Wednesday, May 9, 2007

The Remains of the Day

84 Charring Cross Road led me to another old favourite: The Remains of the Day. Exceptionally poignant and thought-provoking, I remembered being extremely amazed at the "English-ness" of this Japanese authour. And as other great books have been, this was translated into the silver screen starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thomson in the lead, supported by the late Christopher Reeve, Hugh Grant and Ben Chaplin. But as all adaptations go, reading the book is my recommendation. It won the Booker's Prize in 1989.


Kazuo Ishiguro once said the following of his desire to write: "I'm always trying to remind myself that while we may be very pleased with ourselves, we may one day look back with a different perspective and ask whether we may have acted out of cowardice or failure of vision. What I'm interested in is not the actual fact that my characters have done things they later regret. I'm interested in how they come to terms with it."

The above is an excellent description of what's going on in The Remains of the Day: Mr Stevens, a repressed butler in post-WWII England, is forced near the end of his career to re-examine his entire life. Although there are certainly a number of interesting subplots that keep you asking "what happens next?," the central action of the story revolves around Stevens' attempts to salvage for himself some of the 'dignity', 'greatness' and 'satisfaction' that he had, until recently, been so sure he had achieved over the years - both on the professional and personal front. He was advised by his new employer to have a vacation and while Stevens sets off on a journey to the West Country, intending to visit one Miss Kenton, his colleague on the house staff for many years before the war, the story began its narration in the first person, with Mr Stevens recalling the whole breadth of his career.

It is made more poignant when Mr Stevens, so wrapped up in ideas of 'duty' and 'dedication', speaks much about his career but little of the actual events that he has gone through. His love for Miss Kenton is deduced only through the actions and words of characters around him - and he relooked back with regret.


(1) On his unrealised love of Ms Kenton

She has aged, but very gracefully, and he is extremely pleased to see her again. It strikes Stevens that Miss Kenton seems to have lost the spark that used to make her so lively; when her face is in repose, he thinks that its expression is sad. Stevens and Miss Kenton filled each other in on their lives over the last twenty years...

The meeting goes on for two hours before Miss Kenton says she must return home. Stevens drives her to a bus stop a little way outside the village. While they are waiting at the bus station, Stevens asks Miss Kenton a question that he says has been troubling him for some time: he asks if she is being mistreated in some way, as her letters often seem unhappy. Miss Kenton says that her husband does not mistreat her in any way at all. Stevens says he does not understand why, then, she is unhappy. She tells him that for a long time, she did not love her husband, but that after having a daughter and going through the war together, she has grown to love him. However, there are times when she thinks she has made a great mistake with her life. She even says, "For instance, I get to thinking about a life I may have had with you, Mr. Stevens." But then she says that it is of no use to dwell on what might have been.

For the first time in the novel, Stevens appears to realize how much he loves Miss Kenton. Upon hearing her words about the possibility of a life they might have had together, he says that his "heart is breaking." He does not speak for a moment, but when he does, he only says that Miss Kenton is right: one cannot dwell on the past. He says that she must do all she can to ensure many happy years ahead with her husband and her grandchildren. Then the bus comes, and Miss Kenton leaves. Stevens sees that her eyes have filled with tears.


(2) On spending "what remains of the day"

Stevens says that Lord Darlington at least made his own mistakes, but says that he himself cannot even claim that, because he trusted Lord Darlington so completely. Stevens does not think that there is much dignity in such an action—not even being able to say he has made his own mistakes. The man seated next to Stevens tells him not to look back so much because it will only make him unhappier. Then he says that the evening is the best part of the day for most folks. Stevens agrees, and apologizes for crying. He decides to make the best of "what remains of my day."


(3) On bantering

The first thing he will work on upon his return to Darlington Hall is bantering: he hopes, when Mr. Farraday comes back, that he will be able "to pleasantly surprise him." "Perhaps, in bantering, lies the key to human warmth"


This final section of The Remains of the Day is incredibly sad, as Stevens never tells Miss Kenton that he loves her because he feels that it is too late. This meeting is the climax of this novel. Listening to her talk about her husband and her daughter has made him realize how much time has passed, and how much opportunity lost. Stevens does ask Miss Kenton if she has ever thought of working again; she replies that she has, but now that she is going to have a grandchild, she wants to be nearby. Though Miss Kenton's words crush Stevens's last hope of her ever returning to Darlington Hall, he, of course, never even says to her that he was hoping she would do so. Stevens's last and largest hope has now been shattered, compounding the other losses and regrets that seem to have characterized much of his life.

When Miss Kenton voices regret at not spending her life with Stevens, it makes him realize how much better it would have been for both of them if they had been the ones to marry. It is at this point that Stevens tells us that his heart is breaking—an astounding revelation from a character who gives virtually no evidence of any emotion at all during the course of the novel.

Stevens finally breaks down during the evening when he is sitting on the pier, reaching at last the realization that he has deluded himself throughout his entire life. It is in this part of the novel that Stevens's role—his mask as a perfect, poised butler—crumbles, and his real self—a sad, disillusioned man—takes over the story.

