What's the message?

I, along with Kate, struggled to make sense of what Opie was trying to communicate to her readers about education and the institution of marriage. From the beginning of the novel, Opie seems to criticize purely progressive teaching when Mrs. Mowbray studies the theories of shoes, noting that children may not need shoes at all, Adeline bursts in without shoes and bleeding feet. Chapter one ends with the observation that “even Mrs. Mowbray for a moment began to suspect that a little experience is better than a great deal of theory.” However, Opie stresses Mrs. Mowbray and Adeline’s dedication to such progressive forms of education. Adeline adopts these progressive theories in which she has become educated as she dedicates herself to Mr. Glenmurray’s teachings against marriage. This adoption of theory is tested as her and Mr. Glenmurray develop a close relationship. Her dedication to these progressive teachings find Adeline only abandoned by her friends and mother, constantly facing trials, and a source of scandal as Madison and Jan mentioned. This seemingly blind devotion to the anti-marriage ideal which only leads to negative consequences makes me wonder whether Opie was trying to make a point as she mentioned earlier in the novel about valuing experience over theory, or whether she had a greater message about women’s oppression as Adeline is trapped by societal norms.