MovieChat Forums > The Go-Between (1971) Discussion > Hugh Trimingham

Hugh Trimingham

posted 17 years ago by Bimmie
7 replies | jump to latest

Last summer I was first introduced to this film soon after I watched the movie "The Day of the Jackal" starring Edward Fox. I was so moved by his performance as "The Jackal" that I decided to see what other films he starred in and found that he played Lord Hugh Trimingham in "The Go-Between." I thought that it was a very sad, tragic story and a wonderful film. Overall, I really felt sorry for Hugh Trimingham because he seemed like he was such a kind and honest man who really did love Marian even though she was in love with someone else. After watching the film, I have a few questions concerning Hugh Trimingham:

1. In the movie it shows that Hugh got the brutal scar on his face when he was serving during the Boer War, but did the book or film say how he received such a terrible scar?

2. Did Hugh later know that Marian was secretly seeing Ted Burgess and that she was pregnant with Ted’s child? And after Hugh and Marian were married did they have any children together?

3. Once they were married did Marian eventually love Hugh or did she just marry him to hide her pregnancy?

4. Lastly, from reading the epilogue of the book it said that Hugh sadly died ten years after he married Marian, but I was curious what did he die from?

I definitely plan to read the novel, but these were just some questions that I was wondering about.

Thanks!

[–] MrsKenton 17 years ago

I don´t know if you´re still interested in the answers to your questions, but here they are:
1. They book doesn´t say how he received the scar.
2. The novel suggests that Hugh knew that Marianne´s son was Ted´s. They didn´t have any children together.
3. She just married him to hide her pregnancy. the book doesn´t say that she eventually loved him. In fact he died a few years after they married
4. It doesn´t say what he died from.

Have you read the novel already? It´s just great.

[–] Bimmie 17 years ago

Thank you so much for responding! These were some questions that I sort of knew the answer to but wasn’t definitely sure about. I think a lot of the questions I had were ones that people have to read between lines to find the right answers. I definitely plan to read the novel during this summer in order to get more in depth knowledge of the story. I also have only two more brief questions to ask you about. From researching about the novel on the internet and from reading your response, I learned that it was suggested that Hugh possibly knew about Marian’s and Ted’s love affair. My first question is how did Hugh probably learn about the love affair between the two. And my second question is if he knew about it and possibly about the pregnancy, why would Hugh have wanted to marry Marian if she was being unfaithful to him and seeing someone else when she was being courted by Hugh. If he possibly knew about the love affair why didn’t Hugh decide to stop courting Marian and find another woman to marry? I think it might have been easier for him to find an aristocratic lady to marry during the Victorian era since he was a respected nobleman.

Thank you!

[–] MrsKenton 17 years ago

The great thing about great works of art is that they leave blanks for the reader to fill. I just lent the book this morning, so I can´t read the last part again now, but what remains in my mind (a result of the re-creation I made of the novel) is that he married her because he loved her, because his felt diminished by the scar he had in his face, and because he was a true gentleman. Read it and tell me what you think about it.

[–] Reggie_Tappolski 17 years ago

Saw the film last night. Young Leo asks Hugh about two men duelling over a woman and says it seems rather unfair because it was probably the womans fault. Hugh's response is to say "nothing is ever a woman's fault" which probably explains why he still marries her ie putting the blame oon Ted.

My wife is also faultless.....apparently.

[–] kbenko 16 years ago

I just saw the movie last night. I want to point out that Hugh says, "Nothing is ever a lady's fault." He does not say that nothing is ever a woman's fault. In the context of this story where class prejudice is the root of all the problems, I think that is an important distinction.

[–] Molly-31 15 years ago

"My first question is how did Hugh probably learn about the love affair between the two."

Hugh had suspected Marian for a long time. The conversation about getting Ted to sign up for the Army was about getting rid of him, splitting them up. He was paying attention to Marian's behavior and Leo's.

Then everybody found out about the affair when Marian's mother took Leo to the garden shed and found Marian and Ted in the middle of things.

"why would Hugh have wanted to marry Marian if she was being unfaithful to him and seeing someone else when she was being courted by Hugh."

'Cause he was a gentleman, a real one.

Let's just say that God doesn't believe in me.

[–] Noir-It-All 14 years ago

It says on The Day of the Jackal page on imdb that Fox's portrayal in The Go Between led to his being case in The Day of the Jackal.

"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne