'The Good Soldier'

'The Good Soldier: A Tale of Passion' by Ford Maddox Ford

This review was written by Joe Porter

The narrator of The Good Soldier is John Dowell, who is a naive and trusting man. His trust in his fellow human beings is cruelly shattered when he discovers his acquaintance of nine years, Edward Ashburnham, is not as honest and upright as he outwardly appears. Edward Ashburnham is 'the good soldier' of the novel's title. He is, however, neither paricularly good nor much of a soldier.

Dowell is initially liable to accept things at face value. He tends to believe things are as they appear. As his story unfolds he becomes disillusioned as he gradually realizes there may be a great difference between appearance and reality. He is completely shattered when he discovers that the people he loved and trusted were deceiving him.

Dowell narrates the experiences he underwent during the nine-year acquaintanceship he and his wife Florence had with Edward and Leonora Ashburnham. The episodes that Dowell describes are not in chronological order. The story shifts back and forwards in time as Dowell recounts the facts as they come to mind.

(To be continued)

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