The History Boys
Introduction + Context
Plot Summary
Detailed Summary & Analysis
Act 1 Act 2
Themes
All Themes The Purpose of Education History and Truth Sex and Sexuality Hope and Failure Class and Gender
Quotes
Characters
All Characters Hector Irwin Headmaster Mrs. Lintott Posner Dakin Scripps Rudge Fiona Man
Symbols
All Symbols Motorcycle The Locked Door
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The History Boys

by

Alan Bennett
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Mrs. Lintott Character Analysis

Mrs. Lintott, whose first name is Dorothy, is a lower-form history teacher at the grammar school, and the only female character who speaks in the play. She is very good at giving the boys a factual grounding in history, but the Headmaster hires Irwin to take charge of the boys’ final year of schooling. He thinks that Mrs. Lintott doesn’t have what it takes to give the boys “polish” for their university interviews. Mrs. Lintott is dry and practical. She is close with Hector, but also critical of him. In one notable monologue, she offers a feminist critique of history, reminding the boys that women are often left to clean up mistakes made by powerful men. At the end of the play, she relays the brief life story of each of the students, and Irwin.

Mrs. Lintott Quotes in The History Boys

The The History Boys quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Lintott or refer to Mrs. Lintott. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Purpose of Education Theme Icon
).
Act 1 Quotes

You give them an education. I give them the wherewithal to resist it.

Related Characters: Hector (speaker), Mrs. Lintott
The Purpose of Education Theme Icon
Page Number: 23
Explanation and Analysis:

One of the hardest things for boys to learn is that a teacher is human. One of the hardest things for a teacher to learn is not to try and tell them.

Related Characters: Mrs. Lintott (speaker)
The Purpose of Education Theme Icon
Hope and Failure Theme Icon
Page Number: 42
Explanation and Analysis:
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Act 2 Quotes

Shall I tell you what is wrong with Hector as a teacher? It isn’t that he doesn’t produce results. He does. But they are unpredictable and unquantifiable and in the current educational climate that is no use.

Related Characters: Headmaster (speaker), Hector, Mrs. Lintott
The Purpose of Education Theme Icon
Page Number: 67
Explanation and Analysis:
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What’s all this learning by heart for, except as some sort of insurance against the boys’ ultimate failure?

Related Characters: Mrs. Lintott (speaker), Hector
The Purpose of Education Theme Icon
Hope and Failure Theme Icon
Page Number: 69
Explanation and Analysis:
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Mrs. Lintott Quotes in The History Boys

The The History Boys quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Lintott or refer to Mrs. Lintott. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Purpose of Education Theme Icon
).
Act 1 Quotes

You give them an education. I give them the wherewithal to resist it.

Related Characters: Hector (speaker), Mrs. Lintott
The Purpose of Education Theme Icon
Page Number: 23
Explanation and Analysis:

One of the hardest things for boys to learn is that a teacher is human. One of the hardest things for a teacher to learn is not to try and tell them.

Related Characters: Mrs. Lintott (speaker)
The Purpose of Education Theme Icon
Hope and Failure Theme Icon
Page Number: 42
Explanation and Analysis:
Unlock with LitCharts A+
Act 2 Quotes

Shall I tell you what is wrong with Hector as a teacher? It isn’t that he doesn’t produce results. He does. But they are unpredictable and unquantifiable and in the current educational climate that is no use.

Related Characters: Headmaster (speaker), Hector, Mrs. Lintott
The Purpose of Education Theme Icon
Page Number: 67
Explanation and Analysis:
Unlock with LitCharts A+

What’s all this learning by heart for, except as some sort of insurance against the boys’ ultimate failure?

Related Characters: Mrs. Lintott (speaker), Hector
The Purpose of Education Theme Icon
Hope and Failure Theme Icon
Page Number: 69
Explanation and Analysis:
Unlock with LitCharts A+
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