Most of the faculty turn their heads...
...when the married students miss a class or two.
Then why not get married as freshmen?
That way you could graduate without actually ever stepping foot on campus.
Don't disregard our traditions just because you're subversive.
Don't disrespect this class just because you're married.
Don't disrespect me just because you're not.
Come to class, do the work, or I'll fail you.
If you fail me, there will be consequences.
- Are you threatening me? - I'm educating you.
That's my job.
Miss Watson!
What's this?
Every year, the ARs nominate a member of the faculty to be our guest.
The what?
You'll see. Come by tonight at 5:00.
Adam's Ribs. A very secret society.
Wait here.
First, the oath. Please raise both hands.
Do you swear not to repeat what you see, hear or smell tonight?
- Smell? - Keep your hands up!
Yes, smell.
I do.
It'll only burn for a second.
Go on.
And now that you've taken the oath, we get to ask you whatever we want.
- Oh, is that how it works? - And you have to answer.
Who invited her?
You're in time for truth or consequences.
I go first. Why aren't you married?
Well...
That's poisonous.
I'm not married because...
...l'm not.
I was engaged to Patrick Watts.
Everybody called him Leo, and I never knew why.
He was the first person that I ever danced with...
...or smoked with, got incredibly drunk with and...
Well, a lot of first things.
We were 18 and getting married, Christmas of '41.
Then Pearl Harbor happened and everything changed.
Everybody changed. And by June, he was sent overseas.
- Did he come back? - Yes.
- Was he changed? - They both were.
I'm sorry.
- Your parents? - Yeah.
After the war...
...they didn't know each other anymore, didn't like each other.
He left. He got a whole new family.
Divorce.
What?
Yeah. First on my block. That's a city block.
People change. Things happen. It's the same with me and Leo.
He went off and married someone else.
- And I got to go to graduate school. - UCLA, right?
- Which is in Hollywood? - It's close.
Anyway, aren't you gonna tell everybody about, you know...
...your big news? - What are you talking about?
- She got engaged over Christmas! - Congratulations!
I'm sorry to blab. It's just so romantic.
How fantastic!
We split up.
- What? - We split up.
Well, that was fast.
Well, not every relationship is meant for marriage.
- Some are strictly affairs? - Bill Dunbar.
He'd be an affair. Let's talk about that, Miss Watson.
You don't believe in withholding, do you?
No. I do, however, believe in manners. But for you, I'll make an exception.
That's what we're supposed to do for married students. Right, Betty?
Professor Dunbar and I are not having an affair.
Did you have one with William Holden?
- Connie! - She asked about Bill Dunbar.
- How did you hear that? - Oh, it is true!
Betty, I told you.
- Won't you regret never marrying? - There's still time.
I guess I assume that I will at some point.
- I'm not gonna plan my life around it. - Neither should we.
- I didn't say that. - You did to Joan.
- That's what she told me. - What are you saying?
She knew you and Tommy were getting engaged.
And she practically filled out your application.
- I didn't say that. - She's been accepted.
Now she just has to figure out a way to tell Tommy.
Why don't you do it? You're good at butting into people's business.
Funny, that's what they say about you.
- Spencer, do I look all right? - Yeah, fine.
- I don't have a lot of time. Speed it up. - Mr. Grouchy.
- All right, here we go again. - All right, go ahead, Louise.
Married Wellesley girls have become quite adept at balancing obligations.
One hears such comments as:
"I baste the chicken with one hand and outline the paper with the other. "
While our mothers were called to work for Lady Liberty...
... it is our duty, nay, obligation to reclaim our place in the home...
... bearing the children that will carry our traditions into the future.
One must pause to consider why Miss Katherine Watson...
... instructor in the Art History department...
... has decided to declare war on the holy sacrament of marriage.
Her subversive and political teachings encourage our Wellesley girls...
... to reject the roles they were born to fill.
Thank you.
Slide.
- Contemporary art. - That's just an advertisement.
Quiet!
Today you just listen.
What will the future scholars see when they study us?
A portrait of women today?
There you are, ladies.
The perfect likeness of a Wellesley graduate.
Magna cum laude, doing exactly what she was trained to do.
Slide.
A Rhodes scholar.
I wonder if she recites Chaucer while she presses her husband's shirts.
Slide.
Now, you physics majors can calculate the mass and volume...
...of every meat loaf you make. Slide.
A girdle to set you free.
What does that mean?
What does it mean?
I give up.
You win.
