Remains of the Day: Steven's Dignity and Respect
In the novel The Remains of the Day there is a recurring theme of dignity and respect. There is the dignity of Stevens and the people that he meets along the way on his journey across the English countryside. He also comes to the realization that his former lord may not have been the man he thought he was. The most profound form of dignity is that of Stevens, in being an English Butler he has been raised to do his job in one way. He is supposed to be the proper gentleman never letting anything faze him or distract him from his work. When he does his job he feels dignified because it's all he has ever known how to do. "Dignity, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is "a composed and serious manner/style, the state of being worthy of honor or respect"." Stevens by this definition is a very dignified person. His manner is always that of a serious style. So much so that he doesn't even know how to banter with the people that he meets as he travels the English countryside. He has no human contact with any of the people that he has known in his life. He does his job so dutifully that he isn't even by his father's side as his father is slowly dying in his upstairs room. He stays at his post as his father instructed him all through his youth. At this point in the novel you get the feeling that Stevens has no human feelings at all. He's only about his duties that have been put forth to him in his position as the head butler of the household. He finds that in his duties he cannot become emotionally attached to anything around him. This includes Ms. Kenton, who he has feelings for but cant do anything about them because of his raising. His position forbids him to ever be with Ms. Kenton, at least in his mind. Stevens by the "rules" dictated to him by his father is supposed to be a hollow shell. He's not supposed to banter with the butlers from other households while in the back rooms. He's not allowed to be friendly and open with his household staff because he'll lose
Bibliography: 1. http://www.123helpme.com/assets/3331.html 2. Dr. Gregory O 'Dea UC Foundation Associate Professor of English, UTC Copyright, 1995. 3. Movie review by Roger Ebert, http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/ebert_reviews/1993/11/887689.html Date of publication: 11/05/1993