The Remains of the Day II

ashley8 said...
As the book progresses, Stevens continues to allow his thoughts about Darlington Hall consume every aspect of his trip, which leads me to still believe that he is trying hard to hide very deep emotions. I am also beginning to wonder if he has embarked on this trip in order to discover something or to receive closure on certain situations. I agree with jlam09 with the idea that Stevens is using work as an excuse to visit Miss Kenton. Stevens finally admits that “one has to remember there is nothing stated specifically in Miss Kenton’s letter … to indicate unambiguously her desire to return to her former position” (140) and I speculate that this was the first time Stevens admitted this to himself, because as the day comes to an end, he really begins to put some deep thought into the details of Miss Kenton’s letter. Coincidently, this revelation comes about before he is to meet her within forty-eight hours, so he will probably use timing as another excuse as for why he did not call off the trip and go back to Darlington Hall.

Stevens seemed to have a closer relationship with Miss Kenton than he had with any other employee at Darlington Hall, but at the same time, they argue and seem to get under each others skin the longer the work together. For instance, Stevens was relaxing in his pantry, reading a romance novel when Miss Kenton unexpectedly entered the room. She was curious as to what Stevens was reading so she tried to grab the book from Stevens and suddenly, “the atmosphere underwent a peculiar change – almost as though the two of us had been suddenly thrust on to some other plane of being altogether.” (167). Their interaction and others such as those throughout the book thus far cause me to wonder, such as babaloo has, as to why Stevens wants Miss Kenton to return to work at Darlington Hall. It is clear that Stevens is the type of person who likes things to be very private and Miss Kenton does not seem to respect those boundaries. At the same time, when Miss Kenton advanced towards Stevens they made an unusual connection, and although Stevens says he is unable to understand what that interaction meant, I believe that Stevens may have feelings that go beyond a professional level for Miss Kenton but he is just too afraid to succumb to those feelings. If Stevens is searching for something more in their relationship, hopefully Miss Kenton feels the same way about him and he is not over analyzing the contact he recalls they made throughout the years they worked together, just as he may have done while reading her letter.

In earlier sections of the book, Stevens stated that Miss Kenton had gotten a divorce after a couple of years of marriage and I found that really ironic because as Stevens reminisced about Darlington Hall, he remembered the time when Lord Darlington asked Stevens to fire two Jewish maids simply because they were Jewish. After doing so, Miss Kenton and Stevens searched for a replacement and they found Lisa. Although she was not very qualified, they hired her anyway and Miss Kenton invested a tremendous amount of energy into making her an amazing housekeeper. Suddenly, Lisa ran off with the second footman because she proclaimed to be in love. Miss Kenton was extremely upset and she said that Lisa was “foolish” (159) and that “she’s bound to be let down” (159). Although Lisa and the second footman did not know each other for a very long time before they ran away together, I feel that Miss Kenton and Stevens are so consumed with their jobs that they cannot truly sympathize with Lisa’s feelings. Over the years, they have allowed themselves to become too afraid to take any risks and to experience life for what it’s worth - like falling in love and exploring things that go beyond Darlington Hall. Even though Miss Kenton finally took a chance and got married she soon divorced, but I wonder if the man she has been waiting for all along is in fact Stevens. I wonder what is too come in later parts of the book of their relationship; I anticipate the idea of Stevens finally letting his guard down and allowing Miss Kenton to become closer to him on a level that goes beyond being professional.

July 23, 2008 3:16 PM