The smartest women in the country.
I didn't realize that by demanding excellence...
...I would be challenging...
What did it say?
"The roles you were born to fill."
Is that right?
The roles you were born to fill?
It's my mistake.
Class dismissed.
These girls... Are you proud, President Carr?
- Yes, actually, I am. - Well, you should be, I guess.
Half of them are married. The other half, give it a month or so.
It's really only a matter of time.
They're biding time until somebody proposes!
A hundred years ago, it was inconceivable for a woman...
...to be a college graduate.
Perhaps you should look back to see how far we've come.
I'm sorry, from where I sit, it's just a different kind of corset.
- Well, we can all use a little support. - Oh, like Amanda Armstrong?
- She broke the law! - According to Betty Warren.
According to the state of Massachusetts.
To hell with Wellesley. I'm done.
Goddamn it!
It's brilliant, really. A perfect ruse.
A finishing school disguised as a college. They got me.
- What do you expect? - More. More.
I thought it was a place for tomorrow's leaders, not their wives.
- Calm down, please. - No, I will not!
I've got 10 more minutes. Meet me in my office. Meet me!
- How you feeling? - Stupid. Deceived.
Really, really angry.
Change takes time, you know? You gotta let them catch up with you.
Katherine, this place needs you.
I don't know how the hell they let you in, but I'm sure glad they did.
The things I said to President Carr. She'll never let me back in.
She's a pretty good egg.
What things?
Don't worry.
Time will heal it.
Unless, of course, you want to go back to California and that fianc� of yours.
We're not engaged. Thanks.
Sorry I interrupted your class.
Katherine!
I wanted to give you this. It was for Christmas, and...
Then I met your man, so I...
The Sistine Chapel.
David.
Venus de Milo. And...
... Mona Lisa.
Thank you.
This is gonna be a three-in-one shot. Ready?
You didn't even try.
This game is probably a no-no in the Better Homes and Gardens.
Not that I have ever been in the better homes and gardens. Have you?
No. No, I'm just an old soldier.
They don't invite us.
What do they say about them though?
- Old soldiers never die. We just... - They just...
...become philandering Italian professors.
- That was below the belt. - That was unkind.
Deeply unkind.
You know, I don't know how I feel about being a rebound.
- I'll leave. - No, you don't have to do that.
I'll get used to it.
- What are you doing? - Getting dressed.
I had fun, and I'm not looking for anything serious.
Why don't you come down here and we can discuss it.
But as long as we're doing whatever it is that we're doing...
Which we did pretty well, don't you think?
No students.
I'm serious.
I don't want to teach a class wondering why a girl is wearing my perfume.
- Katherine, l... - I need your word.
All right, you have my word.
- Okay. - Now can we change the subject?
Talk about something a little more interesting?
Like breakfast.
You know, I make a mean blueberry pancake.
I just put that shoe on.
I don't think I know you well enough for breakfast.
I don't know about that.
So how does a guy get to know you better?
Well, let me... That's a good idea.
Is that a battle wound you have?
I'm a sucker for war stories in Romance languages.
- Well, that's pretty easy. - Yeah?
I was in a village... called San Remo...
...the Krauts pounded us hard...
...me & Stan...
...you remember Stan? We were the only two left from our platoon.
We heard a distant cry coming from an abandoned shed.
When night fell...
A trap it was?
Remember...
...invert your nouns and your verbs.
- Hungry? - Famished.
Don't say we can live on love. That's how I missed breakfast.
What's the matter?
- What's the matter? - Phillip and Vanessa Mclntyre.
- Parents of a friend. - You wanna say a quick hello?
No! No, I'll be trapped.
Damn it!
- Could you seat us in the bar? - We're only serving...
...in the front part of the restaurant this afternoon.
Miss! Miss Stone.
This has been the most romantic weekend I may ever have.
Ever. And all that's standing between right now and perfection...
...are the Mclntyres over there.
Now, with the competition out there, a girl's got to be able to move...
...a few mountains every once in a while.
- I could use all the help I could get. - Come this way.
- I fixed it. No more Mclntyres. - Thank you. Thank you.
- Let's not talk about this. - All right.
Hold your breath and...
And turn.
Don't forget to smile.
Arms up.
Move together. Faster, Fran!
- When you surface, smile. - Come on, Connie!
How about we have a girls' luncheon this weekend? Just us.
- Where's Spencer? - Away.
- I'm free. - I'm busy.
- What are you doing? - She's dating a psychoanalyst.
