The Golden Notebook

by

Doris Lessing

Stanley Lett Character Analysis

Stanley is Ted Brown’s “protégé,” a manipulative, lawbreaking young man who spends much of his time at the Mashopi Hotel sleeping with Mrs Lattimer and partying with Johnnie, his friend and “passport to a good time.” Although he hangs around Anna’s group of socialists, Stanley does not care about politics; Ted ultimately decides to fail his military exams to stay close to Stanley, who considers this move foolish and continues to ignore Ted’s advice.
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Stanley Lett Character Timeline in The Golden Notebook

The timeline below shows where the character Stanley Lett appears in The Golden Notebook. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Notebooks: 1
Love and Sex Theme Icon
Communism and Disillusionment Theme Icon
...for another tiresome month. They then return for a long weekend with “Ted’s new protégé, Stanley Lett” and his friend, a jazz pianist named Johnnie, to find the hotel packed, with... (full context)
Gender, Labor, and Power Theme Icon
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Action, Freedom, and Moral Courage Theme Icon
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...(Anna realizes that “good” is scarcely a specific or literary word, but everyone save Willi, Stanley, and Paul Blackenhurst was clearly good). (full context)
Communism and Disillusionment Theme Icon
...true believer in socialism. George decides to engage Johnnie, who, as usual, barely speaks, and Stanley, who refuses George’s offer of wine and insists he does not care about politics. Willi... (full context)
Fragmentation, Breakdown, and Unity Theme Icon
Love and Sex Theme Icon
Communism and Disillusionment Theme Icon
Action, Freedom, and Moral Courage Theme Icon
Stanley and Johnnie go off to bed, and George Hounslow asks what they are doing there—Paul... (full context)
Fragmentation, Breakdown, and Unity Theme Icon
Love and Sex Theme Icon
They go into the beautiful “big room,” where Johnnie is busy playing jazz piano and Stanley lingers around him—Stanley only likes Johnnie because he is a “passport to a good time.”... (full context)
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Fact, Fiction, and Authorship Theme Icon
...“the pattern for all the rest” of their days at the hotel. The next night, Stanley begins a “disastrous” affair with Mrs Lattimer—but “disastrous” is a “ridiculous” word, Anna notes, for... (full context)
Fragmentation, Breakdown, and Unity Theme Icon
Gender, Labor, and Power Theme Icon
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Fact, Fiction, and Authorship Theme Icon
...crisis, if it can be called a crisis, occurred” with their final visit to Mashopi. Stanley and Johnnie have split from the group, passing time with Mrs Lattimer—who enjoys “publicly playing... (full context)
Fragmentation, Breakdown, and Unity Theme Icon
Love and Sex Theme Icon
Action, Freedom, and Moral Courage Theme Icon
...he is willing to place his hand on the black man’s shoulder. Ted, jealous of Stanley, who is all too aware of his intentions, tries to convince him that Mr Lattimer... (full context)
Fragmentation, Breakdown, and Unity Theme Icon
Gender, Labor, and Power Theme Icon
Love and Sex Theme Icon
Communism and Disillusionment Theme Icon
...Mrs Boothby the cold shoulder, and she goes to take a nap, only to watch Stanley visit Jackson in his cottage and ask for the keys to the cupboard, and then... (full context)
Fragmentation, Breakdown, and Unity Theme Icon
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Communism and Disillusionment Theme Icon
Action, Freedom, and Moral Courage Theme Icon
...dies and Jimmy is deployed to Germany; Ted purposefully fails his exams to be with Stanley, who “told him he was a fool.” Johnnie keeps playing at parties; George manages to... (full context)