Illusion Versus Reality in The Fifth Business

Reality is the state of being true and existent, whereas an illusion is a false idea or belief that is not true. Fifth Business portrays the battle between illusion and reality, which reveals the theme of guilt. Illusion and reality are portrayed by several characters in the novel such as Dunstan Ramsay, Percy Boyd Staunton, and Paul Dempster.

The theme of guilt reveals when Dunstan decides to take care of Mary Dempster after the snowball incident. The snowball, which was thrown by Boy Staunton, was targeted at Dunstan but accidentally hit Mary Dempster who was pregnant at the time. This incident led to the premature birth of Paul Dempster, which Dunstan feels he’s in the wrong. Even though the snowball was not thrown by Dunstan, he still felt guilt for what had happened. Dunstan could’ve walked away from Mary and assumed nothing had happened, but he couldn’t. Instead, he attempts to redeem himself for his actions by accepting the responsibility of taking care of Mary Dempster, both personally and financially. “A form of piety. A sense of guilt unexpected. Indolence. I have always been meaning to put them in some proper place, but I haven’t found it yet”. Dunstan was living in the illusion of Mary Dempster’s incident for his entire life until he decided to let the guilt go away by revealing the truth about the snowball incident.

Paul Dempster, another important character who becomes an expert in illusion. Paul was born prematurely due to the snowball incident that Mary Dempster was present in. Paul eventually becomes a famous magician and illusionist. By being a magician, Paul trains in illusions. “She is part of a past that cannot be recovered or changed by anything I can do now. 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 mother’s madness as something that was my own doing. And I had to bear the cruelty of people who thought her kind of madness was funny. So far as I am concerned, it is over, and if she dies mad, who will not say that she is better dead?”. Paul eventually runs away from home hoping to free himself from his guilt.

Dunstan Ramsay and Boy Staunton were both inspired to achieve something different than each other. Boy, who’s living in reality, only cared about how much money he can earn and materialistic items. On the other hand, Dunstan was living in an illusion. The pursuit of wealth for his own sake did not interest him at all. Instead, he was interested in spirituality things such as saints. Dunstan believed that Mary Dempster was a saint even though others thought she was merely a “Fool Saint.” Also, traveling to several countries to find saints gave him a better psychological view.

To conclude, illusion versus reality, which revealed the theme of guilt, is evident throughout the novel Fifth Business by Robertson Davies. The author portrayed illusion and reality through the characters personalities and reactions to events that occurred.