In the 1980s, women were seen as the conventional, uneducated maids of the household and throughout the play Educating Rita; Rita is constantly fighting against this fixed image of a typical 80s woman. Willy Russell has effectively used many dramatic devices to show Rita's different phases and changes. In doing so, there have been many impacts on the public. In Act 1, Willy Russell introduces the main characters, Rita and Frank; and provides crucial background information about the characters and their relationships with each other. Russell presents some of the main themes of the play such as: journey of discovery and class clash. It also informs the audience when and where the play is set, time and place. In Act 2, Scene 1 of Educating Rita, Rita enters Frank's office wearing second-hand clothes. The audience knows that she has a particular opinion about clothing when, in Act 1 Scene 1, she says, "I will not buy new clothes until I am an educated woman." This shows that she is in a new phase of her life, but the change is not complete. The dramatic and sc device...