Every situation has a good and a bad side. People have the power to choose their own actions. After a scenario has played out there are many emotions that can play out in people’s minds. Robertson Davies understood that in many life choices, guilt is present. In the novel Fifth Business, many characters express guilt while others disguise it. Dunstan Ramsey is a character that feels guilt throughout the book, while characters like Boy Staunton and Mary Dempster do not feel guilt. This could be viewed from a Good versus Evil aspect of meaning.

To begin with Dunstan Ramsey, being the main character has a lot of emotions that readers had access to while reading. Presently, the one that prevails the most is guilt. Throughout his life Dunstan …show more content…
Boy Staunton from a very young age had this absence of guilt. Boy took no responsibility for the snowball incident. He felt like he did no wrong and that his actions did not affect anyone else's lives. He was completely egoistic. “He edited his memory of his early days that the incident of the snowball had quite vanished from his mind” (Davies, 261). He did not feel in the wrong, even if it was evident that he was. “[He] had no recollection of Mrs.Dempster” (Davies, 261) meaning that his absence of guilt covered important events and emotions of other people. He did not want to ever be seen as someone who did wrong. He wanted to be seen as this huge, successful self-made man. With the disregards to other’s feelings Boy has no guilt in humiliating and hurting all the people he loves. He loved his wife Leola, but he hurt her in so many ways because his absence of guilt did not make situations seem hurtful. Boy cheated on her so many times, but saw that he has no fault. One incident that truly showed that Boy has no recognition of other people’s feelings was when Dunstan gave him the photos Leola to Boy and he did not care about how Leola felt in the situation. Leola pleaded “Boy please put them away or [she’ll] have to go upstairs. [She did not] want Dunny to see the while [she is there]” (Davies, 157). Boy quickly swats her away and tells her she …show more content…
While looking at guilt and not having guilt it can be looked at with having the same meaning as good versus evil. In the end good will always prevail evil the same way guilt will prevail the absence of guilt. Guilt took over Dunstan’s life and he could not escape it no matter what. “[He] was afraid and did not know what [he] feared” (Davies, 41) the same way people are afraid of good or doing good. They are afraid to help and that fear grows in them the same way a fear of guilt grows. No matter if a person starts off with guilt there are always temptations to remove that good just like evil tries to move people away from good. Lisel said, “Why don’t you shake hands with the devil, Ramsay, and change this foolish like of yours?... You would be a different nam” (Davies, 230). This shows how Lisel is acting like the devil and is pulling Dunstan to a guilt free, evil life. Dunstan is looked upon as foolish that he lives this guilty life and with that guilt does good deeds like help Mrs.Dempster when no one else would. Someone with no guilt like Boy lives a very evil and selfish life. Like mentioned before Boy’s actions hurt the ones he loves or anyone else indirectly as well. By having no guilt his actions are in a sense evil. He cheats, does not take responsibility and is very self centered. When people feel guilt they do as much good as they can to remove that guilt