Fifth Business

Describe the sexual/gender expectations of Deptford. Are they an expression of double standards, one for men and a different one for women?

Fifth Business

Part I

Chapter 12

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Gender roles and expectations in Depthford were set in stone. We see this in the people closest to Dunny. While Dunstan's mother provides the pragmatic and strong feminine in his life, Mrs. Dempster is far more textured.

Mrs. Dempster, on the other hand, is so unique not because of a complex personality, but precisely because of her simplicity. In effect, she is the archetype of saintliness that Dunstan spends his life exploring. Her goodness is all the more affecting because it is simple, unqualified, and innate.

And yet Deptford has no vocabulary to understand such a powerful presence. Even her virtues are resented, since people have no way to categorize such natural kindness. Her gift-giving is derided, her positivity is dismissed as idiocy, and she is entirely ostracized after the encounter with the hobo. In the same way that Dunstan gets in trouble for reading about saints and performing magic, Deptford has no use for those parts of life.