Female roles in fifth business
Nicholas PrevedelMrs. Machado
ENG4U1-01
20 October 2014
Robertson Davies: “Fifth Business”
Dorothy L. Sayers states “Wherever you find a great man, you will find a great mother or a great wife standing behind him.” Man is a societal construct that is structured and molded by maternal influences and female insight. Typically one is a product of its environment, however Robertson Davies in “Fifth Business,” deliberately uses female roles to display the impact that women have on the psychological growth of a man. Davies chronologically traces the psyche of Dunstan Ramsay as he matures with the guidance of significant female characters in his life. In “Fifth Business,” Robertson Davies uses the characterization of Mrs. Ramsay, Diana Marfleet, and Mary Dempster, to emphasize the influence women have in the maturation of man.
The first major influence on Dunny’s life is his mother, Mrs. Ramsay. She is the first maternal influence on Dunny and forms him into a person that takes control of his own life. Mrs. Ramsay is characterized as a determined, strict and controlling person with a “lionlike spirit.” (Davies 16). Her parental role in guiding and loving her son, however, drastically changes as the focus of her love is altered in the introduction of Paul Dempster. This is evident, when Dunny states “I began to believe that I was more responsible for the birth of Paul Dempster than were his parents, [...]. Part of that dreadful fate would undoubtedly be rejection by my mother” (Davies 17). Unquestionably, Mrs. Ramsay’s love and affection begins to be directed towards the Dempster’s family instead of her own household. Dunny’s lack of motherly affection leaves him with a sense of alienation as he “yearned for (his) mother’s love”(Davies 31). The lack of motherhood initiates Dunny’s feeling of isolation, and forces Dunny to mature faster. Consequently Dunny begins to feel resentment towards his mother who is unable to provide the necessary attention and love an
ENG4U1-01
20 October 2014
Robertson Davies: “Fifth Business”
Dorothy L. Sayers states “Wherever you find a great man, you will find a great mother or a great wife standing behind him.” Man is a societal construct that is structured and molded by maternal influences and female insight. Typically one is a product of its environment, however Robertson Davies in “Fifth Business,” deliberately uses female roles to display the impact that women have on the psychological growth of a man. Davies chronologically traces the psyche of Dunstan Ramsay as he matures with the guidance of significant female characters in his life. In “Fifth Business,” Robertson Davies uses the characterization of Mrs. Ramsay, Diana Marfleet, and Mary Dempster, to emphasize the influence women have in the maturation of man.
The first major influence on Dunny’s life is his mother, Mrs. Ramsay. She is the first maternal influence on Dunny and forms him into a person that takes control of his own life. Mrs. Ramsay is characterized as a determined, strict and controlling person with a “lionlike spirit.” (Davies 16). Her parental role in guiding and loving her son, however, drastically changes as the focus of her love is altered in the introduction of Paul Dempster. This is evident, when Dunny states “I began to believe that I was more responsible for the birth of Paul Dempster than were his parents, [...]. Part of that dreadful fate would undoubtedly be rejection by my mother” (Davies 17). Unquestionably, Mrs. Ramsay’s love and affection begins to be directed towards the Dempster’s family instead of her own household. Dunny’s lack of motherly affection leaves him with a sense of alienation as he “yearned for (his) mother’s love”(Davies 31). The lack of motherhood initiates Dunny’s feeling of isolation, and forces Dunny to mature faster. Consequently Dunny begins to feel resentment towards his mother who is unable to provide the necessary attention and love an
Cited: Davies, Robertson: “Fifth Business”