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?