The Deptford Trilogy: Fifth Business, The Manticore, World of Wonders

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Primera parte de la Trilogía de Deptford, del autor canadiense Robertson Davies, pero que en realidad puede leerse sola. Yo aún no estoy segura si continuaré con el resto, pero la verdad es que este libro ha sido una grata sorpresa por su originalidad. Yo me esperaba una especie de policial y es más bien una biografía, aunque sí que hay asesinato, al final, un crimen que se entiende perfectamente por todo lo que el narrador nos ha venido relatando, desde su infancia hasta el presente. Dunstan Ramsay is the narrator of both Fifth Business and World of Wonders (he is not the protagonist in the last novel). He also appears as a major character in The Manticore and as a supporting character in several other novels by Davies. Ramsay is a gentle schoolmaster with surprising depths and is probably a stand-in for Davies himself. (Since Davies has said that the main business of a writer is to be an enchanter, a weaver of spells, a magician, [2] Dempster/Eisengrim may stand for Davies.) Ramsay counsels his students to write in "the plain style," as Davies does—to highlight the story rather than the writer. Davies, then an avid student of Carl Jung's ideas, deploys them in Fifth Business. Characters are clear examples of Jungian archetypes and events demonstrate Jung's idea of synchronicity. A stone allegedly thrown at Ramsay when he was a child reappears decades later in a scandalous suicide or murder. Ramsay's character is a classic introverted personality, contrasted throughout the book with the extroverted sensuality of Boy Staunton. Ramsay dedicates his life to genuine religious feeling as he saw it in his 'fool-saint' Mary Dempster, whose son grows up to be the very archetype of the Magician. Liselotte (Liesl) Vitzlipützli – Daughter of a millionaire Swiss watchmaker, she assists Magnus Eisengrim in his traveling magic show. She is bisexual, and unusually tall and with large features. She becomes Ramsay's confessor, lover, and critic.

Glassman, Peter (1 August 2000). The Dark Portal: Afterword. SeaStar Books. p.239. ISBN 9781587170218. One of the most significant legacies of The Deptford Trilogy is its influence on Canadian literature. Davies is widely regarded as one of Canada’s greatest writers, and his work has inspired countless other Canadian authors. The trilogy’s exploration of Canadian identity and history has also had a profound impact on the country’s cultural landscape.

Perhaps the most important legacy of The Deptford Trilogy, however, is the way it has touched readers on a personal level. The novels’ complex characters and thought-provoking themes have resonated with readers around the world, inspiring them to reflect on their own lives and experiences. The trilogy’s legacy is not just in its literary achievements, but in the way it has enriched the lives of those who have read it. The Reception of The Deptford Trilogy The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies has received critical acclaim since its publication in the 1970s. The three novels, Fifth Business, The Manticore, and World of Wonders, have been praised for their intricate storytelling, complex characters, and exploration of themes such as identity, guilt, and redemption. Critics have also noted the trilogy’s use of Jungian psychology and mythology, which adds depth and richness to the narrative. The fact that it's a staple of grade 12 reading lists is a travesty. Do a bunch of teenagers care about a stodgy old well-off white dude's struggles? His guilt is uninspiring. The characters are two-dimensional and their motivations incomprehensible. "I like saints!" Nobody cares. In the mid-1990s, there were plans for Jim Henson Pictures to make a film adaptation of The Deptford Mice, which would be based on the story of The Dark Portal and feature animatronic puppets. [19] [20] The project was ultimately abandoned for reasons unknown. Fifth Business introduces us to Dunstan Ramsay, a retired schoolteacher who reflects on his life and the events that shaped him. The novel explores the concept of “fifth business,” a term used in theater to describe a minor character who plays a crucial role in the plot. Dunstan is the quintessential fifth business, and his interactions with other characters have a profound impact on their lives.

Diana Marfleet – The nurse who cares for Ramsay after he is wounded during World War I. She is his first sexual partner. Diana introduces him to musicals in England. He refuses to marry her, believing that she has too maternal a role in his life.One aspect of this blurred distinction between myth and history is Ramsay's lifelong preoccupation with the lives of the Saints. The fantastic nature of their stories were always grounded in actual events, but their miracles were given attention and focus based on the psychosocial attitudes and needs of the day, so that what the public wanted had a large measure of influence over what became the accepted canon. The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies is a literary masterpiece that takes readers on an epic journey through the lives of three men from the small town of Deptford, Ontario. The trilogy consists of three novels: Fifth Business, The Manticore, and World of Wonders. Each novel explores the themes of identity, guilt, and the search for meaning in life. One of the most prominent examples of this is Dunstan’s relationship with his childhood friend, Boy Staunton. While Dunstan is drawn to the spiritual and intellectual aspects of Presbyterianism, Boy sees religion as a means of gaining power and control over others. This fundamental difference in their beliefs ultimately leads to a tragic end for Boy.

