she does not love him enough and begins seeing the Wellesley Italian professor, Bill Dunbar. He is charming and full of stories about Europe and his heroic actions in Italy during the war. He has also had affairs with students (including Giselle), and Katherine makes him promise he will stop. The relationship progresses, but when Katherine learns that Bill spent the entire war at the Army Languages Center on Long Island, she breaks up with him. He responds that Katherine did not come to Wellesley to help the students find their way, but rather her way. Betty's marriage falls apart after Spencer severely neglects her, and Giselle sees him kissing another woman. Betty’s mother orders her to return to her husband rather than offer support. She visits Giselle in her dorm, at first attacking her for her promiscuity, but eventually allowing Giselle to comfort her. In turn, Betty regrets how she has treated Katherine with her poor behavior. Eventually, influenced by her, Betty files for divorce and looks with Giselle for an apartment in Greenwich Village. When Mrs. Warren confronts Betty for what she has done, she reveals her frustration with her mother for not supporting her when she asked for it. She says the only person who cared about her enough to help her out was Katherine. Therefore, Betty reveals she is going to have a life of her own. Katherine's course is highly popular, so she is invited to return, but under certain conditions: she must follow the syllabus, submit lesson plans for approval, stop giving private advice to scholars and keep a strictly professional relationship with all faculty members and students. Katherine decides to leave to explore Europe. In the final scene, Betty dedicates her last editorial to Katherine, calling her "an extraordinary woman who lived by example and compelled us all to see the world through new eyes." As she leaves in a taxi, all her students follow on their bicycles, with Betty reaching to say goodbye until the taxi speeds away. Cast Julia Roberts as Katherine Ann Watson Kirsten Dunst as Elizabeth "Betty" Warren (Jones) Julia Stiles as Joan Brandwyn (Donegal) Maggie Gyllenhaal as Giselle Levy Ginnifer Goodwin as Constance "Connie" Baker Laura Allen as Susan Delacorte Tori Amos as wedding singer Emily Bauer as a student Jordan Bridges as Spencer Jones Marcia Gay Harden as Nancy Abbey Lisa Roberts Gillan as Miss Albini Topher