Dunstan's Shadow: Summary And Analysis

Significance:
The reason I picked this passage is because it relates to the theme of guilt, and how guilt influences the life of Dunstan as he is never able to fully experience it. Dunstan bears the guilt for a lot of things in his life. He feels guilty for the premature birth of Paul Dempster, and most importantly for the condition of Mrs. Dempster. As a result, he devotes his whole life to taking care of Mrs. Dempster. In this passage, Liesl suggests that Dunstan suffers from the “revenge of the unlived life.” His unlived life is because of the guilt he experiences due to the many events that have occurred in his life such as Mrs. Dempster condition. Liesl encourages Dunstan to fulfill his unlived life by embracing his irrational side and …show more content…
The archetype present in this passage is the Shadow. According to Carl Jung, the Shadow is the opposite of the ego and contains many qualities that don’t coincide with the traits expressed in the ego. It is the dark side of one’s personality. In this passage, Liesl represents the Shadow archetype. She makes Dunstan realize that he has lived his whole life being Fifth Business. She helps him release the feelings of pent-up anger as a result of his, “unlived life.” She encourages him to embrace his irrational side and to shake, “hands with your devil.” She tells Dunstan to, “just for once, do something inexplicable, irrational, at the devil’s bidding.” Even her name Liselotte Vitzliputzli means to balance the bad and good side as she emphasizes that when she tells him that, “one day you will stumble on its real meaning.” In Jung’s psychology, individuation consists in recognizing one’s shadow and integrating it. Liesl is Dunstan’s shadow as she is everything that he suppressed with his ego. Liesl suggests that if Dunstan wants to become whole he must accept his, “personal devil,” and release the guilt he has had his entire life. In the end, he accepts his devil and becomes whole when he reveals to Boy the rock which Boy had put in the snowball thrown at Mrs. Dempster. This allows him to relieve himself of the lifelong guilt about the condition of Mrs. Dempster …show more content…
Leisl’s loving, caring, and sympathetic nature are shown. Liesl suggests that Ramsay suffers from, “the revenge of the unlived life,” and tries to help him by introducing the concept of his own personal devil. She tells him that if he wants to fulfill his unlived life, he must accept his devil. In addition, Liesl reveals to Dunstan that he is Fifth Business, which further develops his character. Liesl asks Dunstan, “Who are you? Where do you fit into poetry and myth?” She then states, “I think you are Fifth Business.” Liesl points out to him that he has lived his whole life casting a supporting role and that at, “fifty you can’t bear it any longer and fly to all to pieces and pour out your heart to the first really intelligent woman […] and get into a schoolboy yearning for a girl who is as far from you as if she lived on the moon.” This revelation has a big impact on Dunstan as after this encounter with Liesl, he begins to feel more liberated and brings about the recognition part of the novel. In the recognition part, he reveals the stone which was placed in the snowball by Boy, finally accepting his devil, and thus completing his journey to find his inner self. This passage also reveals that there is a significant meaning behind Leisl’s name. This is shown when Leisl asks Ramsay, “do you know what my name really means, Liselotte Vitzliputzli? It sounds so funny, but one day you will stumble on its real