A Journey Towards The Truth And Certinity In Robertson Davies’ Fifth Business

Abstract

Captivated by Davies depth of psychological moorings, this paper will discuss about the major theme the journey towards the truth and certainty of the characters in general and  to each other because of the snowball incident in the award-winning novel Fifth Business and in particular by highlighting the not so glamorous and mystical life of Dunstan Ramsay who is the hero of this novel. Fifth Business is perhaps Robertson Davies best known and is widely considered his finest work of fiction. One of the dominant theme in Davies’s work is the quest of the individual for individualization, the process by which the individual brings together the disparate strands of his or her authentic identity. This quest explores the nature and formation of identity, the nature of fate, the consequences of an unfinished and unlived life, the role of heritage and inheritance, the definition, creation and means of living a successful life and importance of physiology in psychic health is discussed.