Oxford, 1968

Frederica

She quits her job teaching literature at an art school.

"Frederica gave up teaching because she wanted to teach."

"It was clear to her that it was better to be interested in things than not interested in them, and that included literature, as it might have included botany or nuclear fission."

"... especially a student who didn't study, but talked and talked"

"If I had lectured on this book, I should have learned something. As it is, we breathe a bit, and it gets to be lunch time. I have my life to live. I'm going."

A nice comment on education in the late 1960's.

Oxford, 1968 a bit later

Frederica
Tony Watson: a friend and magazine columnist
Alan Melville: a friend
Hugh Pink: a friend and poet

Frederica realizes that she must do something to replace her art school cheques and asks her friends for advice or suggestions.

John Ottokar accepts the job in Yorkshire

"...she was a good teacher because she was more interested in the books she taught than in the students who listened - which is not to say that she wasn't interested in the students, only that she had her priorities."

Even though Frederica had just made a critical life decision by quitting, we only have one sentence that indicates that John has taken his job at Yorkshire. There is no information on whether they discussed these major choices with one another or not, or even whether either of them thought they should. Both Frederica and John appear to live in their own myopic worlds which do not admit of any real intimacy with another.

Oxford, 1968

Frederica
Edmund Wilkie: friend and both a professor and a BBC producer
Alexander Wedderburn: acquaintance and BBC producer
Mickey Impey: a pop poet

Wilkie encourages Frederica to audition as an interviewer for a couple of new BBC programs. She is not sure she is interested, but goes along with the idea.

"I believe in learning things, and knowing things. I don't think it all just comes without work."

As the novel says, Frederica is good at interviewing because she is just herself. She is not trying to be anything for the camera, but is just reacting to the situation in a natural fashion.

It is intriguing that Edmond Wilkie is always referred to by his surname. No one else is.

Oxford, 1968

Frederica
Edmond Wilkie

They review the tapes and Wilkie offers her the job.

"You'd be at the cutting edge of what ought to be the new form of thought, maybe a new kind of art."

I see parallels with today and the Web.

Oxford, 1968

Frederica
Edmond Wilkie

They discuss the upcoming program and the way television is likely to change our culture. Color is viewed as an important component of this.

"But we are entering an age when language becomes subordinate to images"

It is revealed that they have known each other since high school days. Wilkie was the first person to make love to Frederica, but it was considered unimportant by both of them.

The views on television are very similar to the comments of today about the Internet. Deja vu!