The headmaster is the recipient of the letter the novel comprises. He was selected over Dunstan because he was perceived to be more “normal” and socially palatable. Dunstan writes to him after seeing an article about himself in the school paper that he believes does not do his life justice. He wants the Headmaster to know his story and therefore carry on his life’s meaning.
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The Headmaster Character Timeline in Fifth Business
The timeline below shows where the character The Headmaster appears in Fifth Business. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1: “Mrs. Dempster”
2. Dunstan explains to the headmaster , who is the ostensible recipient of this letter, why he begins his account with...
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Dunstan concludes to the Headmaster that he must lay down his strange life, its truths and its illusions, so that...
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Part 3: “My Fool-Saint”
...Masters in History from university, he gets a job teaching at Colborne College (over which the Headmaster now rules.) Dunstan goes into teaching so that he may live a certain kind of...
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...larger life outside of it—and it is about this life that he wishes to tell the Headmaster , so that someone will “know the truth” about him and “do him justice.”
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Part 5: “Liesl”
...he can do some extended travelling through Latin and South America. Boy agrees, and appoints the current Headmaster —to whom this letter is addressed.
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Part 6: “The Soirée of Illusions”
...times before The Five make an end of us all.” Dunstan concludes the letter to the headmaster with this note.
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