BOOK REVIEW: The Remains of the Day: Portrait of Stevens the English Butler and His Love Story
by Wang Yan
Some people may not be fond of love stories, especially tragic ones. It can be a torture to see the lovers waving goodbye to each other, misty-eyed, risking a lifetime departure.
This time again, lovers waved goodbye in The Remains of the Day, third novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, a Japanese writer. Ishiguro's former stories are all Japan-based, and this is the first one with an English background.
The novel shows consistency in his writing style. Told from the first person point, the story concerns life of an aging butler, Stevens, who has spent thirty years in service at Darlington Hall. Stevens is definitely a competent butler, following every order of his master and always placing the the interest of the family in the first place. When he has been assigned to the job, Mr. Stevens, son of the previous butler, devotes almost everything to this career, including his relationship with the woman he had long loved at heart, Miss Kenton.
Mr. Stevens and Miss Kenton's love story is not exciting, but moving. To me, their reserved but sincere love is like a fossil, hard, emotionless, but is always there to stay.
But they never really got together.
On Kenton's side, the question is: is it true that to love is to tolerate? She accepts everything, whether good or not, from her lover and she does not intend to put burden on Stevens. Once her beloved Stevens wants to pursue his "real meaning of life", she lets him go, even though he may no longer be by her side. Stevens regards his work and responsibility towards the family as the most important thing. He is brave enough to sacrifice his name of a "gentleman" (which was extremely important to a butler like him) in protecting his master’s honor, but doesn't dare to admit his love towards Miss Kenton even when being asked.
So he lets her go, when he is informed that she is marrying another man. "I'm not the one for her. She might be happier with another person." And that is the best he could be.
Mr. Stevens is a good person and a good butler, but he has sacrificed too much to earn this name. What has he got in the end? Unable to accompany his own father when he was dying and losing the woman he loved most in return for gentleness and loyalty, he allowed some of the most unimaginable things to happen in his life.
Mr. Stevens could be qualified as a good son, since his father, being a butler himself, might understand his choice. Yet he could never be referred as a good lover. Stevens has tried his best to hide his feelings towards Miss Kenton, and even deliberately ignored her hint when she tried to express her love. In this relationship, he doesn't give anything.
While reading the book, I sometimes even wondered: is Mr. Stevens really in love with Miss Kenton?
One thing to be sure is that the character of Mr. Stevens is very well developed. This is also the reason why people would be sad about him losing Miss Kenton. From Care arises emotion. The two could have made a nice couple. But one cannot change the fate decided by character.
The book is interesting in terms of character study of Mr. Stevens. His traits, experiences and personalities are described in detail and balance. Ishiguro wrote his story with a controlled tone and carefully crafted language. Though inevitably affected by the author's Japanese heritage, the story reflects England's past and culture in a realistic way. Coming across the gap between two cultures is not an easy task for a writer, but Ishiguro succeeded. His Japan-based and England-based novels assured the readers his ability to handle the influences and lay out facts of both cultures.
Since the story is narrated by a traditional, serious-minded butler in the 19th century England, the associated language is, to be sure, mannerly, periphrastic and lenthy, displaying the author's talents in such kind of language.
Awarded the 1989 Booker Prize, The Remains of the Day deserves such credit.
Some people may not be fond of love stories, especially tragic ones. It can be a torture to see the lovers waving goodbye to each other, misty-eyed, risking a lifetime departure.
This time again, lovers waved goodbye in The Remains of the Day, third novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, a Japanese writer. Ishiguro's former stories are all Japan-based, and this is the first one with an English background.
The novel shows consistency in his writing style. Told from the first person point, the story concerns life of an aging butler, Stevens, who has spent thirty years in service at Darlington Hall. Stevens is definitely a competent butler, following every order of his master and always placing the the interest of the family in the first place. When he has been assigned to the job, Mr. Stevens, son of the previous butler, devotes almost everything to this career, including his relationship with the woman he had long loved at heart, Miss Kenton.
Mr. Stevens and Miss Kenton's love story is not exciting, but moving. To me, their reserved but sincere love is like a fossil, hard, emotionless, but is always there to stay.
But they never really got together.
On Kenton's side, the question is: is it true that to love is to tolerate? She accepts everything, whether good or not, from her lover and she does not intend to put burden on Stevens. Once her beloved Stevens wants to pursue his "real meaning of life", she lets him go, even though he may no longer be by her side. Stevens regards his work and responsibility towards the family as the most important thing. He is brave enough to sacrifice his name of a "gentleman" (which was extremely important to a butler like him) in protecting his master’s honor, but doesn't dare to admit his love towards Miss Kenton even when being asked.
So he lets her go, when he is informed that she is marrying another man. "I'm not the one for her. She might be happier with another person." And that is the best he could be.
Mr. Stevens is a good person and a good butler, but he has sacrificed too much to earn this name. What has he got in the end? Unable to accompany his own father when he was dying and losing the woman he loved most in return for gentleness and loyalty, he allowed some of the most unimaginable things to happen in his life.
Mr. Stevens could be qualified as a good son, since his father, being a butler himself, might understand his choice. Yet he could never be referred as a good lover. Stevens has tried his best to hide his feelings towards Miss Kenton, and even deliberately ignored her hint when she tried to express her love. In this relationship, he doesn't give anything.
While reading the book, I sometimes even wondered: is Mr. Stevens really in love with Miss Kenton?
One thing to be sure is that the character of Mr. Stevens is very well developed. This is also the reason why people would be sad about him losing Miss Kenton. From Care arises emotion. The two could have made a nice couple. But one cannot change the fate decided by character.
The book is interesting in terms of character study of Mr. Stevens. His traits, experiences and personalities are described in detail and balance. Ishiguro wrote his story with a controlled tone and carefully crafted language. Though inevitably affected by the author's Japanese heritage, the story reflects England's past and culture in a realistic way. Coming across the gap between two cultures is not an easy task for a writer, but Ishiguro succeeded. His Japan-based and England-based novels assured the readers his ability to handle the influences and lay out facts of both cultures.
Since the story is narrated by a traditional, serious-minded butler in the 19th century England, the associated language is, to be sure, mannerly, periphrastic and lenthy, displaying the author's talents in such kind of language.
Awarded the 1989 Booker Prize, The Remains of the Day deserves such credit.
2 Comments:
At 6:54 AM , Anonymous said...
As your review mentions, 'Remains of the Day' is about the price one man pays for behaving as a loyal English gentleman. But it could also be interpreted as criticising Japanese ideas of loyalty (after all, the writer is Japanese, and loyalty is a very strong concept in Japan, even now).
In fact, the book is set in the 1930s, just before World War II. This is a period when it probably would have been better if Japanese had questioned their unthinking loyalty to their leaders. Perhaps this is one of the indirect messages of the book.
So, following this author's example, in future we can maybe look forward to a Chinese writer's novel set in the UK, but which is also indirectly about the Cultural Revolution. Such are the benefits of globalisation.
At 11:16 PM , Anonymous said...
You are bring out a very fresh point. I find it really interesting. Every country has to think about its deeds seriously and critically, so that the old mistakes will not be made again. It is true with Japan, and it is true with China.
Thank you for your comment!
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