In pursuit of wisdom : the importance of education in the novels of Robertston Davies.
Date
1989
Authors
Paul, Karin Elizabeth
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Abstract
This thesis explores Robertson Davies' philosophy of education as he presents it in his novels. It focuses specifically on the motifs of the educator and the pupil to be educated, on the nature of Davies' "ideal" education, and on the consequences of such an education. Until now, tremendous attention has been focused on Davies' dominant theme of self-knowledge without recognizing within this theme the notion of the "right" kind of formal education as a key to attaining that self-knowledge. The topic of education has always been an important concern of Davies--an issue on which he has held a consistent view for forty years. In 1942 he wrote that the purpose of education is to make people "interesting"; forty three years later, he again states that the purpose of education is to "make life interesting, and fascinating, and alive .... " One might say that the larger purpose of all Davies' novels is to show how the "right" kind of education--his novels being part of that educational process--is designed to illustrate that there is more to life and the individual soul than people think.
The thesis consists of two parts. The first section provides a background of Davies' philosophy of life, of which formal education is a part; it outlines the roots of Davies' philosophy of education; and it gives a summary of his ideas on education as they are presented in his non-fiction. The second part focuses on three integral compenents of education as they are presented in Davies' fiction: the teacher, the student, and the school. Each chapter addresses the effect that poor or good schools, students, and teachers have on gaining insight. The thesis concludes by discussing a pattern of characteristics that Davies believes are essential elements of an ideal education--one which helps the learner gain self-knowledge and insight.