# Education and the Nature of Wisdom in The Getting of Wisdom

> Theme guide for The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson.

The book contrasts formal schooling and the acquisition of facts with the deeper, often painful, personal wisdom gained through experience, social navigation, and self-discovery, as embodied by the epigraph from Proverbs.

## Where it surfaces

- [Epigraph](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/epigraph): The epigraph directly introduces the theme of wisdom as a foundational pursuit, setting the stage for the novel's exploration of knowledge and understanding.
- [The Getting of Wisdom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/the-getting-of-wisdom): Laura's departure for school marks the beginning of her formal education, but also hints at the informal lessons she will learn about social hierarchies and self-perception.
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/ix): Laura grapples with the difference between superficial cleverness and genuine intellectual curiosity, spurred by Miss Hicks's critique of the 'woman's brain.'
- [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/xiii): Contrasts the official curriculum (expurgated classics, physiology of bones and arteries) with the illicit, warped 'education' the girls create for themselves.
- [Gut und böse und Lust und Leid und Ich und Du](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/xxiii): Laura's academic failure due to emotional distraction underscores the tension between formal education and personal wisdom.
- [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/xxiv): Laura's fear of failing examinations and her mother's view of education as a tangible investment highlight the pressures and superficial measures of academic success.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/themes/education_and_wisdom
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/themes