What is the main message of The Remains of the Day?
Dignity and Greatness The compound qualities of “dignity” and “greatness” pervade Stevens’s thoughts throughout The Remains of the Day. Early in the novel, Stevens discusses the qualities that make a butler “great,” claiming that “dignity” is the essential ingredient of greatness.
Is Stevens in love with Miss Kenton?
As the work progresses, two central themes are revealed: Lord Darlington was a Nazi sympathizer; and Stevens is in love with Miss Kenton, the housekeeper at Darlington Hall, Lord Darlington’s estate.
What does Miss Kenton say when Stevens asks her about her letter?
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.
What does Stevens regret Remains of the Day?
Regardless of their origin, his shyness and social awkwardness become a source of regret as Stevens looks back on his life throughout the novel, and much of his regret has to do with things that went unsaid and events that could have gone otherwise—although how they could have, given the rigidness of his character.
What themes are in remains?
The key themes of the poem include violence, guilt, conflict and the effects of war.
Why is Remains of the Day so good?
The Remains of the Day does that most wonderful thing a work of literature can do: it makes you feel you hold a human life in your hands. The Remains of the Day is a book about a thwarted life. It’s about how class conditioning can turn you into your own worst enemy, making you complicit in your own subservience.
Who is Miss Kenton in Remains of the Day?
Miss Kenton is the former head housekeeper of Darlington Hall; she and Stevens’s father were hired at the same time. Miss Kenton is Stevens’s equal in efficiency and intelligence, but she has a warmth and personality that Stevens never displays.
Is Stevens in The Remains of the Day autistic?
Stevens is the kind of character that I love to diagnose (I suspect autism spectrum), but to diagnose him would solving the riddle of Stevens too soon. Diagnosing him might also mean missing those few, subtle moments where we see flashes of emotion from Stevens in which he reveals regret and loneliness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7zuFF6sHig