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When Marian buys Leo a new suit to save him the blushes of wearing the “wrong” sort of clothes, she picks a fetching shade of green. He loves it at first; he fancies himself as Robin Hood, with Maid Marian by his side. Of course, Robin Hood is a story more popular with children than adults, but Leo sees his new suit as representative of his entry into the world of Brandham Hall. As he spins for the crowd around the dinner table, he feels their adulation turning what were previously the “scorching gas-jets” of social anxiety into the “water fountains” of social acceptance.
But, of course, green can mean a lot more than Robin Hood. Later in the book, Marcus is jealous of Leo’s successes in the cricket match and the singing afterwards. He looks for a way to wound Leo psychologically, and finds the best option—he informs Leo that the color green is an insult, not a compliment. Leo realizes that green means unripe, youthful and inexperienced—all traits he felt he was transforming beyond. Furious at Marian for being so derogatory, he changes back into his old clothes. But this doesn’t last long—feeling again that he doesn’t fit in, he puts his green suit back on, thinking that the implicit meaning of the suit is better than the explicit teasing that wearing his home clothes brings about.
Green, too, has undertones of jealousy. Undoubtedly, Leo is partly jealous of Ted, both for his status as Marian’s lover and his physical prowess. But overall, Hartley’s use of the color green is definitely more skewed towards the first meaning—naïve innocence—than this second.
Green Quotes in The Go-Between
The The Go-Between quotes below all refer to the symbol of Green. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 4
Quotes
My spiritual transformation took place in Norwich: it was there that, like an emerging butterfly, I was first conscious of my wings. I had to wait until tea for the public acknowledgement of my apotheosis. My appearance was greeted with cries of acclaim, as if the whole party had been living for this moment. Instead of gas-jets, fountains of water seemed to spring up around me. I was made to stand on a chair and revolve like a planet, while everything of my new outfit that was visible was subjected to admiring or facetious comment.
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Chapter 17
Quotes
“Green, green mon pauvre imbécile, bright green...et savez-vous pourquoi? Parce que vous êtes vert vous-même—you are green yourself, as the poor old English say…it is your true colour, Marian said so.” And he began to dance around me, chanting “Green, green, green.”
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Get the entire The Go-Between LitChart as a printable PDF.
Green Symbol Timeline in The Go-Between
The timeline below shows where the symbol Green appears in The Go-Between. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4
...everyone can get a good look at his new outfit. The guests remark on the green color of his clothes and, when one likens him to Robin Hood, he is “delighted”...
(full context)
Chapter 6
...all his stuff is already waiting, and changes into his new outfit—“Robin Hood in Lincoln green”—and leaves the house with a “tingling sense of imminent adventure.”
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Chapter 7
...cleans up Leo’s knee, telling him he’s lucky the blood didn’t go on his nice green suit. Leo is hugely relieved and tells Ted that Marian gave him the suit. Ted...
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Chapter 17
...bicycle is a Humber—a much sought-after brand. He also says that the bike is bright green. Marcus asks Leo if he knows why the bike is going to be green. Marcus...
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Leo is suddenly mortified to be thought of as “green”—he sees it as “a subtle insult, meant to make me look a fool.” He feels...
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Chapter 18
...about Marian but can’t “answer it.” He feels that her vision of him as “ the Green Huntsman ” has been “intoxicating” and “like a rebirth.”
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Leo now resents Marian thinking of him as green, and he can’t bear to look at his green suit. He is relieved that she’s...
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...imagines the bicycle, and thinks that, if he hadn’t learnt of the reason for its green color, he would have loved to receive it.
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Chapter 19
...him about the extravagant ball that will happen soon. Marcus again teases Leo for being green. Marcus tells Leo that the Hall is making preparations for Leo’s birthday as part of...
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...tells Leo that the highlight of the ball is to be Marian’s arrival on his green bike. If Mrs. Maudsley will let her, Marian will make a grand entrance wearing tights.
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Chapter 22
...young Leo decides he will put on his original clothes rather than his more luxurious green suit. After prayers, Leo is lightly teased for his clothes, but Trimingham defends him—he says...
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...if someone else can do them. The present is a tie to go with his green suit.
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Another present, this one from Leo’s aunt, also contains a tie to go with his green suit (which she has heard about from Leo’s mother). The group much prefers the tie...
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...“spectator.” Just before lunch, Leo goes up to his room and changes back into the green suit, which makes him feel more “normal.”
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Chapter 23
Leo and Mrs. Maudsley pass through the hall, where Leo catches a glimpse of the green bicycle. It reminds him of a little “mountain sheep with curly horns, its head lowered...
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