal value.

Women’s Rights in the second half of the 20th century: 1990s To what extent do you think that Bennett, through his portrayal of women, captures the zeitgeist of the late 20th century? 1990: Independent taxation for women is introduced. For the first time, married women are taxed separately from their husbands. 1997: The general election sees 101 Labour women MPs elected. Extension: Want more information? Look at the gender equality timeline on the Learning Space.

What do you make of this ending? Do you think Dorothy, as a female, is a victim? MRS LINTOTT: We are an entity beloved of our Headmaster, a ‘team.’ […] HECTOR: Maybe Auden has it right. MRS LINTOTT : That’s a change. HECTOR: Dorothy. ‘Let every child that’s in your care…’ MRS LINTOTT: I know, ‘…have as much neurosis as the child can bear.’ And how many children had Auden, pray?

What points is Brogovic making here? ‘Mrs Lintott sees history as a construction based on the exclusion of women both in terms of their access to public spaces as well as from the position of authority that produces history.’ […] her subversive perspective of history remains aborted since she never leaves the frame of the male perspective which she practices. She keeps teaching facts which are selected and organized by authority that excluded the female perspective of past from official historical records perpetuated in the present.’ […] Mrs Lintott’s teaching method reveals social processes, which underlie the construction of official history by those in power who decide what will be remembered and what excluded and forgotten by imposing one version of historical truth. The educational system chronicles historical events with no empathy for those that were suppressed or excluded.’ (Monika Bregović) What points is Brogovic making here? What is she suggesting about Mrs Lintott’s role in the play?