- Oh, really? - Who's married.
- Giselle! - Sorry, it slipped.
- Are you in, Connie? - I'll check with Charlie.
- Who? - Charlie Stewart. Your cousin.
You're kidding?
We spent last weekend at the Cape.
- A little hideaway he knew about. - Operative word, "hide."
Men take women to the Cape in the winter when they're embarrassed.
- He's using you. - He's not using you if you want to go.
Come here. Don't listen to her.
I love you, and I swear I'm not saying this to hurt you.
Charlie's promised to Deb Mclntyre. She wears his pin.
- Giselle, you know it's true. - I don't know anything about a pin.
Mclntyre?
Are her parents named Phillip and Vanessa?
You know them?
Only from a distance.
- Good morning. Good morning. - Goodbye. Good morning.
Okay, wait. No, we have an audience. Don't look.
No, I don't... No. Stop it. Put me down.
Put me down. You're not coming in this house.
You are not coming in this house. No.
- Bye. Good morning. - Good morning.
Go away. Go away.
How can you date a man like that?
What if you're wrong about him?
What if I'm not?
Coffee's cold.
Row!
Ride the plank!
Row!
Are your ears burning?
I think the feet go first when they set the stake on fire.
"What do you say, Edward? Should we have her back?"
"She's got rather nice legs."
- Who's to say I wanna come back? - What...
...leave me here with all these girls?
You'd think someone would notice empty trays.
You are good. You remind me of myself when I was your age.
Cheers.
He's positively vomititious, Giselle.
Don't be so sentimental, Connie.
It was a fling. It's fine. It was nothing.
Hi!
Pleasure to meet you.
Would you excuse me? I'll be right back.
Connie! Connie! Excuse me. Sorry. Connie!
Charlie. It's been a while.
Yeah. How are you?
I'm fine, thank you. You? Deb?
- Pardon? - Deb. Your girlfriend.
With the very large...
With the very large teeth.
- Oh, did you think I didn't know? - Connie.
Deb and I broke it off last summer. That's Miranda.
We started seeing each other when you stopped returning my calls...
...or answering any of my letters.
Okay, maybe I should go.
Have you seen Spencer?
But I did see Charlie Stewart.
And he told me that he and Deb broke up last summer.
And you told me they were together when he invited me to the Cape.
Oh, Connie. I don't keep track of his dates.
They've been on-again, off-again for the past few years.
No, apparently they've been off-again for a while. For quite a while.
- So? - So you made me believe...
...that he was hiding me.
Either way...
...why couldn't you let me be happy?
Betty.
And we switch.
- Wonder teacher. - Tommy.
- How's Harvard? - Oh, not too bad. Not too bad.
- Congratulate me. - You set a date?
No, nothing official. Yet.
I meant, I got into Penn. Grad school.
Congratulations. What about Yale?
Yale? Oh, you mean Joanie. Yeah. How about that, huh?
She is some girl.
- She's terrific. - Yeah.
Just the fact that she got in. I mean, she will always have that.
Thanks to you. Miss Watson, you've been real swell to her.
We both appreciate it.
I'm sorry. "The fact that she got in," what does that mean?
Well, she'll be in Philadelphia.
With me.
Well, that's an awful long commute to get dinner on the table by 5:00.
- And we switch. - Thank you.
Excuse me.
Excuse me. Have you seen Spencer? I can't find him anywhere.
Actually, Spencer asked me to take you home.
- He has this meeting... - In New York.
Thank you.
- Honey, what are you doing here? - I'm staying the night.
- Spencer won't mind? - Spencer won't notice.
- He's in New York again. Working. - He's working hard for both of you.
Don't lie for him, Mother. He does it so well for himself.
You're going to turn around, go home...
...fix your face and wait for your husband.
This is the bargain you made, Elizabeth. We all did.
So you're not gonna let me stay in my own house?
Spencer's house is your house now.
Believe me, it's for your own good.
Miss Watson. Come in.
Seven law schools within 45 minutes of Philadelphia.
You can study and get dinner on the table by 5:00.
- It's too late. - No. Some accept late admissions.
- I was upset at first. - Joan, the guests.
When Tommy told me that he got accepted to Penn, I thought:
"Her fate is sealed. How can she throw it all away?"
I realized you won't have to. You could bake your cake and eat it too.
We're married.
We eloped over the weekend.
Turned out he was petrified of a big ceremony...
...so we did a sort of spur-of-the-moment thing.
