Guilt in Fifth Business Essay

Robertson Davies novel, Fifth Business, is a Canadian modern classic novel based on the life of Dunstable Ramsay. Throughout the piece of literature, many different themes are incorporated into the story line making it a very enjoyable book to read, however, the most prominent theme within the text is the effect of moral monsters. A moral monster is not a giant beast who inflicts fear among those around it, but it is an emotion inside a character that, when brought out, can cause much more damage than fear. The causal emotions can be anything used against someone to make them feel as though they are not worthy of ever being confident again. In Fifth Business, there are three very strong, very malicious emotions that are the cause of resentment, loss, and insecurity. These emotions take the form of guilt, power, and self-cruelty and are sentiments that should not be tempered with.

Guilt is one of the strongest emotions of the human mind. It is often seen as a feeling that controls ones life and is a force behind ones actions. Throughout Robertson Davies novel, Fifth Business, guilt is portrayed through the eyes of a monster and has a significant effect on different characters. Amasa Dempster was a husband, a father, Deptfords Baptist Parson, and an inflictor of guilt among the most important people of his life. And he never finished without asking God for strength to bear his heavy cross, by which I knew that he meant Mrs. Dempster; she knew it too(Davies 34). Amasa considered Mary to be of blame for Pauls weak conditions at birth, and all the negative rumours circling their small town about their family. Most of these rumours were about Mary and her simple state of mind. This mental condition was said to have been brought upon by the snowball incident of December 27th, 1908, Shes as quiet and friendly and sweet-natured as she ever was, poor little soul, but she just isnt all there. That snowball certainly did a terrible thing to her(Davies 18). The circulation of words similar to those were enough to force guilt upon Dunny as a young child since he considered himself to be at fault for the snowball hitting Mrs. Dempster, Yes, and the Devil shifted his mark. Mrs. Dempster had gone simple! I crept to bed wondering if I would live through the night, and at the same time desperately afraid to die(Davies 18). All the while Amasa was blaming Mary for the tough life of his son; he was pointing blame at Paul for the condition of his wife. my father always told me it was my birth that robbed her of her sanity. So as a child I had to carry the weight of my mothers madness as something that was my own doing(Davies 139-140). The rest of Pauls life has been affected greatly through the guilt put on him by his own father. These feelings that Amasa pushed on people also took a large toll on his emotions. Because of the guilt he inflicted on others, he pushed his family away from him and lost sight of the happiness that is supposed to surround a healthy family. His son, Paul, never forgot the pain his father caused him and that is the reason for which he now resents his mother. The feeling of being indebted to guilt is a monster on its own and does not need to be carried out by a single person to be effective.

Guilt is an emotion that is used to belittle someone and bring that person into a vulnerable state of mind. Another way to do the same action comes in the form of power and the thought of being much more superior than anyone else. Boy Staunton demonstrates this type of thinking during the period of marriage to Leola Cruikshank. Boy had expectations for his wife that were just too far beyond her reach, His idea of a wife for himself would have had the beauty and demeanour of Lady Diana Manners coupled with the wit of Margot Asquith. He let me know that he had been led into his marriage by love, and love alone; though he did not say so it was clear he owed Cupid a grudge(Davies 146). Boy was a man who enjoyed the pleasure of proving his power to those he thought to be beneath him, but Leola was only one of his victims, the other was Dunny. Although the two men have been lifelong friends, and Boy genuinely needed Dunny in his life to offset the amount of glamorous and stuck-up people who surrounded him, Boy used Dunnys lack of social status to entertain those types of people. Not only did Boy use his superiority in the social class to make Dunny look like a wondrous creature, he also used it to make Dunstan feel as though he is indebted to Boy. Listen, Dunny, one thing Ive done is to make you pretty well-off for a man in your position. Ive treated you like a brother. Given you tips nobody else got, let me tell you.(Davies 254). These were the words of Boy Staunton during a feud between himself and Dunny and they had been said in hopes of making Dunny feel lesser in comparison to Boy. Boy then went on to say, me-your best friend, and your patron and protector against your own incompetence! Well, let him hear this, as were dealing in ugly truths: youve always hated me because I took Leola from you. And I did! It wasnt because you lost a leg and were ugly. It was because she loved me better(Davies 255). This passage from the novel goes more in-depth into Boys sense of power over Dunny by bringing in more aspects of Boys life that, in his mind, make it greater than anyone elses. During Boys quest to prove his superiority, he ended up losing his wife, his kids, his best friend, and even his own life, which just proves that being powerful comes with consequences and losses. To gain power in the world, there needs to be a willingness to sacrifice happiness, which poses the question: is having that power-tripping mindset even worth it in the long run?

Having the sense of power proved to be an emotion that has a negative effect on everyone, even the power seeker. It can really destroy someones morals and alter ones outlook on life, much like the effects of self-cruelty. In Davies novel, Fifth Business, Dunstable Ramsay is a victim to his own torture as he gives in to the torture of others. Guilt holds its bearings over Dunnys head for his entire life as he makes it a self-quest throughout the novel to repair the damage he did to Mary Dempsters life. When Dunny became responsible for the care of Mary after her aunt passed away, the guilt that he thought had been lost and paid for in the war resurfaced as he stated, This was primitive thinking, and I had no trouble dismissing it- so it seemed. But the guilt had only been thrust away, or thrust down out of sight, for here it was again, in full strength, clamouring to be atoned, now that the opportunity offered itself(Davies 152). Of course Dunny took to the role of taking care of Mrs. Dempster right away and consistently tried to work off that guilt that had made a strong reappearance after many years of being pushed away. This wasnt the only method of torture that Dunny gave himself, but he also gave into his mothers tempered actions. When Dunstan was a boy and was busy trying to make something of himself, his mother beat him with a pony whip that, not only, left a physical mark but an emotional scar as well. It must have been a strange scene, for she pursued me around the kitchen, slashing me with the whip until she broke me down and I criedI crept off to the woodshed, a criminal, and wondered what I should do(Davies 29-30). In this scene, Dunny considers his actions to be of criminal quality to deserve such a beating from his mother although, in reality, his actions were not so bad, as he was just trying to prove his independence. By allowing himself to give in to the torment of these ladies, Dunnys future relationships with women lacked any sort of emotional connection and were strictly sexual. Dunny pushed Diana away the moment she started to fall in love because he felt as though she was taking on a motherly role in his life, and the mother-son type relationship had never worked out for Dunny in the past, She had fallen in love with me because she felt she had made whatever I was out of a smashed-up and insensible hospital case; but I dont think it was long before she was just as sure as I that our marriage would never have worked(Davies 86). The pain and anguish caused by Mrs. Dempster and Mrs. Ramsay resulted in some very strong insecurities towards relationships for Dunny, and he carried around the horrible memories of these two women for the rest of his life.

Robertson Davies did a phenomenal job at pointing out the clear emotions that are used to destroy the lives of different characters throughout the novel. Guilt was a feeling of pain and misery that caused resentment towards family members and loss of friends. Power was a sentiment that was used in the most evil of ways, which caused distance among the people Boy needed most and held closest to his heart. Self-cruelty was a type of torture that caused the most damage, as Dunny took the torment from others and used it against himself to feel pain and anguish. These causal emotions were used to make characters feel as if they will never deserve to be confident in themselves again, and they are very strong, very malicious feelings that should not be inflicted on anyone.