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Unreliable Narrator
Definition of Verbal Irony
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. When there's a hurricane raging outside and someone remarks "what... read full definition
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. When there's a hurricane raging... read full definition
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean... read full definition
Part 3, Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Complete Disunion:
Towards the end of Part 3, the narrator delves into Leonora and Edward’s past and describes the circumstances that led to their wedding. In doing so, Ford employs situational irony as John dismisses the need for a “minute study” of the marriage:
I don’t know that a very minute study of their progress towards complete disunion is necessary.
The phrase "very minute study" is laced with verbal irony as it’s used here. John is obviously very concerned with the "minute" details of Leonora’s love life, as he spends much of the novel pondering the reasons for both her behavior and Edward’s. Here, he dismisses the need for a detailed examination of Edward and Leonora's progression towards "complete disunion," yet the novel itself is a meticulous, “minute” exploration of their relationship and its gradual deterioration. This contradiction highlights John's role as an unreliable narrator, as he undermines the entire point of the story he is narrating. The irony lies in the fact that the reader is, in fact, embarking on "a very minute study" of the characters' disunion throughout the novel.
Furthermore, the use of the word "necessary" is also verbally ironic, particularly in the context of Leonora's past. Throughout the novel, she’s portrayed as incredibly reserved and enigmatic. Any information about her, given her closed-off nature, seems vital for understanding the dynamics of the story. John’s dismissal of the need for detailed analysis is ironic because the reader feels that such an exploration has been a long time coming. This short statement, seemingly straightforward, actually deepens the novel’s sense of disconnection and its enigmatic tone. It underscores the central idea that events in the world of The Good Soldier are all up for subjective, biased interpretation by the person telling the story.
Related Themes:
Part 4, Chapter 6
Explanation and Analysis—Happy Endings:
As the novel draws to a close, Ford uses verbal irony to underscore the supposedly “happy ending” that John outlines. John’s voice is laden with irony as he tells the reader:
Well, that is the end of the story. And, when I come to look at it I see that it is a happy ending with wedding bells and all. The villains—for obviously Edward and the girl were villains—have been punished by suicide and madness. The heroine—the perfectly normal, virtuous and slightly deceitful heroine—has become the happy wife of a perfectly normal, virtuous and slightly deceitful husband. She will shortly become a mother of a perfectly normal, virtuous, slightly deceitful son or daughter. A happy ending, that is what it works out at.
The verbal irony of the passage is most evident when John says that the novel's ending is a "happy ending with wedding bells and all." This statement is ironic because the novel, filled with complexity and tragedy—including multiple suicides—is far from a conventional narrative with a happy resolution. The fact that this is not even the true end of the story, as John continues to recount further details, adds another layer of irony. It emphasizes the disconnection between his words and the actual events they concern. This passage makes the reader very aware that the novel is a "sad story," as what John is referencing here is not actually a happy conclusion of events but a very zoomed-out view of story threads resolving themselves.
The passage’s verbal irony lies in John’s mocking and oversimplified description of his fellow characters. His reference to Edward and Nancy as "villains" who have been "punished by suicide and madness" and to Leonora as a "perfectly normal, virtuous and slightly deceitful heroine" is heavy with sarcasm. This ironic portrayal is in opposition to the nuanced and often morally ambiguous characterizations of people Ford gives throughout The Good Solider. John’s words feel deeply cynical and disenchanted, as he reduces the complex emotional and moral landscape of the tale to a simplistic, "perfectly normal and slightly deceitful" ending. This passage makes it seem as though a societally acceptable resolution is the ultimate goal of any loving relationship, even though the reader knows this is farcical.
Related Themes:
