Fifth Business
Author: Robertson Davies
Setting: Deptford Canada, Europe, other places in Canada
Plot: An old man has retired and feels that his retirement party and the offerings of him poorly reflect him as a person and his work. His story begins when he was a little boy in Deptford. His friend throws a snowball at him. He ducks it and it hits a pregnant woman, Mary Dempster, she than goes into labor. Paul is very premature and Mary had a very difficult birth. However booth survives by some miracle. Ramsy has to care for Mrs. Dempster. He begins to fall in love with her, much to display of his mother and his classmates. His classmates begin to distance themselves from him. Eventually Mrs. Dempster has sex with a tramp. She reforms him, which Dunny later sees as a miracle. Dunny’s older brother falls ill and dies. He runs and gets Mary. She prays over him and saves him. This is seen as her scond miracle. He soon joins the army to escape the embarrassment of Mrs. Demptser. While there he shoots out a tank nest. During this incident he loses his legs. He also sees a sculpture of the virgin Mary. He sees Mary Dempster. He views this as her third miracle. He loses conscsness and when he wakes up he is the hospital where he meets Diana. He learns that his parents have died and his brother had died. He also wins a V.C. Dunstan returns to Canada and becomes a scholar. He learns of fool-saints and of Percy boys marriage to a girl he liked. He travles to Europe with Leola and Boy mostly for the ride. Their he runs into some Jesuits, and he makes friends with one of them. He becomes an expert in saints. He returns to Deptford to find Mary. Soon the depression hits. Boy becomes very wealthy. Dunny goes to see Mary almost every day. Leisel soon dies of pneumonia and Dunny suspects that she had something to do with her own death. Dunny soon goes to a magic show in Mexico show. There he discovers that Paul dempster is the Magician. Here he meets Liesel. Who is ugly but is wise. One night he sees Lesiel and a girl that he finds to be attractive kissing. Liesiel comes to his room which makes him mad, he then brutally attcks her. She later tells him that she wanted to relive his anger. He returns to Canada and tells May he has found Paul. She suffers severe trauma. She later dies from this. Soon Paul comes to Canada. Dunny introduces Paul to boy. Then shows them the rock that caused Mary to go into labor. After both men leave Dunny realizes that the stone is gone. He goes to Paul’s show. Someone comes in and says that Boy is dead. No one knows who killed him. Then Dunny has a heart attack.
Characters
Dunny- The main character. Never really does anything for himself. Is fifth business. Dunny is just a player in other peoples game. Carries the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Boy- Throws the rock that ruined Mary. He is from a wealthy family and becomes very wealthy. He marries Leola, but I am not positive that he really loved her. In the end he is either murdered or he commits suicide.
Paul- Is much younger than Dunny is. He becomes a talented magician. Possibly kills Boy.
Mary- Paul’s mother. Dunny’s fool saint. Her three miracles are reforming the tramp, saving Dunny’s brother and appearing to Dunny as the virgin Mary.
Liesiel – is Paul’s assistant is extermly ugly but is wise beyond her years.
Point of view- Ramsy is his own story teller. He is of course bias but he seems to bias against himself in a way. I don’t think he is very reliable. He has lots of emotion and views himself negatvly.
Tone- Ramsy accepts himself as fifth business. Ramsy os negative and thoughtful of his past.
Imagery- There is lots of imagery. A very good image is when Boy throws the snowball. You can feel the terror. You can see the snowball being thrown. You can feel the tensions.
Symbolism- This is hard because I have not done a second read. The stone is possibly a symbol for the beginning and end.
Memorable quotes
“He was killed by the usual cabal: by himself, first of all; by the women he knew ; by the women he did not know ; by the man who granted his inmost wish ; and by the inevitable fifth who was the keeper of his conscience and keeper of the stone.” This is important because it simplifies the human to condtion to five people. You could probably write an entire essay just on this one quote.
“In making this report to you, my dear Headmaster, I have purposely begun with the birth of Paul Dempster, because this is the cause of so much that is to follow.” This is important because it shows him blaming basically his life on Paul’s birth. It may also illustrate that humans make their situation what they want.
Theme:
Humanity is the author of its own story.
How we know: Throughout the novel Dunny argues that your role is relevant to your perspective and because Humans often contribute miracles to God but they often come from the human Psyche.