It is not clear, in the end, the extent to which Stevens realizes he has deceived himself. After all, as he never has known anything outside of his own limited existence, it may be difficult, if not impossible, for him to fully appreciate what he has missed, just as someone who is born blind would never miss seeing color. Indeed, despite its slightly optimistic ending, The Remains of the Day remains, on the whole, a tragic story of regret and missed opportunity.


Have you had missed opportunities in your lives?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

The moral of the story is "seize the day"!

Anonymous said...

I guess it is even harder to seize that kind of opportunity, when you have this perception of life, that everything has to be perfect and charmed and pretty... and you create this image of yourself which is all perfect and no one actually knows what's going on inside your mind, except, yourself.

Anonymous said...

Salam,

Ezee, that's so profound. It strikes a chord within. We have been corrupted by visions of grandeur and perfection... and anything less is not good enough... but what they truly are... mere illusions in our minds... mere illusions....

wallahu a'alam...

wassalam.

Anonymous said...

This reminds me of another movie - My Best Friend's Wedding - where Julia Roberts is wanting to tell her best friend that she loves him, though he is marrying another girl the next day or something. Well, the moment came while they were on a ferry - a shadow was cast as they passed under a bridge - and the moment past, just like that. She kept her feelings in, and life kinda went on...

A vivid part of that movie that has stayed with me...

TheHoopoe said...

Solitas,

I love that scene too ... and as vividly the song which accompanies the scene, as originally sang by Frank Sinatra entitled: "The Way You Look Tonight"

Some day, when I'm awfully low,
When the world is cold,
I will feel a glow just thinking of you...
And the way you look tonight.

Yes you're lovely, with your smile so warm
And your cheeks so soft,
There is nothing for me but to love you,
And the way you look tonight.

With each word your tenderness grows,
Tearing my fear apart...
And that laugh that wrinkles your nose,
It touches my foolish heart.

Lovely ... Never, ever change.
Keep that breathless charm.
Won't you please arrange it?
'Cause I love you ... Just the way you look tonight.

Mm, Mm, Mm, Mm,
Just the way you look to-night.

Anonymous said...

This is one of the books I've loved very much since my college days. (",)

All of us are Kentons & Stevens in some way or the other, i think.

I felt a sense of loss, to a certain extent, pity for Stevens after reading the book.

Sometimes the opportunities we have are @hand. But somehow, so near... yet so far. The human mind & character can work wonders; at the same time...too meander-ing as well. =)

TheHoopoe said...

Salam Faj,

I simply could not capture the intensity and electricity that passed between Stevens and Ms Kenton in that scene in the book.

It was so vivid that as if Ishiguro transported us to the presence of these two characters in the book, standing at the bus-stop as Ms Kenton boarded it, and the drizzling rain in that late evening. It was etched in my memory as clearly as I read the book eons ago.

It was missing in the film version, but no film maker - no matter how great - can bring such moments to life...

Exquisite ...

Anonymous said...

I must admit that at times, i was quite frustrated with the 2 characters.

Perhaps, I cannot fathom how something so intense can go by just like that; to a certain extent, causes such a 'pang' in the heart. (ada such a word tak?)

I shall go look for the film version & see how it stands out or pales in comparison with the book.

Anonymous said...

many years ago, i stood at the corner of a street in London, facing the apartment that my long distanced soul mate once resided. it was drizzling. i was standing there alone. it was a strange kind of satisfaction, comfort and happiness all rolled into one. the last time we met was after our O levels. now more than 15 years later, we both have moved on with our separate lives, but that closeness is still fresh in my heart. the soul mate never got replaced.

... hmm, maybe i watched too many movies that i confused my life with a movie scene... sigh :(

TheHoopoe said...

Dear Anonymous,

Soul mates remain soul mates. They do not get replaced nor do they perish. Many of us lived life without having one ... and that is unfortunate. You are lucky indeed. Alhamdulillah!

And that scene of drizzling rains in peaceful afternoons - transports us to places - in time.

But to remember those beautiful memories with a feeling of satisfaction, comfort and happiness and still feeling that closeness despite the years and the distance - subhanAllah! - that is perhaps the Paradise and epitome of human relationships.

You are indeed blessed. Although both of you have "moved on", life is a cycle - and soul mates will always be soul mates. The Earth is circular - and indeed you will meet him/her again, Amin.

MasyaAllah...

Anonymous said...

"Shall we compare our hearts to a garden -
with beautiful blooms, straggling weeds,
swooping birds and sunshine, rain -
and most importantly, seeds."
~Grey Livingston

Anonymous said...

dear hoopoe ... you are spot on. thank you to technology we met again in this virtual world. the bond after all these years is still strong, alhamdullilah. although life remains the same, the fact that the bond is now acknowledged is all that matters.

Anonymous said...

of missed opportunities.
outcome of uncertainty...?
the best route to be
is one guided
by the heart lighted by purity

~ Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.

The glorious Lamp of Heaven, the Sun,
The higher he's a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he's to setting.

That age is best which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times still succeed the former.

Then be not coy, but use your time;
And while ye may, go marry:
For having lost once but your prime,
You may forever tarry.

~to the virgins, to make much of time/ robert herrick

TheHoopoe said...

Anonymous ...

Masya-Allah ... and Alhamdulillah ... I am indeed happy for you :-)

May your bonds be strong forever ...

Perhaps an offer of sujud syukr to the Almighty may be in order. Wallahu'a'alam