Robertson Davies

Delve into the life of Robertson Davies (1913–1995): Canada’s master novelist, critic, playwright, and teacher. Explore his journey from small-town Ontario to literary renown, his trilogies and thematic concerns, his philosophy, and memorable quotations that reflect his wit, insight, and imagination.

Introduction

William Robertson Davies (August 28, 1913 – December 2, 1995) was among Canada’s most respected and beloved literary figures — a prolific novelist, essayist, critic, playwright, editor, and educator. Known for his imaginative narratives, psychological depth, incorporation of myth and archetype (often drawing on Jungian ideas), and his blend of humour, seriousness, and erudition, Davies left a rich legacy in English-Canadian letters.

His works often explore identity, morality, the power of storytelling, spiritual longing, and the interplay of the visible and invisible realms of human experience. Over his lifetime he occupied multiple literary roles — as public intellectual, teacher, editor, dramatist — bridging the realms of academia and imaginative literature.

Early Life and Family

Robertson Davies was born in Thamesville, Ontario, on August 28, 1913.

He spent parts of his youth in Renfrew, Ontario, a small town that later became a prototype in his novels (he often fictionalized it under various names). Upper Canada College (Toronto) from 1926 to 1932, then studied at Queen’s University, Kingston (though not completing a degree in the usual sense) before going on to Balliol College, Oxford, from which he earned a B.Litt degree in 1938.

During his Oxford years, he met Brenda Mathews (from Australia), whom he married in 1940.

Early Career & Literary Beginnings

After Oxford, Davies remained in England for some time, engaging in dramatic work and acting. He worked with the Old Vic company in theatrical productions during the early 1940s.

In 1940 he and his wife returned to Canada. He became literary editor of Saturday Night magazine, and later (from about 1942 onward) he became editorial writer, then editor and publisher of the Peterborough Examiner in Ontario.

Meanwhile, he also published essays, dramas, and began developing his voice in fiction. Under the pseudonym Samuel Marchbanks, he wrote humorous columns and satirical essays, which were later collected as The Diary of Samuel Marchbanks (1947), The Table Talk of Samuel Marchbanks (1949), and Samuel Marchbanks’ Almanack (1967).

He also wrote plays such as Eros at Breakfast (1948) which won recognition (Dominion Drama Festival Award) and At My Heart’s Core (1950).

In 1960, Davies published A Voice from the Attic, a collection of his essays about reading, literary criticism, and his reflections on what he called “clerisy” (the educated readership).

Academic Role & Massey College

In 1959–1960, Davies began working more closely with the University of Toronto. He joined Trinity College (University of Toronto) as a teacher of literature. Master of Massey College, a graduate residential college affiliated with the university, and held that post until his retirement in 1981.

At Massey, Davies cultivated a vibrant intellectual milieu, encouraged public lectures, and maintained his dual identity as a novelist and public intellectual. High Spirits (1982).

Major Works & Literary Achievements

Davies’s fiction often appears in trilogies, each exploring different themes and interlocking mythic, psychological, historical, and cultural elements.

The Salterton Trilogy

His earliest novels form the Salterton Trilogy:

• Tempest-Tost (1951)

• Leaven of Malice (1954) — which won the Stephen Leacock Award for humour

• A Mixture of Frailties (1958)

These novels are set in a fictional small Ontario town and often draw on Davies’s own experience in small-town life, journalism, and the cultural challenges of sustaining art in a provincial milieu.

The Deptford Trilogy

Arguably his best-known and most ambitious trilogy:

• Fifth Business (1970)

• The Manticore (1972)

• World of Wonders (1975)

In these, Davies integrates myth, magic, psychological analysis (especially Jungian archetypes), and Canadian cultural identity. The Manticore won the Governor General’s Literary Award (1972).

The Cornish Trilogy

• The Rebel Angels (1981)

• What’s Bred in the Bone (1985)

• The Lyre of Orpheus (1988)

These works delve into art, heritage, immortality, and the mystical underpinnings of creativity.

