A LIBERAL EDUCATION

In “A Liberal Education” from the “Dolly Dialogues,” Miss Dolly Foster reflects on her transformative influence over Phil Meadows, a young man she encounters with a companion on the Row, who subsequently snubs her. Three years prior, Meadows was socially inept, teetotaling, non-smoking, concert-going, with unfashionable attire, carrying an unrolled umbrella and a paper parcel. Dolly took it upon herself to reform him, teaching him social graces, compelling him to dance, and even destroying his fiddle.

Over evening lectures and morning walks, she subtly instilled in him the importance of presentation and societal norms, leveraging his affection for her to enforce changes ranging from his hairstyle to his smoking habits. Yet, as Dolly achieved her project of making Meadows presentable and eligible for marriage to a wealthy, albeit plain, woman, she finds herself distanced by him, their relationship reduced to a misunderstood attempt at mentorship on her part and unrequited affection on his.

Dolly, chatting with Mr. Carter, expresses a mixture of pride and annoyance at Meadows’s ingratitude after his societal elevation, despite his engagement to a wealthy woman being a direct outcome of her efforts. Her intent, she claims, was never romantic but purely out of a desire to improve him as a friend and a pupil. The transformation led to a fallout, where Meadows accused Dolly of toying with his feelings and destroying his faith in women, a reaction that distresses yet amuses her. As Meadows moves on to a materially advantageous marriage, Dolly and Carter’s conversation highlights her complex feelings: a blend of satisfaction in her influence, bitterness over its unrecognized value, and a hint of regret at the personal cost of her liberal education.