Robertson Davies’ novel “Fifth Business” outlines and describes the development of a lost and emotionally bare and void man, Dunstable (Dunstan) Ramsay. This is a man who carries the weight of Paul Dempster’s premature birth on his shoulders his entire life. It portrays his quest for self-knowledge, happiness, and ultimately fulfilling his role as ‘Fifth Business.’ This would not have been accomplished without a number of women he encounters throughout the novel. There are a number of women who play a significant role in influencing both Dunstan Ramsay's decisions and general life throughout the novel Fifth Business. They are also essential and fundamental to the character development and spiritual meaning that Dunstable seeks throughout the novel. Dunstan Ramsay is constantly looking for guidance in situation from the women who are most prominent in the book; Liesl Vitzliputzli, and Mary Dempster.
Liesl, an extremely graceful and intelligent woman imprisoned inside a deformed and gargantuan body. Liesl plays a vital role in Dunstan’s development and psychological rebirth, as she helps him rediscover his body, his emotions, and himself. Liesl is a character who is very prominent in Dunstan's life. She plays one of, if not the most significant role in Ramsay's life among the other women. She also portrays the devil, and brings out Dunstan's "shadow self"; the unconscious instincts that he has repressed from past experiences. Without Liesl, Dunstan would never had experienced happiness and ultimately a life well lived. Liesl’s surname is “Vitzliputzli”, which means ‘devil’. In Jungian terms, one’s ‘devil’ refers to the “suppressed part of the personality, the dark or more primitive side of the consciousness.” Thus, Liesl represent...
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...itual phase development. He finds himself looking at Mrs. Dempster; “He shot the beam of flashlight… we saw a tramp and a woman in act of copulation… the woman was Mrs. Dempster.” (pg. 45) This act consequently turns Mrs. Dempster into a fool saint, performing three miracles. Therefore, Mrs. Dempster becomes a spirit to Dunstan. According to Carl Jung, Dunstan spiritual development discovers him because he is incapable of finding it. Mrs. Dempster symbolizes the Virgin Mary, who also performed ‘miracles’.
In conclusion, Liesl Vitzliputzli, and Mary Dempster have played two of the most significant roles in shaping Dunstan Ramsay to be the person he is. Their respective positions in Dunstan’s life are essential his character development and spiritual meaning that he seeks throughout the novel. Without the two, Dunstan’s actions and attitude would never had progressed.
In Fifth Business, a novel written by Robertson Davies, has a lot of minor characters that can easily explain how they helped develop the plot. A minor character, Mrs. Dempster, gave birth to her son prematurely and then became a “simple” woman throughout the rest of the novel. This incident happened very early in the novel, which then influenced all the characters to surround themselves around Mrs. Dempster's character because they had to help do daily chores and raise her son because she wasn’t able to do them. Mrs Dempster wasn’t a major character because she wasn’t shown in the book throughout, though she was mentioned a lot throughout the book because she had such a big impact on the major character, Dunstan Ramsay. Dunstan revolved
Point: A third character that sees Dunstan as fifth business would be Percy Boyd Staunton. Growing up, Percy was Dunstan’s best friend and enemy (there were ‘foils’ for each other), and as time went on they grew apart from each other when Dunstan went to war. However, they never forgot about each other. They continued to encounter each other a number of times later in the book when they both are much older. An ongoing theme between the two would be guilt and competition. This theme was first brought up during their childhood when the two of them both wanted Leola Cruickshank for their own. Before Dunstan is fifth business to Percy as well as Percy and Leola as a couple.
Behind every great man lies a great women. In some cases the women herself may not always be good or ideal according to society. Nevertheless it seems to add character to
The author wants the reader to take another look at Dunstan from a different angle. Seeing that no one has the perfect life.
novel, Dunstan’s public front that he portrays is the role of Fifth Business. He is characterized as such
One’s mythology can cause another’s to change. The main one being Boy’s and Dunstan’s: Since the snowball incident Dunstan and Boy have remained friends on the surface, with Boy helping Dunny financially, and Dunny showing up to Boy’s events as the war hero. But Boy’s personal mythology, unlike Dunstan’s, revolves around money and materialism. Boy believes in having a high social status along with a trophy wife. He tries to “make [Leola] into the perfect wife for a rising young entrepreneur in sugar” (124). While Dunstan is haunted everyday of the guilt of Mary’s condition, Boy doesn’t even acknowledge that the event ever occurred. But, because Dunstan is faced by the guilt his entire life, he can embrace his shadow. However, for Boy, his ego has been covering up and pushing away his shadow for most his life. In the end Boy’s shadow is simply to big to accept or overcome, the guilt of sixty years, to big to swallow, is finally eating away at him his has no other choice but to take his own life. Boy’s mythology influences Dunstan’s personal mythology to not care for money and wealth. Carl Jung, creator of Jungian Psychology said, “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” Dunstan stays away from the things that irritate him about Boy, he learns from Boy what life is not about, and is sure not to let himself become like Boy. By
Paul Dempster’s life was irrevocably intertwined with the lives of both Percy Staunton and Dunstan Ramsay. Also like these two characters, Paul has a very powerful sense of motivation and ambition.
