Sex and Sexuality Theme Analysis

The boys in the play are coming of age both intellectually and sexually, and these two growing up processes are often linked in The History Boys. In one scene, Scripps and Dakin compare Dakin’s seduction of Fiona with the progress of World War II. Later, Dakin concludes that “history is fucking.” The play raises major questions about the purpose of education, so these comments make us wonder, too, about the purpose of sex. Is it a realm of personal fulfillment? Or does it serve as a way to gain certain levels of success in society? A major plot point in the play is the revelation that Hector gropes the boys when they ride behind him on his motorcycle. When the Headmaster finds out about this, Hector starts to defend himself by saying that the transmission of knowledge is necessarily erotic—further tying these two themes together. The headmaster shuts him down, however, saying that his activity “isn’t normal.” This moment illustrates the ways that the boys will be asked to curtail their sexual desires to fit within certain societal norms as they grow up. It also shows, however, that Hector’s vision of sex and knowledge has grave shortcomings. He sees them as ways to move towards personal fulfillment—but in acting on this idea, he has crossed a social boundary that is meant to protect his students, and he ruins his own career.

The play frequently deals with themes of homosexuality, and Bennett himself is gay. Hector is married to a woman, but his molestation of the boys suggests that he is repressing an attracting to men, and his friend and colleague Mrs. Lintott also suggests this. Posner is attracted to Dakin, and wonders if this is just a “phase,” but ultimately decides that it is not. Irwin, too, is attracted to Dakin. Their homosexual attractions place these characters outside the realm of societal “normalcy” and lead to feelings of loneliness and frustration for them. The play ultimately uses sex and sexuality to illustrate the boys’ processes of maturation, and to show that becoming adults requires working either within or against a set of prescribed rules for behavior. Conformity often leads to loneliness and lack of fulfillment, but society also punishes those who rebel against its rules. Adulthood requires that the boys balance these various demands, while also reaching towards a state of greater self-knowledge.