Davis' "Fifth Business": Death of Boy Staunton Guilt can only be suppressed for a limited time before it comes out in unwanted ways. In the novel Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, Boy Staunton -a successful business man with a polished appearance but a tortured soul- took the ultimate plunge into his death. His decision was not merely his own, but was influenced by a team of hands that helped push him to his destiny. First Leola, who was his first love and his wife. Then Mary Dempster, a neighbor from his old town Deptford, whom he mistakenly made into a “simple” woman. Next his life long-friend and enemy, Dunstan Ramsey, who was a constant reminder of the