The author, Robertson Davies, illustrates in his novel titled Fifth Business the lasting impact of guilt on one’s life. Throughout the story, guilt is shown to be a powerful force that can haunt individuals for many years. Davies emphasizes the role and significance of guilt through the characters Dunstan Ramsay (Dunny), Paul Dempster, and Percy Boyd Staunton (Boy). Specifically, Dunstan Ramsay’s guilt stems from a past incident, highlighting the lasting effects of guilt as a theme in the novel.
In the beginning of the novel, the author paints a vivid picture of Dunny and Percy Boyd Staunton (Boy) sledding together. Boy loses the race and is both surprised and humiliated. Dunny then comments on Boy’s vindictive nature, explaining that he becomes resentful and seeks revenge when humiliated. This prompts Boy to try to fight Dunny. However, instead of engaging in a fight, Dunny chooses to walk away towards home, with Percy continuing to harass and follow him. Despite Percy’s attempts to provoke him, Dunny acts maturely and ignores him. This only increases Percy’s frustration and anger, leading to unexpected events taking place.
Percy Boy demonstrated his vindictiveness by throwing a snowball with the intention of hitting Dunny, but Dunny dodged it and it unfortunately struck Mrs. Dempster, who was pregnant with Reverend Amasa Dempster’s child. This incident of the snowball ultimately resulted in Mary Dempster’s descent into insanity and the premature birth of Paul Dempster. Shortly after the occurrence, Dunny confronted Boy the following day and accused him, saying “…You threw that snowball” (Davies 17) to which Boy, portrayed as an ignorant and heartless young child, refused to accept responsibility and responded by saying, “I threw a snowball at you” (Davies 17). Overwhelmed with guilt, Dunny now feels even more burdened.
Dunny continues to be plagued by guilt, as evidenced in the novel when he says “So I was alone with my guilt, and it tortured me” (Davies 17). This illustrates that even if Percy were to admit his wrongdoing, Dunny would still carry guilt because he had dodged in front of Mary Dempster. Consequently, like any compassionate human being, Dunny feels compelled to take care of Mrs. Dempster and her child, Paul Dempster, in order to alleviate his guilt. This sense of obligation transforms into a personal commitment, and he begins to develop love and care for Mrs. Dempster as a result of his guilt.
Dunny confesses his love and guilt for Mrs. Dempster before he joins the army, saying, “She did not know how much I loved her and how miserable it made me to defy her, but what was I supposed to do” (Davies 57). This statement reveals Dunny’s conflicted emotions about disobeying Mrs. Dempster and leaving her for the army. Additionally, guilt plays a significant role in the novel through the character Paul Dempster. Paul is the premature baby conceived by Mary Dempster when she was hit by a snowball at the beginning of the story.
The author presents Paul Dempster as a naive and ignorant young boy who lacks awareness of his surroundings. As he matures, Paul gradually becomes more perceptive of the things and individuals around him. Consequently, he develops a tendency to constantly blame himself for his mother’s current state of madness. Paul firmly believes that his birth is the cause of his mother’s insanity, and he is convinced that if he had not been conceived, she would be mentally stable. As the novel progresses, Paul’s already existing sense of guilt intensifies due to the community’s isolation of him.
“Paul was not well-liked by the villagers due to their negative perception of his mother’s strangeness and perpetual misfortune” (Davies 34). The majority of people in the village viewed his mother’s insanity as a source of amusement, causing them to harbor a dislike towards Paul. In his own words, he describes the cruel treatment he endured from those who found his mother’s madness to be a vulgar joke (Davies, 140). His father Amasa Dempster played a significant role in instilling this guilt within him at such a young age, constantly attributing his mother’s madness to Paul’s own birth (Davies, 139).
Paul wanted to escape his guilt by running away from home and joining a circus to become a magician named Magnus Eisengrim. According to the author, “She is part of a past that cannot be recovered or changed by anything I can do now” (Davies, 139), indicating that Paul believed he could leave behind the negativity of his mother’s insanity. The author also highlights how guilt plays a significant role in the storyline through the character Percy Boyd Staunton (Boy).
However, the difference between Boy, Dunny, and Paul is that both Paul and Dunny had dealt with their guilt from a young age to old, whereas Paul was very ignorant and vindictive in his youth and only faced his guilt forcefully in his early 60s. The snowball incident, where Mrs. Dempster was accidentally hit by a snowball and became mentally impaired, had been forgotten by everyone, especially Boy. It was not until Dunny confronted him 50 years later that the incident resurfaced: “It is the stone you put in the snowball you threw at Mrs Dempster” (Davies 254).
Dunny presents the stone to Boy, emphasizing its significance by saying “The stone in the snowball has been characteristic of too much you’ve done for you to forget it” (Davies 254). In this instance, Dunny is urging Boy to acknowledge his mistakes and emphasize the importance of understanding one’s past actions. However, Boy is taken aback and offended by the mention of this, especially considering all he has done for Dunny. Percy interjects by rambling, “One thing I’ve done is to make you pretty well-off for a man in your position” (Davies 254).
The incident’s truth overwhelmed Percy and he struggles to process his emotions. Dunny attempts to make him confront his mistakes and adhere to his values, as he questions whether they should continue keeping track of morals. The author depicts Percy Boy as immaturity despite his age because he starts blaming others and digresses by bringing up how Leola was taken from him.
The conversation does not return to the stone in the snowball, nor does it progress to any other subject. It concludes when Eisengrim (Paul Dempster) offers Percy a ride home. Percy exhibits anger and guilt towards Dunny before the conversation ends. It is later revealed that Percy has died under mysterious circumstances, as his body was discovered in a car that night. Many believe it was a suicide, with Davies writing, “He was killed by the usual cabal: by himself first of all” (256).
However, it appears that Paul Dempster’s guilt from his past actions towards his mother Mary Dempster ultimately led him to commit the murder of Percy Boyd Staunton. Thus, the author highlights the significant role that guilt plays throughout the novel. This is exemplified through the characters of Dunstan Ramsay (Dunny), Paul Dempster, and Percy Boyd Staunton (Boy). The author illustrates the consequences and importance of guilt in their lives, whether they confront or try to evade it.
