The Wonder In Magic And Religion In Fifth Business By Robertson Davies

The Wonder in Magic and Religion
Mythology has been present throughout human civilization to provide a sense of awe, wonder, and fear. According to Joseph Campbell’s The Need for New Myths, a myth offers gratitude or rapture to reveal a comprehensive image of man’s universe and his place within the world. In the novel Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, magic and religion reassemble human struggles into a relatable, yet awe inducing myth. The sensation of wonder, surprise, or fear induces a feeling of self-insignificance at the vastness of the universe. To accommodate for this overwhelming experience, a person undergoes catharsis where their mental schemata is reset. In this release of emotions, one accepts their place in the universe and becomes a better self. Dunstan and Paul rely on religion and magic for the mending of a traumatized childhood. The reenactment of the Christian Faust legend in the magic act portrays the eternal struggle of good versus evil in humanity. Eisengrim, as an allusion to Jesus, provides wonder and release to his audience. In Fifth Business, Magic and religion both reconstruct everyday experiences to provide catharsis in wonder.
Dunstan and Paul attempt to escape their suffocating past through hagiology and magic. The religious world of Deptford was rigid and one-dimensional. When Dunny developed an interest in magic, he associated the hobby with his mother beating him. When he was enthusiastic about saints, Amasa Dempster scolded him. As Dunstan developed a passion for saints throughout his adulthood, he found the world to be multi-dimensional and colourful. Through pursuing hagiology, he attempts to untangle and decipher his mentally suffocating childhood. When Dunstan first became i...

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...m in religious saints allows him to release the rigidity established from his childhood struggles. Similarly, Paul relies on the mystery and authority in magic to overcome with his rigid and powerless past. Goethe’s Faust portrays how religion interprets the common experience of good versus evil to excite a release of insignificance and pity. Eisengrim’s magical reenactment displays a different interpretation of this common struggle, which induces a catharsis of hope. As an allusion to Jesus, Paul uses magic to excite the ordinary lives of his audience and provoke a dark, fearful wonder. In contrast, Jesus is a relatable figure that provides a catharsis of love and hope in humanity. The popularity of religion and magic stemmed from the human need to be in awe. Humanity relies on this catharsis in wonder to accept the universe and man’s place in the world.