The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford

Characters

• Edward Ashburnham: A seeminly honorable English gentleman and a military man, with a surface charm and valor that masks deep moral failings and emotional instability.
• Florence Dowell: John Dowell's wife, who is manipulative and deceitful, feigning a heart condition to maintain control over John and to conceal her affair with Edward.
• Leonora Ashburnham: Edward Ashburnham's wife, a strong, Catholic woman who strives to control Edward and manage his affairs, both financial and romantic, with a rigid moral code.
• Nancy Rufford: A young ward of the Ashburnhams, innocent and idealistic, who becomes deeply involved with the Ashburnhams, especially Edward, to whom she is tragically drawn.
• John Dowell: The narrator and one of the protagonists, a passive observer and a self-described "normal man" who unfolds the story of adultery and betrayal among two couples.

Themes

• Marital conflict and sexual infidelity, with no social harmony or personal fulfillment.
• Exploration of the relationship between naïve or idealistic Americans and cynical or realistic Europeans.
• The personal costs of adhering to social expectations, as seen in the characters' struggles with their relationships and moral codes.

Literary Devices and Style

• Non-chronological storytelling, similar to Conrad's style, with a focus on the psychology of storytelling.
• Unreliable narration by John Dowell, filled with ambiguities and retrospective contemplations that challenge the reader's trust in his perspective.

Quotes

• "God help the poor wretches that are at the mercy of their women."
• "You don’t understand. You are too good and too pure to understand.“
• "The man is always the master; the girl goes to the wall."
• "Everything in life is just a lot of weariness."
• "I don't know what anyone knows—I don't know whether anyone knows anything at all.“
• "This is the saddest story I have ever heard."