Education and Edification

The schools near where I live are currently on spring break; the local university just finished its week-long siesta. With Catalina about to begin a new journey tied to her career goals, let's look at educational opportunities in both Austen and Argentina.

A Brief Overview

What ladies should learn is a reoccurring theme in Austen's works. Both Edmund Bertram in Mansfield Park and Reginald De Courcy of Lady Susan excuse their lady love's defects due to a want of education. The latter novela's titular character has a few things to say on the subject in regards to her own daughter's prospects, presented in Austen's arch satirical style:

I want her to play and sing with some portion of taste and a good deal of assurance, as she has my hand and arm and a tolerable voice. I was so much indulged in my infant years that I was never obliged to attend to anything, and consequently am without the accomplishments which are now necessary to finish a pretty woman. Not that I am an advocate for the prevailing fashion of acquiring a perfect knowledge of all languages, arts, and sciences. It is throwing time away to be mistress of French, Italian, and German: music, singing, and drawing, &c., will gain a woman some applause, but will not add one lover to her list—grace and manner, after all, are of the greatest importance. I do not mean, therefore, that Frederica’s acquirements should be more than superficial, and I flatter myself that she will not remain long enough at school to understand anything thoroughly.

The author knew the limits of a girl's schooling from personal experience. Per the Reading Museum, ten-year-old Jane joined her sister and cousin at one such institution from 1785-1786; tuition cost £37 19s per girl per half year. Both Harriet Smith in Emma and the Bingley sisters of Pride and Prejudice are described as attending schools. However, while these characters obtain varying levels of accomplishment, none are presented as being truly improved by their experience.

Nevertheless, despite varying degrees of education, Austen's heroines are all presented as both capable and desirous of better understanding themselves and the world around them. They may learn by reading but are as likely to grow wiser through conversation and meditation on what they and others think about a subject.

NA Then and Now

Unlike her creator and despite also being a clergyman's daughter, Catherine Morland of Northanger Abbey is presented as being educated entirely by her parents. The first chapter of Northanger Abbey includes this description of Catherine's upbringing:

She never could learn or understand anything before she was taught; and sometimes not even then, for she was often inattentive, and occasionally stupid. Her mother was three months in teaching her only to repeat the “Beggar’s Petition”; and after all, her next sister, Sally, could say it better than she did. Not that Catherine was always stupid—by no means; she learnt the fable of “The Hare and Many Friends” as quickly as any girl in England. Her mother wished her to learn music; and Catherine was sure she should like it, for she was very fond of tinkling the keys of the old forlorn spinnet; so, at eight years old she began. She learnt a year, and could not bear it; and Mrs. Morland, who did not insist on her daughters being accomplished in spite of incapacity or distaste, allowed her to leave off.... Writing and accounts she was taught by her father; French by her mother: her proficiency in either was not remarkable, and she shirked her lessons in both whenever she could.

In contrast, Argentina has provided free public education to its citizens since 1884, although rural areas traditionally lagged behind cities in terms of number and strength of schools available. This system has also gone through extensive changes even in the modern era. This subject required further research when I revised Estancia Aldea Norteña to ensure I understood my primary characters better. I was greatly aided by a May 2003 article "Secondary Education in Argentina during the 1990s" from Education Policy Analysis Archives as well as this online summary.

Between 1995-2007 the Educación Primaria Básica ("Basic Primary Education") included six grades begun about age six. Per the timeline I developed, Catalina was born in May 1989 and so would have begun her first grade in 1996 at about seven years old since the school year runs from March to December. She later entered Secondary School, or seventh grade, in 2002 at thirteen years old. The first three grades of secondary are called Ciclo básico; grade 10 begins what is called Ciclo orientado.

Catalina started her fifth year (eleventh grade) of Secondary School in March 2006 and might have graduated that year except for a new law passed that restored an older organization system. Not only did it make this secondary level of education compulsory, it added a twelfth grade, so Catalina would not finish until December 2007, just before the novel begins.

According to the Borgen Project, the country's literacy rate is 98.1% and secondary grades enjoy 90% enrollment. The last three years may be devoted to technical skills or specializations; it's likely Catalina may have taken some extra science courses or some kind of health training given her family's involvement in the medical field. Unfortunately, half of all secondary students never finish and that dropout number is as high as 73% for universities.

What's Next?

Thus far in her life Catalina likely expected to focus on a few limited years of technical school post graduation; she has very few ambitions and while a rare graduate likely had no prospects for anything grander. In the same vein, Catherine Morland could hardly expect to meet more prospects for her future felicity than the limited number of families in her home town. She was certainly not going to attend a private seminary or become a famous soprano.

For both young women, their journey to a city sparks a series of chain reactions that broaden their potential. Catherine Morland's introduction to society allows her to meet two suitors (even if they are of unequal value) and learn far more about the wider world. Catalina Moreno does the same but given her modern setting also lands a chance to volunteer in her chosen profession, becoming introduced to the types of people who may help her find a job rather than a spouse (although, as can be seen, she may be aiming in that direction as well).

In many ways, their mutual trip out of the city is a step backward, away from the opportunities afford to them so recently. However, there's also the promise of even more targeted success. And most importantly, both characters make use of their time to continually seek a better understanding of what's around them no matter their circumstances.

Catalina, like Catherine, still has a lot to learn. But she's well on her way to becoming a genuine heroine.