Plot introduction

Like Ishiguro's previous two novels, the story is told from the first person point of view with the narrator recalling his life through a diary while progressing through the present. Events in the narrator's contemporary life remind him of events from his past. The novel was Ishiguro's first not based in Japan or told from the point of view of a Japanese person, although his first novel, !ale "iew of #ills, was told from the point of view of an elderly Japanese woman living in $ritain and recalling her past in Japan.

[edit] Explanation of the title

%. &The 'emains of the (ay& refers to evening, when a person can reflect on a day's work. Evening is symbolic for older age, when one can look back and assess one's life work. $ut &remains& also suggests what is left after a wreck, and it may be suggesting that this life was wrecked. %. &The 'emains of the (ay& also refers to the last vestiges of )reat $ritain's grand houses. *. t the end of novel, +tevens reflects on the &remains of my day&, referring to his future service with ,r. -arraday.

[edit] Plot summary

The novel The Remains of the Day tells the story of +tevens, an English butler who dedicates his life to the loyal service of Lord (arlington .mentioned in increasing detail in flashbacks/. The novel begins with +tevens receiving a letter from an e0 co1worker called ,iss 2enton, describing her married life, which he believes hints at her unhappy marriage. The receipt of the letter allows +tevens the opportunity to revisit this once1 cherished relationship, if only under the guise of possible re1employment. +tevens' new employer, a wealthy merican, ,r. -arraday, encourages +tevens to borrow a car to take a well1earned break, a &motoring trip.& s he sets out, +tevens has the opportunity to reflect on his unmoving loyalty to Lord (arlington, the meaning of the term &dignity&, and even his relationship with his father. 3ltimately +tevens is forced to ponder the true nature of his relationship with ,iss 2enton. s the book progresses, increasing evidence of ,iss 2enton's one1time love for +tevens, and his for her, is revealed. 4orking together during the years leading up to 44II, +tevens and ,iss 2enton fail to admit their true feelings. ll of their recollected conversations show a professional friendship, which came close, but never dared, to cross the line to romance. ,iss 2enton, it later emerges, has been married for over *5 years and therefore is no longer ,iss 2enton, but ,rs. $enn although admits to occasionally wondering what her life with +tevens might have been like has come to love her husband, and is looking forward to the birth of their first grandchild. +tevens muses over lost opportunities, both

with ,iss 2enton and with his long1time employer, Lord (arlington. t the end of the novel, +tevens instead focuses on the &remains of 6his7 day&, referring to his future service with ,r. -arraday.

[edit] Characters in "The Remains of the Day"

+tevens 8 the narrator, an English butler who serves in (arlington #all ,iss 2enton 8 housekeeper, after her marriage ,rs. $enn Lord (arlington 8 the previous, and now deceased owner of (arlington #all 4illiam +tevens .,r. +tevens senior/9 the now deceased father of the narrator +tevens ,r -arraday 8 the new merican employer of +tevens :oung ,r ;ardinal 8 a <ournalist and the son of one of Lord (arlington's closest friends (upont 8 -rench politician who attends (arlington's conference.

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[edit] Themes
[edit] Dignity
The most important aspect of +tevens' life is his dignity as an English butler. +uch aspects of refined dignity, especially when applied under stressful situations, are, to +tevens, what define a &great butler.& s such, +tevens constantly maintains an inward and outward sense of dignity in order to preserve his own identity. These philosophies of dignity, however, greatly affect his life, largely in regards to social constraints, loyalty and politics, and love and relationships. $y preserving dignity at the e0pense of such emotions, +tevens, in a way, loses his sense of humanity in regards to his own personal self. +tevens primary struggle within the novel is how his dignity relates to his own e0periences, as well as the role his dignity plays in the past, present, and future.

[edit] !ocial constraints

The novel does not present the situation of +tevens as simply a personal one. It seems clear that +tevens' position as butler, and servant, has gradually made it impossible for him to live a fulfilling emotional life. #is father dies, and +tevens is too occupied with worrying about whether his butlering is being carried out correctly. +tevens too cannot bring himself to e0press feelings about personal matters, as e0pressing such emotions would compromise his dignity.

The social rules at the time were certainly a ma<or constraint. s we see in the book, servants who wish to get married and have children immediately find themselves without a <ob, since married life is seen as incompatible with total devotion to one's master. truly &great butler& does not abandon his profession, and, as such, +tevens feels that such choices are foolish in regards to the life of a butler.

[edit] "oyalty and politics

+tevens is shown as totally loyal to Lord (arlington, who, we slowly reali>e, is involved with friends of #itler. +tevens is certainly =uite incapable of believing his master to be wrong in this, as Lord (arlington's upbringing and heritage emit a certain type of dignity that is 'ascended' above and beyond +tevens' own.

[edit] "ove and relationships

+tevens is dimly aware of ,iss 2enton's feelings, but fails to reciprocate. It is not only the constraints of his social situation, but also his own emotional maturity that holds him back. (uring their time spent at (arlington #all, +tevens chose to maintain a sense of dignity, as opposed to searching and discovering the feelings that e0isted between him and ,iss 2enton. ?onetheless, the lovers en<oy each other's company .the cup of cocoa every evening/ and find drama, if not intimacy, in the little games they play.