Remains of the day

Introduction: In this article, I’ll be examining the ideas of dignity, loyalty and nobility that the novel explores.

The novel Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro is a reflective novel. It explores many themes but the one I am going to elaborate about is the theme of dignity, loyalty and nobility. In this novel, the tone is controlled, the language is carefully crafted, and the themes revolve around the position of the individual within a society. The story takes place in July 1956, the same month and year as the Suez Crisis. The novel portrays the decline of the aristocracy and of the practice of keeping a large staff of house servants on English estates. It is staged alongside the histories of Great Britain and Europe in the years preceding and following World War II.
In the novel, the first person narrator, Stevens is a butler on the verge of retirement who takes on a journey to meet his former coworker, Miss Kenton. He also tries to come into terms with his past by remembering the time he spent in Darlington hall.

Idea of dignity:
Stevens’s Idea of dignity is one of the central themes of the novel. Stevens’s definition of dignity is quite different from that of the usual meaning. On one hand where dignity is referred to as being honourable and worthy, Stevens Idea is to completely suppress his emotions which leads to him losing Miss Kenton forever. To him, this kind of ‘dignity’ is the highest Ideal. He believes to be a great butler, one needs to have dignity which one can strive for throughout their career. He believes in professionalism which cannot be compromised at any cost and that’s what makes a great butler, but also adds that the ‘lesser butlers’ who don’t understand dignity will be swayed by the luxuries and etc and forget their professionalism. The fact that his idea of dignity is so misguided is sad because we are aware that he has always wanted great things from life but fails to take the right path in order to achieve his goals.
Stevens Idea of dignity is to follow all orders even if one doesn’t agree with it. For instance, Lord Darlington had ordered all the Jews to be stripped from their post and even though Stevens felt that it was an atrocious step to take, he still believed that following that order would be the right thing to do as he is a dignified professional. He knew that it was wrong and yet carried out because of blind loyalty.

Theme of loyalty:
We can see the theme of loyalty in Stevens by witnessing the way he always followed his employers orders even though he knew some were wrong. Mr. Stevens is so ingrained in his job to please his employer he almost becomes detached from his own self and becomes an extension of Lord Darlington. People always mentioned that his blind loyalty was like being a slave to Lord Darlington but he refused to believe all of it as he thought he was just being loyal to his employer. Stevens makes great sacrifices to dedicate his life to his understanding of dignity and professionalism. We can also see how his choice to blindly be loyal to Lord Darlington takes a toll on him and he breaks down in front of a stranger as he cannot even state that the mistakes were his but he is aware that it’s his employers which makes him a bit sad. It was clear that Lord Darlington sympathised with the Nazis and was Hitler’s pawn in a diplomatic game to influence the British government. Even after being aware of this fact, Stevens remained loyal and stated that Lord Darlington was not a bad man but was just a victim to politics.
Stevens says that Lord Darlington was a courageous man. He chose a path in his life which he thought was right and even though it was a misguided one, he chose it for himself. He says, that’s something he can never say about himself. He always followed orders and did what was expected of him and due to that his personal life was lost. The blind loyalty makes him wonder about his life choices.

Theme of nobility:
We can also see the theme of nobility in the novel. His role as a servant is fixed within the hierarchy of social classes left over from the Victorian and Edwardian eras. As a butler, his duty demands to be loyal to Lord Darlington. He followed his fathers footsteps who was also a butler as it was a tradition of service without families. His position and duties as a butler are defined by the rules and customs that bind the servant class. The class conditions under which Stevens serve are rigid. It says that marriage interferes with service and If one is interested in marriage, they have to first quit the job and Stevens always strives to meet these standards. Later in life he realises that it was a grave mistake and he should’ve just followed his heart.