How and why was Dunstan Ramsay changed as a result of faith and religion in the novel Fifth Business?

It does not take long for the reader to discover this book touches the borders of magic realism. However, one really unique aspect is that the magic is tied in with Catholicism, since Dunstan bases his worldview largely around the belief that Mrs. Dempster is a saint, rather than simply a hapless victim of a wayward snowball. Perhaps to assuage his guilt, he sees her as a heroic woman capable of great power, and thereby develops a life-long obsession with hagiography.

And yet the idea of sainthood eventually transcends its Catholic roots to have much more individual basis. Padre Blazon explains the idea of the "fool saint" as follows:

"You believe in them, and your belief has coloured your life with beauty and goodness; too much scientizing will not help you. It seems far more important to me that her life was lived heroically; she endured a hard fate, did the best she could, and kept it up until at last her madness was too powerful for her" (179).

In other words, sainthood reflects less the decision of the Church and more the individual's need for heroes. What matters about Mrs. Dempster is what she went through and how it affects Dunstan. One part of Dunstan's narrative arc is learning to embrace his desires as valuable even without outside justification, since we each of us need our own saints.