it, the acting side of it anyway.
Dons ⦠most dons anyway ⦠think the theatre is a waste of time. In their view any undergraduate keen on acting forfeits all hope of a good degree.
Hector So much for Shakespeare.
Irwin Itâs not the plays, itâs the acting of the plays, Shakespeare, anybody. Itâs no fun teaching the stage-struck.
Hector And isnât being stage-struck part of their education?
Posner Music is all right though, isnât it, sir? They donât frown on that.
Hector No. You should just say what you enjoy.
Posner Mozart.
Irwin No, no. everyone likes Mozart.
Somebody more off the beaten track. Tippett, say, or Bruckner.
Posner But I donât know them.
Hector May I make a suggestion? Why can they not all just tell the truth?
Irwin Itâs worth trying, provided, of course, you can make it seem like youâre telling the truth.
Hector Oh, yes, a degree of presentation.
Dorothy. Have you anything youâd like to add?
Mrs Lintott I hesitate to mention this, lest it occasion a sophisticated groan, but it may not have crossed your minds that one of the dons who interviews you may be awoman.
Iâm reluctant at this stage in the game to expose you to new ideas, but having taught you all history on a strictly non-gender-orientated basis I just wonder whether it occurs to any of you how dispiriting this can be?
Itâs obviously dispiriting to you, Dakin, or you wouldnât be yawning.
Dakin Sorry, miss.
Mrs Lintott Women so seldom get a turn for a start, Elizabeth I less remarkable for her abilities than that, unlike most of her sisters, she did get a chance to exercise them.
Am I embarrassing you?
Timms A bit, miss.
Mrs Lintott Why?
Timms Itâs not our fault, miss. Itâs just the way it is.
Lockwood âThe world is everything that is the case,â miss.
Wittgenstein, miss.
Mrs Lintott I know itâs Wittgenstein, thank you. Tell me, just out of interest, did he travel on the other bus?
Hector Bus? Bus? What bus?
Irwin On the few occasions he went anywhere, yes, I believe he did.
Mrs Lintott You can tell.
Because âThe world is everything that is the caseâ seems actually rather a feminine approach to things: rueful, accepting, taking things as you find them.
A real man would be trickier: âThe world is everything that can be made to seem the case.â
However, je divague.
Can you, for a moment, imagine how dispiriting it is to teach five centuries of masculine ineptitude?
Why do you think there are no women historians on TV?
Timms No tits?
Hector Hit that boy. Hit him.
Timms Sir! You canât, sir.
Hector Iâm not hitting you. He is. And besides, youâre not supposed to say tits. Hit him again!
Mrs Lintott Iâll tell you why there are no women historians on TV, itâs because they donât get carried away for a start, and they donât come bouncing up to you with every new historical notion theyâve come up with ⦠the bow-wow school of history.
Historyâs not such a frolic for women as it is for men. Why should it be? They never get round the conferencetable. In 1919, for instance, they just arranged the flowers then gracefully retired.
History is a commentary on the various and continuing incapabilities of men.
What is history? History is women following behind with the bucket.
And Iâm not asking you to espouse this point of view but the occasional nod in its direction can do you no harm.
There is a silence .
Mrs Lintott You should note, boys, that your masters find this undisguised expression of feeling distasteful, as, I see, do some of you.
Irwin Rudge?
Rudge is interviewed .
Mrs Lintott Now. How do you define history, Mr Rudge?
Rudge Can I speak freely, miss? Without being hit.
Mrs Lintott I will protect you.
Rudge How do I define history?
Itâs just one fucking thing after another.
Hector makes a moves to hit him but is forestalled .
Mrs Lintott I
Dons ⦠most dons anyway ⦠think the theatre is a waste of time. In their view any undergraduate keen on acting forfeits all hope of a good degree.
Hector So much for Shakespeare.
Irwin Itâs not the plays, itâs the acting of the plays, Shakespeare, anybody. Itâs no fun teaching the stage-struck.
Hector And isnât being stage-struck part of their education?
Posner Music is all right though, isnât it, sir? They donât frown on that.
Hector No. You should just say what you enjoy.
Posner Mozart.
Irwin No, no. everyone likes Mozart.
Somebody more off the beaten track. Tippett, say, or Bruckner.
Posner But I donât know them.
Hector May I make a suggestion? Why can they not all just tell the truth?
Irwin Itâs worth trying, provided, of course, you can make it seem like youâre telling the truth.
Hector Oh, yes, a degree of presentation.
Dorothy. Have you anything youâd like to add?
Mrs Lintott I hesitate to mention this, lest it occasion a sophisticated groan, but it may not have crossed your minds that one of the dons who interviews you may be awoman.
Iâm reluctant at this stage in the game to expose you to new ideas, but having taught you all history on a strictly non-gender-orientated basis I just wonder whether it occurs to any of you how dispiriting this can be?
Itâs obviously dispiriting to you, Dakin, or you wouldnât be yawning.
Dakin Sorry, miss.
Mrs Lintott Women so seldom get a turn for a start, Elizabeth I less remarkable for her abilities than that, unlike most of her sisters, she did get a chance to exercise them.
Am I embarrassing you?
Timms A bit, miss.
Mrs Lintott Why?
Timms Itâs not our fault, miss. Itâs just the way it is.
Lockwood âThe world is everything that is the case,â miss.
Wittgenstein, miss.
Mrs Lintott I know itâs Wittgenstein, thank you. Tell me, just out of interest, did he travel on the other bus?
Hector Bus? Bus? What bus?
Irwin On the few occasions he went anywhere, yes, I believe he did.
Mrs Lintott You can tell.
Because âThe world is everything that is the caseâ seems actually rather a feminine approach to things: rueful, accepting, taking things as you find them.
A real man would be trickier: âThe world is everything that can be made to seem the case.â
However, je divague.
Can you, for a moment, imagine how dispiriting it is to teach five centuries of masculine ineptitude?
Why do you think there are no women historians on TV?
Timms No tits?
Hector Hit that boy. Hit him.
Timms Sir! You canât, sir.
Hector Iâm not hitting you. He is. And besides, youâre not supposed to say tits. Hit him again!
Mrs Lintott Iâll tell you why there are no women historians on TV, itâs because they donât get carried away for a start, and they donât come bouncing up to you with every new historical notion theyâve come up with ⦠the bow-wow school of history.
Historyâs not such a frolic for women as it is for men. Why should it be? They never get round the conferencetable. In 1919, for instance, they just arranged the flowers then gracefully retired.
History is a commentary on the various and continuing incapabilities of men.
What is history? History is women following behind with the bucket.
And Iâm not asking you to espouse this point of view but the occasional nod in its direction can do you no harm.
There is a silence .
Mrs Lintott You should note, boys, that your masters find this undisguised expression of feeling distasteful, as, I see, do some of you.
Irwin Rudge?
Rudge is interviewed .
Mrs Lintott Now. How do you define history, Mr Rudge?
Rudge Can I speak freely, miss? Without being hit.
Mrs Lintott I will protect you.
Rudge How do I define history?
Itâs just one fucking thing after another.
Hector makes a moves to hit him but is forestalled .
Mrs Lintott I
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