This paper compares and contrasts how the symbolic use of heart
trouble by Ford Madox Ford in "The Good Soldier "and Virginia
Woolf in "Mrs. Dalloway" impacted upon the characters' development in both novels. In "The Good Soldier" the main characters both fake heart
trouble in order to gain independence and isolate themselves from their respective spouses, who ironically, suffer from heart disease. In "Mrs. Dalloway" the protagonist's heart trouble is only mentioned occasionally. Her sickness occurs against the backdrop of WWI England in order to illustrate how both her illness and the war have changed everything for her. Heart trouble is used to highlight the themes of detachment and
isolation in both stories where the main characters are not in tune with the reality of their lives or surroundings.