Very romantic.
Look.
It's beautiful.
It was my choice. Not to go. He would have supported it.
- But you don't have to choose. - No, I have to.
I want a home, a family. It's not something I'll sacrifice.
No one's asking you to sacrifice that, Joan.
I just want you to understand that you can do both.
Think I'll wake up one day and regret not being a lawyer?
Yes, I'm afraid that you will.
Not as much as I'd regret not having a family. Not being there to raise them.
I know exactly what I'm doing, and it doesn't make me any less smart.
- This must seem terrible to you. - I didn't say that. L...
Sure you did. You always do.
You stand in class and tell us to look beyond the image, but you don't.
To you, a housewife is someone who sold her soul for a center hall colonial.
She has no depth, no intellect, no interests.
You're the one who said I could do anything I wanted.
This is what I want.
Congratulations.
Be happy.
Sometimes I think you say these things to provoke me.
Does your father know that you speak this way?
Does your wife know you're here?
- Where might I find Charlie Stewart? - Charlie Stewart? C1744.
- But it's too late. You'll have to leave. - All right.
You can't go up there!
What is going on here?
There's no women allowed in the dorms!
Can you please not interrupt me?!
Connie! What are you doing here?
Well, I saw...
I saw Big Teeth with...
...Kevin Tawil looking pretty cozy, and I thought that maybe...
Maybe you two weren't...
- Dating? - Yes. Thank you.
Hey, no girls in the dorm.
I know I have made mistakes. A ton.
But I never make them twice.
And?
And it was perfect. Romantic. We stayed up all night talking.
You're late. What happened to Sunday brunch?
We stayed up all night too. Not talking.
The psychoanalyst? Again.
- Divine exhaustion. - He's married.
He's not married like you and Tommy.
What does that mean?
It means he and his wife don't speak the same language.
- Spelled S-E-X. - Does he pay you?
For sex?
At the rate you're going, you could make a fortune.
- Betty. - Everyone thinks so.
Do you know what they say? They say you're a whore.
Once they've all sampled you, they'll toss you aside like a used rag.
- Betty, stop now. - The men you love don't want you.
- Your father doesn't want you. - I'm gonna meet you downstairs.
- Professor Dunbar. - Betty, that's enough.
Everybody knows that you hide outside his house.
It must be torturous running after a man who doesn't care about you...
...who's in love with someone else, who hates you.
- He hates you! - Betty.
And it hurts! No!
- Get off me! - Quiet!
Oh, God.
- He doesn't want me. - Okay.
He doesn't sleep with me. He...
I know.
I say no. I mean, it's not fair to her.
- She's not happy. - Don't forget about her outburst.
Oh, that's right.
Dr. Staunton, will you tell the alumnae the figures you have?
Enrollment for her class next year...
...is the highest the department's had. Ever.
She'd have to promise to turn in her lesson plans.
In advance. And they'll need to be approved.
She'll never agree to that.
Bill, the brochures for Europe arrived.
Surprise!
Sir, I'm so sorry!
- Who are you? - I'm Stanley Sher...
...a friend of Bill's. We were in the 37th together.
- Okay. - You must be Katherine.
I am.
He told me you were a looker, but...
- I'll wait for you downstairs, Stanley. - Okey-dokey.
So you and Bill were in the war together?
Yep. Now he's some fancy teacher...
...and I'm in air conditioning.
Forget the A-bomb.
Freon. It's gonna change the good old U.S. Of A.
Open the entire West to development. I'm based in El Paso.
- Oh, thank you. - And cheers.
Well, you've come a long way from San Remo.
Yes, sirree.
That in California?
Italy.
- Where you two were stationed. - Italy?
Well, somebody's been pulling your long leg.
We were stationed at the Army Language Institute on Long Island.
Closest we ever got to Italy was the baked ziti at Mama Leone's.
I don't think Bill's ever been to Europe.
I sure as hell haven't.
Cheers.
Katherine!
You okay?
I met Stan.
Hell of a nice guy.
- Yeah. - What a talker.
Yeah.
We go back a long way.
All the way to Long Island.
Secret's out.
What an incredible lie.
I spoke the language, I had the uniform, people just assumed things.
I didn't correct them. I guess I should've done.
I guess you should've done.
Katherine, look, I'm sorry, okay?
I made a mistake.
Just give me a chance...
...to straighten things out, okay?
Why couldn't you just be honest?
You don't make it easy.
You're so perfect, you...
It's impossible to be honest with you. I...
For you, it is.
Well, it's not just me, Katherine. Joan failed you too, right?
- That's an awful thing to say. - I know, but it's the truth.
If you want honesty, I can be real honest.
You didn't come to Wellesley to help people find their way.
I think you came to help people find your way.
I'm not accustomed to hunting you down.
Elizabeth, look at me, please.
I've spoken with Mrs. Jones. There will be no divorce.
There's always a period of adjustment.
I've assured her that you will try for a year.
Look at this, Mother.
Spencer will try as well.
According to her, he's really very upset. You should call him.
She's smiling. Is she happy?
The important thing is not to tell anyone.
She looks happy.
So, what does it matter?
Don't wash your dirty laundry in public.
Let me tell you something.
Not everything is as it seems.
Dear Miss Watson:
It is with great pleasure...
...that we invite you...
...to return as an instructor...
...in the Art History department...
...for the 1954-1955 academic year.
We do wish to make clear, however, that this invitation...
...is absolutely conditional upon the following:
Please, Nora, may we continue?
Number one:
You will teach only the syllabus as outlined by the department chair.
Number two:
All lesson plans...
...must be submitted at the beginning of every term for approval...
...and revision.
Number three:
You shall not provide counsel beyond your own subject...
... for any student at any time.
And finally:
That you will agree to maintain a strictly professional relationship...
...with all members of the faculty.
- Good evening, Katherine. - Hi, Violet.
Assuming you accept the conditions, we look forward to your continuing...
... to be a part of our Wellesley tradition.
Nice party.
I didn't realize.
It was a surprise.
William H. Taft. What does the letter H stand for?
- Howard. - Howard. Yes!
Howard.
Oh, it doesn't matter.
The important thing is that you'll be back next year.
Hopefully living here.
Well, I haven't really thought about that. They just told me today.
Well, there's still plenty of time.
You should be celebrating.
You're right.
You're right. Let's celebrate.
Let's go upstairs and get gussied up and go out dancing.
Silly, it's after 8:00. Strike It Rich is on.
- Life isn't about Strike It Rich. - It's a school night.
- So what? - So I don't want to go. I'm happy here.
It's back on.
- Do you feel good about music... - Oh, isn't he handsome?
Watch with me.
"You talked me into it," says this oldie. What's the title of this one?
"You Made Me Love You."
"You Made Me Love..." "You Made Me Love You."
You get all that from looking at paint on a canvas...
...and it's her facial expression...
...her eyes that makes you think that.
- I think that makes it interesting. - The context that it comes from...
...affects the way we view it.
I think it provokes us because it provoked the painter...
...and in turn, he's kind of sending that message to us.
Whether or not it's a good painting cannot be subjective.
I feel like I'm missing something.
It was Joan's idea.
How else will you remember us?
- They've invited you back. - Do you think they made a mistake?
I do.
- Elizabeth, I don't see Spencer. - Excuse me, Mother.
Miss Watson, can you help me get in touch with your friend...
...in Greenwich Village?
What do you need in Greenwich Village?
An apartment.
I filed for a divorce this morning.
And since we know I'm not welcome at your house...
You remember Giselle Levy? What did you call her?
"A New York kike." That's it.
Well, we're going to be roommates.
Hi.
- You ready? - Yeah.
You okay?
- Greenwich Village? - Yeah. For a while.
Then, who knows?
Maybe law school. Yale, even.
Well...
...I wouldn't want to come up against you in any court anywhere.
Maybe I can drop by next year?
Keep you on your toes.
You will be here?
Miss Watson?
Dear Betty:
I came to Wellesley because I wanted to make a difference.
But to change for others...
- is to lie to yourself.
My teacher...
... Katherine Watson, lived by her own definition...
... and would not compromise that.
Not even for Wellesley.
I dedicate this, my last editorial...
... to an extraordinary woman...
... who lived by example...
...and compelled us all to see the world through new eyes.
By the time you read this, she'll be sailing to Europe...
... where I know she'll find new walls to break down...
... and new ideas to replace them with.
Hold it, everybody.
I've heard her called a quitter for leaving...
...an aimless wanderer.
But not all who wander are aimless.
Especially not those who seek truth beyond tradition...
... beyond definition...
... beyond the image.
Get the hell out of the way!
I'll never forget you.
Betty! Betty!
What about after this war, Lee?
Well, this job belongs to some soldier.
When he comes back...
...he can have it. - Oh, that's swell.