The Remains of the Day

I'm afraid this book comes in at 3.5 stars for me, but I had to round down. Hold the rotten tomatoes! My rating does not mean that I didn't enjoy “The Remains of the Day.” I did! And I recommend it to others, especially those that enjoy character studies and interesting points of view. Yet, I did not leave the book with the sense that it was a masterpiece as I have often heard or that it was worthy of a major book award (side note - I am largely unimpressed by the Man Booker prize recipients and have been disgusted with a few in recent years). Also, I don't think the movie version, which was quite faithful in my memory, impacted my view of the book; in fact, it was an excellent adaptation and captured the pace, plot, and characters well.

Are we to believe that Stevens could exhibit that much grace under pressure/show must go on/stiff upper lip and show few cracks even in his inner monologue that we are privileged to view? Could the repression of emotions and choosing not to explore a life outside of service be entirely self-selected? In my opinion, no, as many signs point towards autism. Stevens rarely forms a real connection to anyone other than Miss Kenton, including his own father. Even then, he has real difficulty expressing his thoughts and feelings to her and ends up criticizing her when he intended to ask how she was doing after the death of a beloved aunt.

Stevens also exhibits an inability to empathize, to understand the emotions of others, or to banter. In some ways, this innate ability to retain a wall between himself and the staff below or his superiors above made Stevens ideal for the almost monk-like life of service expected from the butler of large, English country homes before World War II. While Stevens seeks to emulate not only his father, but also other great butlers of the English countryside, he moves further into exile and isn't able to answer the call to change his life. While he is comforted by routine, and, in fact, thrives on extreme order, are we sure Stephens ever feels at home in Darlington?

Some of the most touching moments occur when Stevens is merely sitting in a bench near a sweet pond or on a pier watching the lights go on as the sun falls. It is then that he becomes aware that both his inborn character and chosen path have left him lonely and regrets the path not taken with Miss Kenton.

Yet, could he truly have taken a different path? Consider Miss Kenton's threat to leave Darlington after two excellent understaff are let go for being Jewish. She later explains that she had nowhere to go, no well-off relatives to support her, or other positions (nearly impossible at that time without a written reference, especially for a housekeeper of a large home). Stevens was similarly limited. Perhaps, in addition to the inner boundaries, he was aware that leaving service meant that he would need to find an alternate livelihood, no mean feat in a time when educational opportunities were likely out of his reach and class distinctions played a much larger role.

Further fleshing out Stevens' possible autism is the specter of poor communication with others including the audience. It is not Stevens who tells the reader that he breaks into tears at the death of his father or when Mrs. Benn tells him that she thought she may have had a happier life with Stevens than with her husband; it is Lord Darlington or the stranger on the pier. Stevens even has problems communicating with himself, sometimes through fallible memories and other times due to single-minded focus on duty and dignity.

The old theme that the sins of the father are visited upon the son is also a current running through “The Remains of the Day.” The rigidity and inability to enjoy or, what's more, savor every moment have environmental and biological origins for Stephens, even if autism is an inaccurate assessment. Stephens' father chooses a life in service, never attaining the heights his son does, and yet was known for quality work. I wished for a little back story on both Stephens' father and his mother, who I don't think is even mentioned. It was unusual for someone to return to service after being married and having children, although not out of the question.

Lord Darlington is also somewhat of a father figure to Stephens. Is it surprising that Stephens would look up to Lord Darlington when we see that his own father (always referred to as Father in the third person) was not emotionally available? All three men make choices that ultimately leave them lonely in old age, left with feelings of failure. One wonders whether Lord Darlington truly made his own choices, or how much he was guided by others. Ultimately, we are not islands and are always guided by others and by our own limitations. On the last page, it seemed that Stevens, faced with no Miss Kenton in his future, begins thinking about how he can avoid the recent mistakes due to age and better satisfy his new employer, Mr. Farraday. Again, he turns back to the known, or as relatively familiar as working for an American unschooled in the upper class restraint Stevens is accustomed to.

Perhaps, for me, this book pales a bit after reading “The Door” by Magda's Szabo. While that book is also presented from the employer's point of view, I felt that every element of that novel more richly explored some similar themes (duty/success in work trumping personal relationships, inability to communicate or change at key moments).

All in all, the book is a meditative and interesting view into the quiet tragedy of a man unable to reach for fulfillment and is certainly worth a read.