Fifth Business: A Defining Label

Lucas Roppo

ENG 3U1-04

Mr. Wilson

10 April 2012

Fifth Business: A Defining Label

When a child is born the first thing that it receives as a possession is their name. A name has a large significance in any human's life because it can define how this person is known to others. In the novel Fifth Business the author, Robertson Davies, links names to a character's personality by showing their development whenever the name is changed or altered. A change in name can show a sort of rebirth in the character and the three that it mainly applies to are Boy, Dunstan and Paul. Throughout the novel these characters change their identity so that they may fit their new name.

Boy is born into a well off family in Deptford under the name Percy Boyd Staunton. Boy is an over-ambitious businessman who is always trying to become more successful. His ambition is fueled by his youth and his desire to sustain that youth. It is for this reason that Robertson Davies chose to change his name to Boy after the First World War. This is explained when Dunstan says "he was Boy Staunton because he summed up in himself so much of the glory of youth in the postwar period." (Davies, 102-103). By changing his name, Boy shows a new identity; one that lacks maturity. Dunstan attempts to show Boy his mishaps by saying, "You must grow old, Boy; you'll have to find out what age means, and how to be old." (Davies 232). Boy's lack of maturity leads him to ruin the lives of others. His wife, Leola, is one of the lives that Boy ruins. He does this by constantly cheating on her with the women that he meets on his business trips. Leola discovers this when she finds a note in his coat from one of his mistresses. When he sees her with the note he acts as if he did nothing wrong and follows this by saying "Your situation is perfectly secure. But if you think I intend to be tied down to this sort of thing...you can think again." (Davies 178). Through this Boy shows his inability to act like a proper husband or role model for his children.

Another way that Boy shows his immaturity is through his disbelief in God. "[Boy's] inability to accept a reality larger than his small, polished persona" (MacDonald 1) explains that Boy has gotten rid of the thought of an all-powerful being because he believes that his life could not get any better from giving into the will of God.

Boy is an arrogant and selfish human being. It is these same qualities that are present in a child which is why Boy's name change is such a significant one in this novel.

Paul Dempster is a character that goes through two name changes unlike Boy or Dunstan who only go through one. The name Paul is one that was not given much thought "as it was the first name that came into Dempster's head" (Davies 14) and this is one of the reasons for why he feels that 'Paul' is not a name that suits him. As a child Paul is constantly reminded by his father Amasa that he is the reason for his mother's mental disability. The disability was caused when Boy "threw, and the snowball hit Mrs Dempster on the back of the head." (Davies 4). This snowball also triggered the premature birth of Paul. He despises his life in Deptford so at the age of 9 when his father dies, he runs away from home and joins the circus. This is when Paul first changes his name. Faustus LeGrand is his new identity. By changing his name he is attempting to relinquish the memories of his life in Deptford. The name Faustus LeGrand loosely translates to "The Big Trick" and this connects to Paul's talent of magic. The name Faustus also shows significance in displaying how his life is played out in the circus. There is an old German legend about a man named Faust who sold his soul to the devil and in return he is given unlimited knowledge. This relates to Paul's new name because when he joins the circus he meets a man named Willard the Wizard. Willard becomes his mentor in teaching him magic and in return Paul must perform sexual favours for him. He lived a large part of his life with the circus and his personality adapted