the remains of the day de kazuo ishiguro

Miss Kenton immediately proved herself to be stubborn and headstrong when Stevens asked her to address his father formally, even though she was technically in a position above him, she began pointing out a number of mistakes and examples of absent-mindedness on the part of his father. She was hired around the same time as his father, whose long-time employer had just died. He thinks back to when he first met Miss Kenton, in 1922. Benn-will actually agree to return he’s received some letters from her in which she seems unhappy, even desperate. The next day Stevens wonders whether or not Miss Kenton-who now, he reminds himself, uses her married name, Mrs. He recalls a number of anecdotes that he thinks prove his father’s dignity. Stevens turns to his own father (who was a butler himself) as one example of someone who was a great butler-that is, who embodied the dignity of the profession. Stevens also reflects on what it means to be a “great” butler, recalling a number of conversations he’s had with other butlers over the years. On his first day of travel, Stevens reflects on the greatness of English scenery-scenery which he believes to be all the greater precisely because it is subtle and not as “magnificent” as the landscape of other countries.

Stevens has been making a few errors in running the household- mistakes he dismisses as minor-but he thinks Miss Kenton’s return might help him resolve them.

Although he’s initially unsure, he finally decides he will take the trip: it will give him the chance to pay a visit to Miss Kenton, who used to be Darlington Hall’s housekeeper, but who married and left several decades ago. As a result, Stevens is still learning to banter and joke, which he thinks of as a professional skill he should develop. Farraday’s casual, informal manner is unfamiliar to Stevens, who had served for many years under a traditional English aristocrat, Lord Darlington. Farraday, is returning to the United States for a visit, and Farraday has suggested that Stevens take some time off. Stevens, a butler at an old English country house called Darlington Hall, is preparing to take a short trip through the English countryside.

The remains of the day de kazuo ishiguro