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!
payment page
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 June 12, 2023 June 5, 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
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
Although the novel seems disordered, the narrative structure of The Good Soldier follows a general order. Each Part of the novel ends in a death. In Part I, Maisie Maidan is the victim; in Part II, Florence dies. Part III closes with the death of Leonora's love for Edward, and Part IV finishes with Edward's death. Each part signals a destruction of the passionate, weak, and vulnerable. Such a narrative structure highlights one of Dowell's conclusions that "the passionate, the headstrong, and the too truthful are condemned to suicide and madness" while only the "normal, the virtuous, and the slightly deceitful" can flourish. The fact that each main part of the novel ends with a death points toward the difficulties and selections in life. Society 'selects" for the normal, for those who are content not to challenge it too strongly.
Ford explores different kinds of deception in these two chapters. Looking back on the past, Dowell is able to describe in detail the steps Florence took to deceive him. She went to great lengths to maintain the appearance of a fragile heart patient, and Dowell unquestioningly believed her. Yet the Dowell's tone toward Florence is not hostile. He explains her steps fairly matter-of-factly, how she went about convincing him that she was generally unable to act in the capacity of his wife. What bothers Dowell is not Florence's deception, but her motive. Dowell is appalled that Florence could lie in order to spend the night with Jimmy behind the closed door, but he understands how Florence might deceive in order to be with Edward. In such a mindset, Dowell understands no definite right or wrong, he takes into account the circumstances of each action and each betrayal.
Please wait while we process your payment
