The noble servant:

Kazuo Ishiguro’s ‘Stevens’ in The Remains of the Day

By Dilshan BOANGE

(Part 1)

Kazuo Ishiguro

The Booker prize winning novel The Remains of the Day by Japanese born British author Kazuo Ishiguro is a work which can be noted significantly for its portrayals of the politics of class and society. The novel which was adapted to film was nominated for eight Academy awards in 1993, starred Sir Anthony Hopkins in the lead role of Stevens the Butler.

Ishiguro’s novel has Stevens as the chief protagonist who presents a first person narrative mode and through whom a scheme of class based politics is presented that can be analyzed from a multitude of approaches. Stevens who had been the Butler to Lord Darlington and then following his employer’s eventual demise is in the employ of an American by the name of Farraday who purchases ‘Darlington Hall’ (the sprawling mansion and estate of the British nobleman).

It is from this point of his life that Stevens embarks to tell the reader the story while he is out on a motoring trip touring the English countryside. Through recollections captivatingly nostalgic, yet profound in its discerning of events and people, Stevens presents a wealth of knowledge and understanding of life, from a point of individuality, and also commenting on the complexities of the world.

Objective and purpose

The objective of this article series is to provide an exposition of Stevens and how his character may be analysed taking to account his perceptions (narrated from his point of view), and what sort of conceptions they may relate to in terms of institutionalism. An example of this would be the idea of ‘professionalism’ in relation to his occupation. Further, what Stevens holds as views related to society and politics will also be discussed from numerous perspectives and how they may be read in conjunction with certain theoretical concepts; for example the ‘centre-periphery’ theory aspect from the discipline of International Relations and Politics that manifests in Stevens’ notions of modern English society’s structure in a more ‘progressive’ development.

The approaches to develop an essay on ‘character analysis’ of a work of fiction that will unfold in this serialised article will no doubt be of value to those interested in literature with some academic interests. It is with these intentions in view that the character of Stevens will be discussed in this five part article which hopes to devise a study of sorts of Stevens in The Remains of the Day.

Identifying the ‘professional’

Stevens’ diction has been crafted by Ishiguro to a level of superlative articulateness that denotes an exponential command of language to render ones thoughts for optimum communicational clarity through the medium of the spoken word. Stevens presents an example of a person whose manner of speaking has not only a virtue of perspicuity but also great eloquence when the occasion suits.

Attributes of such nature as great command and fluency of a language can be viewed to denote a certain calibre of education. Yet the story does not indicate that Stevens had the privilege of any upper crust education and if that were so then his station (occupation wise) in life may seem rather ironic. The skill of language that Stevens presents through his narrative may be answered with some of the great ideals he holds as the core beliefs forming the personal philosophy he holds of life, and his own purpose of being in the world. One of the great ideals that is expounded and propounded with substantiation to the reader by Stevens is his belief of ‘professionalism’ that is required to be a ‘great Butler’. This line of thought takes a significant ground in formulating the portrait of Stevens’ mindset, and what he speaks to the reader as the aspirations he holds based not on whims and fancies but rational thinking.

When one thinks of the word ‘profession’ (which oft has a tendency to now expand to encompass many vocations and even avocations) in a Sri Lankan understanding, one is likely to wonder if the occupation of a Butler who is very much a servant in a household can be deemed within that scope. Indeed what does it mean to be a professional? And moreover what is a ‘profession’ ? The Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (Tenth edition) defines a profession as –“ a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation” and further describes –“ a principal calling, vocation, or employment” and the term ‘professional’ is defined as –“engaged in one of the learned professions –characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a profession –exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace”. By the elaborations of these dictionary definitions one can make a fair deducing of how definition wise the position of Butler as portrayed by Stevens may fit in with the more general conception of ‘professional’.

Although Stevens does not expressly state in the course of the narrative that he is the product of some specialized training that includes a certain amount of ‘academic’ learning at institutional level one finds a sense of adherence to standards maintaining and standardization of the occupations of a household staff by Stevens to the point it seems to him sacrosanct and not for compromise. It is without question a position of employment and therefore one of the fundamental tenets if fulfilled one may observe, and most certainly a ‘vocation.’

Conduct that defines, bespeaks of professionalism

Although there is question as to whether the role of Butler is one that is established with institutional certification (other than of course the credential of letters of reference/service by former employers) the manner and calibre with which Stevens executes his duties and devotes to the perfection of his performance certainly bespeaks of a professional mindset and attitude that does his position proud and accredits it with much admiration.

The Remains of the Day

The way in which Stevens conducts himself in the course of his work and conforms thoroughly with the ‘benchmarkers’ mentioned in the Webster’s dictionary definition –courtesy, conscientiousness, businesslike manner. And on the matter of academic training or knowledge development it seems, that on one hand the household of Darlington Hall seems like an academy for young servants who would be eager to develop themselves in their training to serve in upperclass households’ domestic staffs, and rise in designation. And especially under the diligent, conscientious guidance of one such as Stevens the aspect of ‘skill development’ is very well achieved to ‘professional’ standards being in the service of Darlington Hall which thereby seems very much a ground of training and like of an ‘academy’. The ‘specialized knowledge and skill’ involved in distinguishing a profession from another vocation as per the dictionary definition seems an area that is very much fulfilled as a criterion when the vocation of butler is considered according to what Ishiguro presents through the eyes of Stevens.

The laying out of cutlery and how silverware can be polished to a sheen that impresses visitors to remark on its exemplariness may seem trivial to us but yet these are markers that bespeak a high level of skill and specialized knowledge as indicated in the story. Interviewing applicants to positions in the household such as housekeeper, under-butler, maid, footman, and so on also come within the purview of the butler’s workload and is very much attributable with managerial functions that require a marked amount of skill and experience. And arguably it is supposable that one who is not equipped with a sense of ‘professionalism’ cannot effectively function in these capacities, regardless of whether he has academic accreditation or not.