Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews March 28, 2023 March 21, 2023
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
Please wait while we process your payment
full title The Good Soldier: A Tale of Passion
author Ford Madox Ford
type of work Novel
genre Pre-modernist novel. Written before the period of high modernism that most literary historians agree came after the First World War, The Good Soldier is nevertheless marked by a deliberate and radical break from the more traditional Victorian and Edwardian novel forms which preceded it.
language English
time and place written Ford wrote this novel in England during the year 1914, immediately before the start of the First World War; it is considered a book of the pre-war period
date of first publication 1915
publisher The Bodley Head
narrator Dowell, the naive and cuckolded husband who gradually pieces together the story of his time with Florence and the Ashburnhams
climax There are two major climaxes: Florence's suicide at the end of Part II and Edward's suicide at the end of Part IV. These deaths mark important moments in the plot of the story and the reflection of the narrator.
protagonist Although Dowell gives a first-person narration, there is no single protagonist. The two couples (Dowell and Florence, and Edward and Leonora) are the four main characters of the novel.
antagonist There is no one antagonist who is in direct opposition to the two couples. Rather, Dowell must confront a modern world devoid of moral certainties. The antagonistic force is Dowell's own reluctance to face reality.
setting (time) 1904–1913
setting (place) The majority of the events take place in the French countryside (somewhere between Nice and Bordighera during the winter), and Nauheim during the summer. Later in the novel, the setting is Branshaw Manor in Fordingbridge, England.
point of view First-person, limited. The novel is written through the eyes and mind of Dowell, the narrator. The narration is disorganized and disjointed, as the reader only learns the truth of the story as Dowell himself pieces it together.
falling action After Edward kills himself with a small pen-knife, Leonora remarries a man named Rodney Bayham, has a child, and proceeds to have a very 'normal' life. Nancy Rufford goes crazy when she hears of Edward's death and Dowell becomes her permanent caretaker. Dowell ironically reflects that the "villains" have been punished by suicide and madness.
tense Past tense narration, present-tense reflection. Dowell narrates a story that happened in the past while commenting on his current understanding of those past events.
foreshadowing Florence's suicide foreshadows the suicide of Edward Ashburnham; the actions of the Hurlbirds foreshadows tragedy for Dowell and Florence.
tone Confused, naive, and angry; the narrator's tone changes throughout the novel as he tells the story and reflects back on the events which have occurred; above all, he seems to be earnestly searching for meaning and simplicity, though he is utterly lost.
themes The Difference Between Appearance and Reality; The Moral Significance of Adultery; Definitions of Normality
motifs August 4; Heart Conditions
symbols The Minuet; Martin Luther's Protest; Shuttlecocks
Please wait while we process your payment