The Good Soldier Flashcards
Who is the narrator of the story, and who is he?
John Dowell, the main character and a pleasant but unreliable narrator
Where does he come from?
John and his wife are American, form Philly and Stamford Connecticut
What couple does John and his wife meet?
Edward and Leonora, a British couple
What does Leonora soon realize about Edward and Florence, John’s wife, and does John follow?
They will have an affair, but John is, supposedly, blind to this fact
Who are some of the women that Edward has been having affairs with?
A woman in a railway car, the mistress of a grand duke, the wife of an army officer in India, La Dolciquita (Spanish mistress of Russian Grand Duke)
Where have Edward and Leonora been living for the past 8 years?
India, because Edward has put his family in debt
Who does Florence see one night in Nauheim and what happens as a result?
Leonora catches a woman, Maisie Maidan, having an affair with Edward, and gives her a beating; Leonora then befriends Florence, thus the couples become friends
What comes of Maisie?
She dies after overhearing Leonora talking about her
What about his wife does Dowell reveal to the reader?
Florence desires to be the lady of Fordingbridge
Why have Dowell and his wife stayed in Europe? What else does Dowell reveal about his marriage?
Florence has been faking a heart condition; Dowell has also failed to consummate his marriage for 13 years
What does Florence plan to do after nine-years of her affair? What actually happens?
She wants to divorce Dowell and marry Edward, but after seeing him with another woman, Nancy, and with her husband learning of an affair that happened earlier, she kills herself instead
What are Nancy’s feelings toward Edward?
Nancy admires Edward for the man he is, but she isn’t in love with him
Where do the main characters go after Florence’s death and what happens?
Branshaw Manor, where Leonora emotionally breaks down due to her husband’s infidelity, believing her marriage is dead
What does Nancy do upon hearing Leonora break down?
They both start hurting their husband emotionally
How does the story end?
Edward sends Nancy away, but, still in love with her, kills himself when she doesn’t reciprocate the love back; Leonora remarries, and Nancy, for an unknown reason, goes mad and has to be taken care of by Dowell
What is a major theme in the novel?
Appearance vs reality; more often then not, people aren’t who Dowell says they are
How does the infidelity affect Dowell?
He doesn’t believe in the idea of “good”, and thus turns to madness
What role does Leonora play in Edward’s infidelity?
Edward cheats partly to get away from her controlling nature
What does infidelity seem to symbolize?
As a destabilizing and self-destructive force
what seem to be Dowell’s views on morality as a whole?
He doesn’t see morality as simple, or black and white, and feels that there is no motivations to uphold it
How does Dowell define normal?
Normal is, bluntly, something that everyone does; people who are abnormal are socially threatening and don’t follow society’s rules
Does Dowell keep this belief of normality?
No, he sees that no one side is right or wrong, but that there is a lot of grey
What does August 4 symbolize?
Important dates of Florence, including her birth, death, etc.
What does the minuet symbolize to Dowell?
At first their marriage, but later on it does not because he realizes nothing about their marriage that is perfect or regular
