The heart symbol in The Floating OperaThe heart is the dominant symbol in The Floating Opera, even more important than the showboat symbol of the novel's title. From start to finish, the book is richly populated with references to the heart, both literally and physically, as well as figuratively and symbolically. In the first case, literal references are made to Todd's heart condition. In the second case, the heart plays two symbolic roles; not only does this serve as a symbol of Todd's emotional, non-rational side, but the fragility of Todd's heart serves as a correlative to the fragility of all human life. This article will look at several examples from The Floating Opera that demonstrate this use of the heart on several levels. Hearts make an early appearance in the text, in the very first chapter, when Todd describes his heart condition; a “kind of subacute bacteriological endocarditis”1. This condition predisposes Todd to myocardial infarction (heart attack), and as a result Todd writes: "This means that on any given day I could die quickly, without warning - perhaps before I finish this sentence, maybe in twenty years. »2 Although this may seem like a purely literal device, Barth uses Todd's heightened awareness of the delicacy of his own life as an exaggerated symbol of the vulnerability of all human life. This early focus on the heart continues because of the centrality in the novel's plot. of Todd's decision to commit suicide and his subsequent "change of heart." At the heart of this decision to commit suicide is Todd's realization that his life has been governed by his heart (his emotions), despite his best efforts to live by will, reason, and intellect: "My heart was the master...... middle of paper ... when Froebel had Parnassus in his pan? in The Floating Opera - and also of Todd's acute awareness of this incapacity. This, like so many "facts" in the story, has both symbolic and literal meaning, and shows how much the heart and what it represents permeate the fabric of the entire novel.BibliographyBarth, John, The Floating Opera and The End of the Road, Anchor Books, New York, 1988.Endnotes1 Barth, John, The Floating Opera and The End of the Road, Anchor Books, New York, 1988, p. 5. (All following page numbers refer to this book.)2 p. 5.3 p. 226.4 p. 49.5 Ibid.6 Ibid.7 p. 124.8 pages. 94-5