Later Works

• Murther and Walking Spirits (1991)

• The Cunning Man (1994) — his final novel, about Dr. Jonathan Hullah, a holistic physician and man of mysteries, combining medicine, religion, literature, and spiritual inquiry.

Davies also produced essays, criticism, dramatic works, and posthumous collections: Happy Alchemy (1997) — a compilation of his speeches, reviews, and unpublished essays on theatre and music — and The Merry Heart (1996).

His essay collections and critical works (e.g. A Voice from the Attic) are still respected for their insight into reading, literature, and the role of the author and reader.

Themes, Style & Intellectual Approach

Psychological and Mythic Depth

Davies was deeply interested in Jungian psychology and often used its archetypes, symbols, and theories in his fiction. Reality and myth intermingle in his narratives, enabling characters to explore inner depths.

The Role of Story & Mystery

He believed in the power of story to reveal things beyond the rational. Many of his novels incorporate mystery, ritual, art, and fate. He often allowed ambiguity and multiple layers of meaning.

Canadian Identity & Cultural Context

While dealing with universal themes, he situated much of his work in Canadian settings — small towns, academic institutions, cultural tensions in Canada — reflecting on national character, cultural maturation, and the struggle to reconcile provincial life with global artistic ambitions.

Humor, Wit & Erudition

Davies’s prose is known for its wit, cleverness, and erudition. He could shift registers — from solemn reflection to playful satire — sometimes in the same passage. His character dialogues often sparkle with intellectual energy.

The Intellectual as Public Figure

He saw the role of the writer not simply as an isolated artist but as part of a cultural dialogue: a moral and spiritual commentator, teaching and entertaining, pushing the public toward reflection and greater cultural awareness.

Personality & Legacy

Davies was known for his humane, generous spirit, his wide-ranging curiosity, his ability to lecture and engage audiences, and for bridging the roles of novelist and public intellectual. He relished the title “man of letters”, though he recognized its declining status.

Though he never learned to drive, his wife Brenda drove him to events and engagements.

He died on December 2, 1995, in Orangeville, Ontario, leaving behind a rich corpus of fiction, essays, and a vibrant influence on Canadian culture.

Davies’s influence persists in Canadian literature, in the way later writers engage myth, psychology, identity, and narrative ambition. His works are studied in courses of Canadian literature, comparative fiction, and creative writing programs, and his essays continue to be cited by readers and writers interested in the nature of reading, creativity, and culture.

Famous Quotes

Here are several notable quotations from Robertson Davies, reflecting his wit, perceptiveness, and philosophy:

• “The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.”

• “A truly great book should be read in youth, again in maturity and once more in old age, as a fine building should be seen by morning light, at noon and by moonlight.”

• “Authors like cats because they are such quiet, lovable, wise creatures, and cats like authors for the same reasons.”

• “Extraordinary people survive under the most terrible circumstances and they become more extraordinary because of it.”

• “Our age has robbed millions of the simplicity of ignorance, and has so far failed to lift them to the simplicity of wisdom.”

• “What we call luck is the inner man externalized. We make things happen to us.”

These lines capture Davies’s recurring concerns: perception and understanding, time and change, the nature of greatness, and the interplay between inner life and outward circumstances.

Lessons from Robertson Davies

1. Cultivate imaginative openness
   Davies models a kind of reading and writing open to mystery, paradox, and the unseen dimensions of life — not everything must be spelled out rationally.

2. Blend intellect and soul
   His works show that erudition and spiritual longing need not be opposed: deep thinking and wonder can coexist in art.

3. Embrace ambivalence and ambiguity
   Rather than force neat resolutions, Davies often leaves space for interpretation — life (and literature) is richer when mystery remains.

4. See ordinary settings as portals
   He uses familiar small-town and academic settings, but opens them into deeper mythic or psychological terrain — reminding us that wonder can exist in everyday life.

5. The writer as cultural interlocutor
   He embraced the role of critic, teacher, provocateur — not merely entertainer — believing literature has responsibilities beyond itself.

6. Read (and reread) across life stages
   His famous quote about reading a great book at youth, maturity, and old age suggests that our interpretive lens evolves—and we as readers evolve.