Analysis Of Fifth Business By Robertson Davies

Retell:

Part four of the novel Fifth Business, by Robertson Davies, begins with Boy Staunton who made a fortune off of his sugar business during the Great Depression; however, he began to frequently visit Dunstan to talk about his trouble with Leola and how she was not what he wanted her to be. Dunstan travelled to Weston every two weeks to visit Bertha and Mrs. Dempster, but unfortunately, after about four years, Bertha her lawyer named Orpheus Wettenhall died and Dunstan was made Mrs. Dempster’s public guardian; thus, this lifted Dunstan’s spirits up. During this time, Dunstan became involved with a group of Jesuits, who recorded accounts of saints in the Acta Sanctorum, called the Bollandists and Dunstan sent his work on Uncumber, a bearded woman, to them, which was accepted. After, he left the Bollandists and travelled with one of the elderly members, Padre Blazon, to Vienna. Dunstan’s visits with Mrs. Dempster continued to put weigh on him; however, he was able to publish his first and successful book called A Hundred Saints for Travellers. His success was recognized by Boy; therefore, Boy invited Dunstan more often to talk about Boy’s life.

Connect:

A theme of the meaning of success can be seen in some parts of the novel and it is quite prominent in this section. Boy Staunton was a very successful businessman with a beautiful wife and two young children; however, even though he was successful in finding fortune, prestige, and popularity, he was still discontent. Boy constantly talked to Dunstan about his life problems and Dunstan thought to himself that “a lot of his thinking was about the inadequacy of the wife he had chosen to share his high destiny” (Davies, 154). Boy demonstrates how even a person who holds a lot of power and is very successful in life can still be unhappy over a small issue. Additionally, this theme appears in another part of this section. Dunstan became very interested in his academic success by being “a subscriber and greedy reader of the Analecta, and busy learning Greek (not the Greek of Homer but the queer Greek of medieval monkish recorders) so as to miss nothing” (Davies, 166). He felt content when others can confirm his work is intelligent and insightful. Even with his professional life being successful, his personal life is suffering.

Reflect:

Symbolism can be seen within the novel pages 149 to 189. Dunstan was appointed guardian of Mrs. Dempster after Bertha had died; however, Dunstan says that

As a child I had felt oppressively responsible for her, but I had thought all that was dissipated in the war. Was not a leg full and fair payment for an evil action? (Davies, 161)

The wooden leg that Dunstan has after getting injured during a battle in the Great War represents the feeling of guilt that he always has to carry around. The feeling of guilt was from the incident where a snowball hit Mrs.Dempster in the head, causing her to give birth prematurely, and to become permanently mentally impaired. His leg was like an exchange for his sin, but his job as being the guardian of Mary is worth even more than his leg, which makes him satisfied.

What is the significance of Padre Blazon’s appearance?

I believe that Padre Blazon’s significance is that he plays the judge archetype. Padre Blazon said, “ I am quite a wise old bird…I am deep in the old man’s puzzle, trying to link the wisdom of the body with the wisdom of the spirit until the two are one” (Davies, 180). Padre helped Dunstan differentiate reality and what’s in his mind, and uses religion as justification. Therefore, he acts as Dunstan’s guidance.

Works Cited:

1. Davies, Robertson. Fifth Business. Penguin Group, 1996.