In Educating Rita why does Rita change her name?

Answer 1

In the beginning, you would find that towards literature, like Macbeth, Rita is still very foreign to it all. She excitedly tells the professor that she bought Macbeth after she saw the movie. Doesn't this reminds you of how people would go for a book AFTER they saw a movie and thought the movie was good? But gradually, Rita's understanding deepens. You can find all sorts of ridiculous inferences when Rita was trying to learn what a 'tragedy' is. But these all decrease, while her passion and knowledge increases.

Answer 2

Well she actually changed her name twice. First time was from Susan to Rita. Then the second was vise versa. Retrospectively she yearned and had an increasing desire to transform her character which would in turn guarantee a change in her social stratum. In other words she just wanted to be more posh (middle class). She first changed her name to Rita because of the author of Rubyfruit Jungle called Rita Mae Brown. Then the second time it is because Susan is more of a Middle Class name than Rita so she changed it back.

Answer 3

She swears because she's showing that she is different to working class mass and it's not just words. she says 'see the educated people know it's only words, don't they? it's only the masses who don't understand. I do it to shock them sometimes.' she says that when she worked at the hairdressers she swore a lot and it doesn't half cause a fuss.