Childhood Memories in The Go-between Book

In the book, “The Go-Between” by L.P. Hartley, Leo Colston looks back on his childhood. The story starts with Leo looking through some of his old belongings, namely, his diary. However, he can barely bring himself to look through that diary because of the memories he has, and the memories he does not want to uncover.

This, I think, introduces the idea of childhood quite well. It not only says that Leo has fond memories of his childhood, which is why he is looking through his things, and it also says not that he has bad memories, but that he knows that there are some things that he does not remember, but that he does not want to remember so they must be kept not remembered. The line that most sums this up is: "The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there."

However, Leo is compelled to look through this diary, and at first, he seems to enjoy reading it, as he is impressed by the astrological symbols and recounts the daily programme at Brandham Hall. However, as his memories slowly combine, he begins to remember the things that he wanted to leave forgotten. He remembers the bullies, and how they used to deface his diary, and beat him left right and centre.

The story then goes back to fondness though, as he recalls his holiday in Brandham Hall, and how he does not really fit in, but people still try to help him to. The main theme, and title of the story, however, come in the form of Marian Maudsley, the daughter of the host family. Because Marcus Maudsley, Leo’s schoolfriend and the reason why Leo is at Brandham Hall, falls ill, Leo finds himself having to entertain himself. Marian Maudsley asks Leo to be the go-between to her and Ted Burgess, a local farmer. The reason that Leo is so keen to help Marian, is because he fancies her, and has no idea of the content of the letters that he is carrying. It is because of this that Marian and Ted can so easily use his service.

During his summer holiday, Leo does give off some clear depictions of childhood, such as the significance of “Deadly Nightshade”, and his judging of people due to their Zodiac sign. Also, the significance of the concert, and getting people to like him and to be impressed by him. He is also completely unaware that his mentioning of cricket actually has a link with the sexual rivalry, as if it is the rivalry between two teams. “Banter” is also included in the story, as he insults people in French, and this again links to his depiction of childhood. Overall, from these we can gain an image of his childhood without him being aware of it.

Looking back on his past, it is easy for Leo to criticise his actions, although, being young, he had no idea what he was doing. At the time, he did not understand why the two lovers could not marry due to the social class difference. At the time, he was not at all suspicious of what the letters might say.

The angriest that Leo gets about his past is when he looks back at when he finds out the content of the letters that he was carrying. The sexual nature of the letters forces Leo to quit being the go-between for Marian and Ted. The worst part comes when Ted commits suicide when Marian’s family discover the content of the letters.

In the epilogue, Leo looks back at his summer, and how it has affected him in the long run. He recalls how much he has suffered psychologically as a result. This once again is a negative look at his childhood, quite rightly, as he again remembers the things that he had managed to forget for so many years.

The book does, however, end on an element of happiness, once Leo can see through all of the awful things that he has experienced. He revisits Brandham Hall, and Marian. He seems to end the book on a relatively happy note, although Marian asks him to again be a go-between for her.