故事发生在上个世纪50年代的美国，一群出身于上流社会的优秀女学生就读于维护正统的Wellesley女子学院，欣然接受着社会赋予她们相夫教子的传统角色，而一位“离经叛道”的艺术史教师Katherine Watson（Julia Roberts饰演）的到来却打破了这种平静。正如Julia Roberts在《永不妥协》中的角色一样，Katherine在校方的重重压力之下始终坚持自己的教学理念，她的执著影响了当时在校的一大批女学生。
      关于艺术It's something beyond the paint
1953年，Wellesley女子学院迎来了艺术史老师Katherine Watson。她在加利福尼亚州Berkley大学里接受了自由思想，立志要成为一名杰出的教师，却没想到她的学生在第一堂课上就给了她一个下马威。她还没来得及介绍课程，就有学生插嘴让她先介绍自己。从放幻灯片到关灯开灯，这群训练有素的女孩总是能在她提出要求之前抢先把事情做好。而她按照学校大纲要求讲解的幻灯片被这群女孩如数家珍。Katherine有些被镇住了，她问女孩们以前学过艺术史么，大家都摇头。当她让读过整本大纲和推荐书目的人举手时，全班都举起了手。良好的艺术基础和扎实的课前预习使这些女孩儿对这位还没有拿到博士学位的老师几乎瞧不上眼。
      可是Katherine没有因此退缩。她并不是一个按部就班的教师，相反，她是一个对生活和艺术都很有主见的人。虽然这些学生在课前对大纲上的内容做足了功课，可是这所当时美国最保守的女子学校从没有教学生如何在课本外独立思考，在画面之上理解艺术、体会艺术。
       Katherine的第二节课，她给学生看苏丁 (Soutine)绘于1925年的Carcass(《牲畜》)，女孩们得知该图不在大纲内后，开始纷纷质疑起这幅与传统审美相悖的作品。Katherine要学生通过这门课理解“什么是艺术，是什么决定了艺术的好坏，又由谁来决定。”

Betty: What is that?
Katherine: You tell me. Carcass by Soutine. 1925.
Student: It's not on the syllabus.
Katherine: No, it's not. Is it any good? Come on, ladies. There's no wrong answer. There's also no textbook telling you what to think. It's not that easy, is it?
Betty: No. It's not good. In fact, I wouldn't even call it art. It's grotesque(奇异的).
Connie: Is there a rule against grotesque art?
Student: Aren't there standards?
Betty: Of course, otherwise a tacky(俗气的) velvet painting could be equated to a Rembrandt(荷兰画家伦勃朗). There are standards, technique, subject. So if you're suggesting that rotted side of meat is art...much less good art, then what are we going to learn?  
  Katherine: Just that. You have out lined our new syllabus, Betty. Thank you. What is art? What makes it good or bad? And who decides? ... ...
Betty: Art isn't art until someone says it is.
Katherine: Who are they? Could you go back to the Soutine, please? Just look at it again. Look beyond the paint. Let us try to open our minds to a new idea.

      在另外一节课上，Katherine把学生带到了她的画室，大家围坐成一圈上课，与早先敌对的气氛截然不同。此时的学生已经被Katherine 的真诚和率直所感染，加上她丰富的艺术史知识和生动热情的授课方式，很快赢得了女孩子们的喜爱，女学生都把这位特立独行的艺术史老师称为“蒙娜丽莎的微笑”。在画室里，Katherine给学生看凡高著名的作品《向日葵》。充满理想与热情的Katherine 大胆地向陈腐的教学制度发起挑战，她希望这些女孩子对艺术和人生能有新的认识——每个人都有自己的选择权，你能选择顺从家庭社会强加于你们的意志，你也能选择走自己的路。

Katherine: ... Look at what we have done to the man, who refused to conform his ideals to popular taste, who refused to compromise his integrity. We have put him in a tiny box and asked you to copy him. So the choice is yours, ladies. You can conform to what other people expect or you can. ...
Betty: I know. Be ourselves.

      关于人生Housewife is not the role you are born to fill
      上个世纪50年代的美国，虽然女性的地位渐渐受到重视，但是整个国家的大环境是将在二战中走出家门走向社会的妇女们重新劝说回家。在上层社会这种传统思想尤其盛行，在Wellesley女子大学，对学生的教育并不是教她们如何获得自己感兴趣的知识，而是把这些女孩子训练成贤妻良母，她们学习的目的就是嫁个好丈夫。满怀志向的Katherine无法忍受学校的陈规陋习，她希望这些聪慧勤奋的女孩子能有更加远大的志向，不要将她们的才能埋没掉。
      一天，Katherine和她的得意门生Joan谈话，Joan是全A生，也是学校社团的主力军，而且正在读法律预科。但是和其他学生一样，她也想毕业后结婚，然后相夫教子。可是，在Katherine的启发下，她也流露出对耶鲁大学法学院的向往。

Katherine: And it says here that you're pre-law(法学预科). What law school are you gonna go to?
Joan: I hadn't thought about that. After I graduate, I'm getting married.
Katherine: And then?
Joan: And then I'll be married.
Katherine: You can do both. Just for fun, if you could go to any law school, which would it be?
Joan: Yale. They keep five slots(名额) open for women, one unofficially for a Wellesley girl.
Katherine: But you haven't really thought about it.

      Katherine 班上的另一个学生Betty结婚了，她嫁了一个英俊富有的丈夫，蜜月结束后，她重新回来上课，正好赶上Katherine的艺术史。努力将学生送往婚姻殿堂的Wellesley大学从来不计较已婚学生缺课，可是Katherine却较真起来，她不希望这些女孩把结婚当作特权来行使，更不该把结婚当作人生的惟一目标。可是Betty是个性格很强的女孩，她很优秀而且大胆，加上母亲是学校董事，她毫无惧色地和Katherine针锋相对起来。

Katherine: Glad you could join us, Mrs. Jones. We thought we'd lost you. Since your wedding, you've missed six classes, a paper and your midterm.
Betty: I was on my honeymoon and then I had to set up house.
Connie: Most of the faculty turn their heads when the married students miss a class or two.
Katherine: Then why not get married as freshmen? That way you could graduate without actually ever stepping foot on campus.
Betty: Don't disregard our traditions just because you're subversive(颠覆的).
Katherine: Don't disrespect this class just because you're married.
Betty: Don't disrespect me just be cause you're not.
Katherine: Come to class, do the work, or I'll fail you.
Betty: If you fail me, there will be consequences.
Katherine: Are you threatening me?
Betty: I'm educating you.
Katherine: That's my job.

      尽管有激烈的冲突，Katherine的人生态度还是潜移默化地影响着这些女孩子，她收到这些女孩子组织的地下社团Adam Rib的邀请参加她们的秘密活动。在聚会上，学生都问出了她们压抑很久的问题——Katherine为什么不结婚。Katherine袒露了自己在二战时的一段失败的感情，以及这次圣诞节她理智地拒绝了分隔异地缺乏交流的男友的求婚。她表达了自己的婚姻观“并非每段感情都必须走上婚姻的殿堂，人生不是围着婚姻来计划的，结婚不应该成为女性惟一的出路”。她追求两性平等的立场和顺其自然的婚姻态度让这些女孩儿深思起来。