Parry, Joseph D. "Interpreting Female Agency and Responsibility in The Miller's Tale and The Merchant's Tale." 80.2 (2001): 133-67. Academic Onefile. Web. 16 May 2013.
Bowen once said, when praising Jane Austen’s prose, “the constraints of polite behavior” only serve to “store up” the character’s “energies” (Glendinning 81) She said that life with the “lid off” is not “necessarily more interesting than life with the lid on” (81). While this was said in praise of another author’s work, the idea that the constrained behavior of the characters hides inner turmoil can be seen in The Last September. Much of the action in the novel occurs internally, and it is through these internal conflicts that the traditional patriarchal structure is subverted. It is through subtle relationships and conversations among characters that the traditional ideals of society are challenged.
	While Dunstan Ramsay had never been too interested in competing with Percy Boyd Staunton, Percy from a young age saw Dunny as a rival. When Percy’s brand new expensive sled isn’t as fast as Dunny’s, Percy gets angry and throws a snowball at Dunny, which in turn begins the setting for the novel. The two continue to compete throughout the novel, for things such as Leola’s love, military recognition, and more.
Discovering the meaning and significance of the archetypes in one’s dreams and the dreams themselves were a sort of process that helped lead the individual towards a God. The suffering and process of analyzing the dreams and manifestations of the archetypes was crucial to resolving one’s entire unconscious and thus being at peace with oneself. When this peace was achieved, it allowed the individual to further their religious experience. Jung believed that all humans had a natural religious function and the expression of their unconscious through archetypes and dreams was crucial.
In the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries, the idea of patriarchy ruled the many societies all over the world. Particularly in Britain, its “overarching patriarchal model” (Marsh) had “reserved power and privilege for men” (Marsh). Also during this time period feminist literature began to arise and was invaded by, “the complex social, ethical, and economic roots of sexual politics… as testimony to gender bias and the double standard” (“Sexual Politics and Feminist Literature”). In Jane Austen’s writing, readers have been aware of her constant themes of female independence and gender equality. However, many have criticized the author for the fact that many of her “individualistic” female characters have ended up
Michael Henchard’s pride and stubbornness leads to the start of his demise. When we first meet Henchard he is a dejected hay-trusser of twenty-one years, who is married to his wife Susan, with a young daughter, Elizabeth Jane. We see Henchard sell his wife and daughter in a drunken rage in a furmity tent at a county fair. It starts out first as a joke, but then is turned foul.
The novel explores gender roles through the characters of Mrs. Ramsay, Mr. Ramsay, and Lily. Each of these characters embodies different views in regards to gender roles. The readers are taken into their minds and thoughts and are allowed to see what each character views is the role of his/her gender.
Along with remarriage and the responsibility of a daughter, Henchard also adopts a work associate. Donald Farfrae, a young Scottish man, is appointed manager of Henchard’s dwindling corn business. In this point of the novel, the character development of Michael Henchard is proved through every outwardly observable aspect. Henchard holds postion of mayor, rekindles his marriage, and gains a friend. Alas this prosperity for Michael Henchard is not permanent. Although the managing skills of Donald Farfrae allow for a revival of Henchard’s corn business, Farfrae’s interest in becoming mayor drive the two apart. Henchard displays immense insecurity as he reverts to old habits and dismisses his colleague, Farfrae, despite the tremendous help he has provided Henchard with both his business as well as his well-being. This tendency is not odd though, Henchard also disowns his daughter, Elizabeth-Jane, for a similar reason. When Henchard is given the upsetting news of his daughter’s biological origins, he can no longer tolerate her presence in his household. Feeling as if he holds no importance in Elizabeth-Jane’s life, he lets insecurity and self-pity take control. Although Elizabeth-Jane was all Henchard had left after his wife’s death, the thought of caring for another man’s daughter was too much for Henchard to bear. Elizabeth-Jane eventually slipped out of Henchard’s life just as she had before that night at the furmity