Discussions of Davies' first three novels—the so-called Salterton trilogy—tend to emphasize his comic and satiric vision. By contrast, criticism and discussion of the Deptford trilogy—[Fifth Business, The Manticore, and World of Wonders] …—have focussed on the psychological and religious dimensions of the novels and Davies' substantial debt to the thought of the Swiss analytical psychologist C. G. Jung. Filaments of continuity are evident between the two trilogies but there is no doubt that Davies' reputation as well as his almost unchallenged status as a serious thinker, sage or pundit … depends on the later body of work. In this case the common view is at least partly right since there's little doubt that Fifth Business is Davies' masterpiece and together with The Stone Angel, The Scorched-Wood People and Coming Through Slaughter, among the handful of Canadian novels that count. (p. 30)
Davies' concern in his later work has been with man's need to acknowledge the emotional, the irrational and the unconscious side of the self…. The central figures of Fifth Business and The Manticore suffer from an excessive dependence on conscious or rational modes of being, and the action of each novel moves towards a moment of recognition in which we witness the return of what has been repressed/suppressed and the consequent development of an integrated self…. Up to a point, the second and third novels repeat, with many entertaining variations, the pattern of Fifth Business; each is in the form of a confession, each has essentially the same theme and each borrows its images and symbols from a common store of relatively arcane lore.
This is a free excerpt of 264 words. There are 1,250 words (approx.
4 pages at 300 words per page) in the full critical essay.
Read the rest of this Criticism with our Davies, (William) Robertson 1913–: Critical Essay by Sam Solecki Access Pass.
