The Remains of the Day III

ashley8 said...
Throughout the entire novel it became evident that Stevens allowed his profession to take over every aspect of his life and in doing so, he keep himself from being able to express his emotions. Stevens’ resistance to expressing his emotions forced him to be very distant and at times, he appeared as if he was better than others. For instance, Stevens was serving breakfast to Mr. Farraday when Mr. Farraday picked up his fork, examined it and placed it back on the table. Apparently something was wrong with the fork because Stevens thought “…being an American he failed to recognize the extent of the shortcoming...” (139). In addition, while on his trip, Stevens feels that he has “let oneself down” (160) because he “… allowed the Ford to run out of petrol … and the trouble yesterday concerning the lack of water in the radiator, it would be unreasonable for an observer to believe such general disorganization endemic to [his] nature.” (160) Stevens is very hard on himself and he doesn’t realize that everyone has car trouble and makes mistakes at their job once in a while, but those events are not enough reasons for him to feel as if he has let himself down. It seems that Stevens has put on a façade of being very professional and proper all of the time that doesn’t allow him to realize that he is just like everyone else and it is okay for him to make mistakes.

Due to the fact that one of the many duties as a butler is to wait on other’s and with Stevens so occupied with work, I feel that he has created a distorted self image. When Lord Darlington became increasingly involved in international affairs he began to take on the idea that the common individual was incapable of making decisions that would greatly affect their country. Throughout those events, Stevens began to believe that “… such great affairs will always be beyond the understanding of those such as you and I, and those of us concentrating on what is within our realm; that is to say, by devoting our attention to providing the best possible service to those great gentlemen in whose hands the destiny of civilization truly lies.” (199) Up to that point in the book, I felt that Stevens viewed himself as someone who put himself above those who are just like him, but comes second to those that are officials in his country. By always having to do for others, and strictly following the rules of a butler, I don’t think Stevens understands that he doesn’t have to just work within his realm and that he is capable of doing amazing things in his life. By always having to follow orders, I feel that Stevens is afraid to stand up for himself and for his beliefs. Just as he was when Mr. Spencer was implying that because Stevens was apart of the general public, he was incapable of making positive decisions for the country and also when Stevens was forced to fire the two Jewish housekeepers, even though he disagreed with Lord Darlington’s decision. If Stevens was able to find his true identity and he stopped hiding behind his profession, he would be able to live his life happily, and forget about the little mistakes he may make along the way.

In terms of Stevens and Miss Kenton’s relationship, I agree with jlam09 that after Miss Kenton told Stevens that she was engaged she seemed to want Stevens to give her any reason for her to call off the engagement. When she described her fiancé, she was very particular about the information she wanted Stevens to know, she even said “… his ultimate dream would have been to become butler of a house like this one” (172). I felt that Miss Kenton wanted Stevens to have a sense of empowerment over her fiancé because his dream was Stevens’ reality. Despite all of this, Stevens did not confess his feelings for Miss Kenton and even though it was disappointing, I was glad that Miss Kenton found a person that she loved and someone that loved her back. Although her marriage is far from perfect, with the many times she left her husband and the fact that she was not in love with him when they got married, Miss Kenton finally did something for herself and stopped waiting around for Stevens to say whether or not he was interested in her. Throughout Stevens and Miss Kenton’s relationship it always seemed as if Stevens wanted Miss Kenton to make the first move and to pursue him and now that she found someone who cared for her, it would have been wrong for Stevens to ask Miss Kenton to return to Darlington Hall with him. Despite the marital problems Miss Kenton was experiencing, I think that Stevens simply lost his chance and it was not his place to try and change her life now, just because he was finally ready to be in a more serious relationship with her.

Even though Stevens could have been upset that Miss Kenton was not going back to Darlington Hall with him, Stevens learned a valuable lesson from the man at the pier. The man advised him to “…adopt a more positive outlook and try to make the best of what remains of [his] day” (244) and that statement not only connects with the title of the book, but it leads many themes. The man was telling Stevens that regardless of the results of a hard day’s work, he cannot go back and change the outcome. The only thing that Stevens is capable of changing is the future and the way he learns from the mistakes that he makes at work and in his personal life. Although Stevens did not convince Miss Kenton to return to Darlington Hall with him, I think the lesson that he learned and the obstacles he faced throughout his trip allowed him to grow as a professional, but most importantly as a person.

July 27, 2008 3:57 PM