In Robertson Davies novel Fifth Business the main character Dunstable (Dunstan) Ramsay struggles to understand his unconscious mind, thus having trouble being an individual. This novel outlines his journey for self-knowledge, happiness, and fulfilling his role as Fifth Business. Throughout the novel, Dunstan begins discover and understand himself. He does this through his interactions with the people he meets upon his travels. From a young child, Dunstan has trouble truly understanding who he is but as he grows older he matures and becomes his own person, as he is psychologically reborn.

The person that Dunstan meets that makes the biggest contribution to help him start to understand himself is Liesl. Liesl works as part of a traveling circus as a ‘Truth Teller’, also modernly known as a fortuneteller. Dunstan describes Liesl as “the ugliest human creature” (Davies,196) he has ever seen, she wears mans clothing, has short hair and has a “huge, jutting jaw” (Davies,196). On the contrary he explains that she has a beautiful voice and she speaks very intelligently, due to this, Dunstan felt very comfortable with her, which is what allowed him to open up to Liesl. This is the first way Liesl helps

Dunstan begin to understand himself, allowing Dunstan to open up for the first time in a long time released a lot of bottled up emotions. Dunstan describes Liesl as “a gargoyle! And yet never have I known such deep delight or such an aftermath of healing tenderness!” (Davies,218). Liesl was the first person that Dunstan was able to talk to, share his problems with, which slowly draws more and more confidence out of Dunstan allowing him to grow as an individual. Liesl biggest way of helping Dunstan was by actually naming him ‘Fifth Business’ “Who are you? Where do you fit into poetry and myth? You know who I think you are, Ramsay? I think you are Fifth Business” (Davies