Fifth Business
Introduction + Context
Plot Summary
Detailed Summary & Analysis
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
Themes
All Themes Religion, Faith, and Morality Guilt and Sacrifice The Meaning of Success History and Mythology Love, Family, and Psychology
Quotes
Characters
All Characters Dunstan Ramsay Mrs. Mary Dempster Paul Dempster Mr. Amasa Dempster Boy (Percy Boyd) Staunton Willie Ramsay Leola Cruikshank Liesl Faustina Padre Blazon The Headmaster
Symbols
All Symbols The stone in the snowball Dunstan Ramsay’s leg
Download PDF
Download Teacher Edition
The LitCharts.com logo.
Sign In Sign up for A+
The LitCharts.com logo.
AI Tools
  • Ask LitCharts AI
  • Discussion Question Generator
  • Essay Prompt Generator
  • Quiz Question Generator
Guides Guides
  • Literature Guides
  • Poetry Guides
  • Shakespeare Translations
  • Literary Terms
Sign In Sign up for A+ Sign up

Fifth Business

by

Robertson Davies

Upgrade to A+
Introduction Intro
Plot Summary Plot
Summary & Analysis
  • Part 1
  • Part 2
  • Part 3
  • Part 4
  • Part 5
  • Part 6
Themes
  • All Themes
  • Religion, Faith, and Morality Theme Icon
    Religion, Faith, and Morality
  • Guilt and Sacrifice Theme Icon
    Guilt and Sacrifice
  • The Meaning of Success Theme Icon
    The Meaning of Success
  • History and Mythology Theme Icon
    History and Mythology
  • Love, Family, and Psychology Theme Icon
    Love, Family, and Psychology
Quotes
Characters
  • All Characters
  • Dunstan Ramsay
  • Mrs. Mary Dempster
  • Paul Dempster
  • Mr. Amasa Dempster
  • Boy (Percy Boyd) Staunton
  • Willie Ramsay
  • Leola Cruikshank
  • Liesl
  • Faustina
  • Padre Blazon
  • The Headmaster
Symbols
  • All Symbols
  • The stone in the snowball Symbol Icon
    The stone in the snowball
  • Dunstan Ramsay’s leg Symbol Icon
    Dunstan Ramsay’s leg
Theme Wheel Theme Viz
Download this Chart (PDF)
Download the Teacher Edition
Download this Chart (PDF)

Fifth Business Study Guide

It's easy to cite LitCharts for use in academic papers and reports.


MLA

Winner, Kathryn. "Fifth Business." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 17 Jun 2015. Web. 18 Jul 2025.


Chicago

Winner, Kathryn. "Fifth Business." LitCharts LLC, June 17, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2025. https://www.litcharts.com/lit/fifth-business.

Company
About Us Our Story Jobs
Support
Help Center Contact Us
Connect
Facebook Twitter
Legal
Terms of Service Privacy Policy Privacy Request
Home About Contact Help
Copyright © 2025 All Rights Reserved
Terms Privacy Privacy Request
The LitCharts.com logo.
Save time. Stress less.
Sign up!
  • AI Tools for on-demand study help and teaching prep.
  • Quote explanations, with page numbers, for over 48,182 quotes.
  • PDF downloads of all 2,165 LitCharts guides.
  • Expert analysis to take your reading to the next level.
  • Advanced search to help you find exactly what you're looking for.
  • Quizzes, saving guides, requests, plus so much more.
  • Expert analysis to take your reading to the next level.
  • Advanced search to help you find exactly what you're looking for.
  • Quizzes, saving guides, requests, plus so much more.
The LitCharts.com logo.
Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account
You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes.

or

Already have an account? Sign in
Complete your free account to request a guide
Already have an account? Sign in
The LitCharts.com logo.
Get your answer with a free account
You’ll also get tons of other helpful features, including free quizzes and saving guides.

or

Already have an account? Sign in
Last step: complete your free account
Already have an account? Sign in
The LitCharts.com logo.
Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account.
You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles.

or

Already have an account? Sign in
Complete your free account to access notes and highlights
Already have an account? Sign in
The LitCharts.com logo.
Saving guides requires a free LitCharts account
Easily access your saved guides anytime.

or

Already have an account? Sign in
Complete your free account to save guides
Already have an account? Sign in