What is the message of Remains of the Day?
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.
What is the significance of the title The Remains of the Day for this novel?
The, ‘Remains’ part of the novel’s title, ‘Remains of the Day’, is a metaphor that refers to what is left of Stevens’ life. It also refers to Stevens’ recollections of the past, which can be compared to a rotting corpse, as that is all it is, the remains.
What is Steven’s only regret as the novel comes to the end?
Many of Stevens’s regrets have to do with his relationship to Miss Kenton; only at the end of the novel is it mentioned explicitly that she would have liked to marry him, but this has been clear long before, though the extent to which Stevens knew this, or understood even subconsciously, remains ambiguous.
What does Stevens see as the paramount virtue in a butler?
Regarding dignity as a virtue of being a butler, it would seem that Stevens qualifies as a virtuous character given his conscious appreciation for the importance and nuances of dignity.
What themes are in remains?
The key themes of the poem include violence, guilt, conflict and the effects of war.
Who is the main character in The Remains of the Day?
Miss Kenton
Mr. StevensLord DarlingtonReginald CardinalWilliam Stevens
The Remains of the Day/Characters
How does the remains of the day end?
The novel ends with Stevens on the pier at Weymouth, a stop on his way back to Darlington Hall… without Miss Kenton, er, Mrs. Benn.
Was Lord Darlington a real person?
He was the lord of Darlington Hall. Among his employees were the butler Stevens, his father, and the housekeeper Miss Kenton. During the 1930s, the Earl hosted numerous conferences and secret meetings between Germany, the United Kingdom, and other European powers in Darlington Hall. The Earl died around the late 1950s.
Does Stevens love Miss Kenton?
It gradually becomes clear that Miss Kenton is in love with Stevens, though she simultaneously finds him infuriating, and her decision to leave Darlington Hall is in part due to her frustration with his lack of response, as well as to her general impulsiveness.
What is Stevens first name in Remains of the Day?
William
Stevens whose first name is William is addressed as Mr. Stevens all the time because he wants to keep his relationship with other characters distant and impersonal.
How does Simon Armitage present guilt in Remains?
Guilt: the speaker in this poem is haunted by the guilt of taking another man’s life. He is upset by the fact that the man might have been innocent. This phrase is repeated in the poem, emphasising the speaker’s sense of discomfort at having killed another human being who may have been innocent.
What language techniques are used in Remains?
The language of the poem is anecdotal, which, along with the pace and rhythm, gives the sense the speaker is directly telling us his story. Slang such as ‘mates’ and colloquial language (such as ‘legs it’) is used throughout.