In conclusion, The Deptford Trilogy is a testament to the importance of history and memory. Through the characters’ experiences and the historical events that shape their lives, Davies shows us the power of the past to influence the present and the future. By understanding our history and reflecting on our memories, we can learn from the mistakes of the past and create a better future for ourselves and for future generations. The Legacy of The Deptford Trilogy One of the most significant influences on The Deptford Trilogy is the Canadian literary tradition. Davies was a prominent figure in Canadian literature, and his work is often seen as a reflection of the Canadian experience. The novels are set in small towns and cities across Canada, and they explore the complexities of Canadian identity. Davies also draws on the themes and motifs of Canadian literature, such as the struggle for survival in a harsh environment and the tension between rural and urban life. Jarvis, Robin. "The Deptford Mice - The Realm of the Green Mouse". Robinjarvis.com . Retrieved 14 November 2020.

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Like the serendipitous Fifth Business that long ago introduced me to the girl that was to become my wife... And Fifth Business is a progressively more complicated, murky and allusive affair, as it morphs into the carnival of capricious capers that lurks in the two companion novels of this, the Deptford Trilogy, all set off aptly by the plodding, dourly academic main character (Davies himself?) Dunstan. William 'Twit' Scuttle is a kindhearted country mouse who is the cousin of Oswald Chitter. The result of a forbidden union between a house mouse and a field mouse, he is viewed by most as a simpleton with "no cheese upstairs".

At the same time, The Deptford Trilogy is also deeply influenced by the wider literary canon. Davies was a scholar of literature, and his novels are filled with references to classic works of literature. The novels draw on the themes and motifs of epic literature, such as the hero’s journey and the struggle between good and evil. They also explore the complexities of human nature, drawing on the works of Shakespeare and other great writers. On December 28, 1908, Paul Dempster was born prematurely after his pregnant mother was hit in the head by a snowball thrown by Percy Boyd Staunton. As a result (it is assumed) of the mishap, she went insane. Silly kalliope felt lost and could see that her Muse was abandoning her and that she was on her way to become Saint Kalliope of the holy Spiral and that she would be joining Saint Ursula and her thousand saints… Irretrievably.The final book, World of Wonders, is the narration of Magnus Eisengrim, né Paul Dempster, from his traumatic childhood via his kidnapping by Willard, the conjuror, (who buggers him regularly till drugs prevent him doing so) to his successful career as a great magician. His activities and growing-up in the World of Wonders fair and Sir John Tresize’s travelling theatre are discussed in considerable detail as is his fight with the intellectual Cambridge-educated novelist, Roly (Dempster is avowedly anti-intellectual) whom he first meets in Tresize’s theatre and later as part of a group making a television film starring Eisengrim. The dénouement, of course, is the resolution of the mantra first openly uttered by David Staunton at Eisengrim’s show – Who Killed Boy Staunton? – which most readers had probably worked out for themselves. The high school friend who managed - somehow - to hitch me with my lifelong soulmate and wife from a distance of thousands of miles away, many, many years ago, was FIFTH BUSINESS! As I have grown older my bias--the oddly recurrent themes of history, which are also the themes of myth--has asserted itself, and why not?" Jarvis, Robin. "The Deptford Mice - The Dark Portal". Robinjarvis.com . Retrieved 27 September 2020. The second novel in the series, The Manticore, starts off after the death of Staunton and is almost entirely taken up with a narration by David Staunton, the son of Boy Staunton, in the form of a Jungian analysis of Staunton fils by the Zurich-based Dr. von Haller. Staunton fils, of course, goes over many of the events of Fifth Business but, clearly, from a different perspective and, also, adding in a few things, not least of which is his sexuality (he is single and has had sexual intercourse just once, with an older woman, when aged seventeen, arranged by his father). Staunton fils is very much under the shadow of his father, even after the death of the latter, and much of what he does is because of his father – setting up a career contrary to his father’s wishes, for example. This book is, for me, the least satisfactory book of the three, firstly because Staunton fils is not a very interesting person and secondly because the Jungian analysis seems so crude.