THE FIFTH BUSINESS 1
The best quotation that expresses the fifth novel’s business by Davis is,” what is bred in the bone, will out in the flesh”. This is because of the action that Ramsay did to the pregnant woman (Mary Dempster) of throwing a snowball which contained a stone inside and made her deliver prematurely. The guilt that ‘boy’ well known Ramsay did, he finally comes to die of it. Davis was developing his theme that whatever one does in life will pay for it later in life. He also wanted to show how religion is being discriminated in the society considering the woman who was performing miracles pretending to raise a dead person. Despite the social classes Ramsey used to be ranked. He never becomes happy throughout his life. He lived to change the number of women he had, but finally his beloved claimed never loved him and instead he loved Dunstan.
Davis using his main character Dustan he is in search of truth concerning those people considering themselves as the saint. Dunstan went to the priest to know why some people like Mary Dempster who pretend to raise Willie from the dead are being considered saints. She tries to convince Dunstable that she is performing miracles. Dunstan wants to reveal the truth by the Ramsay of the act he did at the beginning by throwing a stone to Mary while she was pregnant. He was causing her to give birth to a child who was immature. Wanted to reveal the truth; it was not a snowball that caused the incident to happen; instead, it was stone. That is why at the end Ramsay is found dead with the stone inside his mouth to show that he was trying to swallow the guilt he did. Dunstan reveals the truth by showing Paul the stone that was used by Ramsay which leads him to born without his days reached
The first woman he was interacting with Dunstan was with Mary while she was pregnant. He loved her as the mother despite the situation she underwent. He went to the extent of caring for her even when he was in the hospital. Dunstan did not believe in the miracles that Mary Dempster had performed. So he went to the priest to inquire whether the three performed miracles qualified her to be called a saint. This act showed that Dunstan has no faith in her. Most of the women are falling in love with him, but he chooses isolation life. For instance, Diana wanted him to be his lover, but he refused. He became interested with Einsengrims head showgirl known as Faustina, but later he found her naked and passionately kissing Liesl. This makes him go deeper to depression since he had already developed an affection to her. Also with the case of Leola who threatens to commit suicide when she was confessing that she truly loved Dunstan whereas she was married to Ramsay. She tried to convince Dunstan to remember their past when they used to love each other. She finally dies of pneumonia after a long period of ailing and also she lacked a companion because the Boy has diapered on a drinking binge and has not returned for many weeks.
Davies defiles all the women character and sees them as weak, untrustworthy and prostitutes. He is starting with Mary Dempster who on being hit by a small stone she is forced into labour forcing her to give birth to the weak child. It shows that women are so vulnerable. Considering the Boy, he was marrying whoever she wishes to show that women were so defiled by then. Also, he left them to perish. For instance, he had married Leola but after sometimes she went her while she was sick. Women cannot be trusted, considering the miracles that were performed by Mary Dunstan will not believe whether it was right in a way she went search the truth from the priest. Also, the reality is that she had not performed a miracle since the doctor came and said that Willie was not dead. Not only Dunstan but also Percy where he says he believed his friend was a credulous ass who cannot raise the dead and this clearly shows that women cannot be trusted. Women are seen to be [prostitutes, for instance, Dunstan has fallen in love with Faustina, but when he take a step of following her she found her kissing with Liesl. Women are powerless in the novel; Davis considers them they can’t own any property in the society. For instance, all the cooperation is held by a boy known well as Ramsay. Women are seen to be materialistic, for example, Leola did not wait for Dunstan to get married, but he gets married to Ramsey who abandons later.
Heroism refers to great bravery. Consequently, the roles of being neither a hero nor heroine relate to the confidante. Similarly, Dunstan leaves Deptford for the battlefields of Europe which illustrate his bravery. While he was fighting in the fields of France, Dunstan single-handedly destroys a German machine gun nest. Although almost by accident. In this process, he severely wounded. These incidents show how he is a hero, and despite being injured, he goes on the battlefield.
In the play, Dustan lives a relatively isolated life with Paul dumpster as his only frequent friend. Dunstan sells his parents’ apartment and settles in Toronto to attend University. Dunstan also becomes familiar to continue with his search for truth fixture around the Staunton mansion. Again, Boy has taken a liking to Dunstan as his one confident with the know-how of his past as Percy. In return, Boy provides Dunstan with business ideas tips that keep him financially comfortable, even during the Depression.
My subject of interest in the book fifth business is the female roles in the book. Robertson Davies deliberately uses female characters to display the impact that women have on the psychological growth of a man.