Introduction Mental emancipation is one of the roles played by education. However, many people do not emancipate themselves because of preconceived ideas, beliefs, and values acquired from their parents. Katherine’s efforts to emancipate girls from mental conditioning fail when Betty asks her to obey a decision of becoming a mother, and a wife after graduation. Katherine does not give up and continues to urge the girls to pursue careers instead of merely getting married and becoming wives. Movie information Mona Lisa Smile is a drama film released in 2003. Revolution Studios and Columbia Studios produced it with help from Red Om Films Productions. Mike Newell directed the movie, which stars Julia Roberts, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Kirsten Dunst. It was written by Lawrence Konner and ran for 117 minutes. The title connotes the subject of an ancient painting by Leonardo da Vinci known as Mona Lisa. The movie explores various contributions by social structures in shaping women’s lives in olden days by putting limits on their potential. It also examines how girls replicate superficial attitudes in a society mainly controlled and subjugated by men. Also, it explores the expectations of girls concerning their lives after graduating from college. Character and plot summary The main character (Katherine) is very enthusiastic when she gets a job at Wellesley College. The private arts college admits women only, as well as promoting conservative ideals. She takes the job and starts teaching with great passion. She sadly discovers that even though her students have memorized the whole syllabus, they cannot use their brains to make individual decisions. As a result, she spends ample time introducing them to modern art. She disagrees with the College President for encouraging class discussions and failing to adhere to the syllabus in class. The President warns Katherine and orders her to follow the syllabus failure to which she would lose her job. After getting used to her students, and realizing that their main agenda was to graduate and get married, she seeks to inspire them to do and achieve more with their lives. One of the students, Joan Brandwyn (Julia Stiles) had dreams of becoming a lawyer. To inspire her, Katherine encourages Joan Brandwyn to apply for enrollment at Yale School of Law. Fortunately, she is offered an opportunity, but instead of joining, she elopes with her fiancé Tommy. She derives much happiness from her relationship with Tommy and decides to become a wife after graduation. This realization prompts her to tell Katherine to stop talking to her about careers because she has already decided to become a wife. Betty Warren (Kirsten Dunst) is a traditionalist who does not concur with Katherine’s ideas. She does not comprehend why Katherine is still single. She is responsible for the exit of Amanda Armstrong (Juliet Stevenson), the resident nurse. Betty exposed Amanda for giving contraceptives to students in one of the two editorials that she wrote for the school magazine. In the other editorial, she attacks Katherine for telling the girls to pursue education to higher levels rather than becoming wives and mothers. Betty is a victim of an arranged marriage because h