The Remains of the Day discussion

[oath_to_order]

We're starting with Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day.

I kind of want to make a pretty banner for the club, but I am not a graphic design major. Oh, well.

Comments

Day One

[superplatypus57]

OK, the big thing on Day One is obviously Stevens' discussion of 'dignity' and what it means to be a damn good butler. That said, I'm going to begin with something else. Why? Because I can. That's why.

I want to begin with the little anecdote of Stevens stopping to stretch his legs and ending up walking up a hill to "the best view in all of England". This was an interesting tidbit, but I am having some trouble nailing down why it's interesting. The whole sequence reads like a dream sequence which, like the scene in Empire Strikes Back when Luke goes into the cave on Dagobah to fight Vader/himself, implies some symbolic or allegorical significance to the piece. I am under the impression this book will feature themes of "personal ownership of nation and national identity" and "what that national identity is and how it is constructed" (themes are in quotes so you see how I'm grouping them). Yes, those are fairly vague terms, but I guess you can think of both of them as extensions of "democratic participation", which is involvement by the individual, who feels some sense of power or empowerment, in the makeup of his or her country or culture.

It's clear in the hill-walk-to-view story that Stevens is overwhelmed with pride for his country, and not just the countryside. I thought it interesting how he seems to make the case that England is not just better than any other country (you know: the countries he's never been to) but rather in a class all its own. I found this assurance-of-superiority-or-whatever-you-want-to-call-it ironic on two counts. (1) The story takes place in the 1950s. England has relinquished most of her colonies, and will grant independence to a few African countries in the early 60s. The Cold war is, um, heating up between the USA and USSR. England is no longer a serious political, economic, or cultural influence in the world. It is waning. Meanwhile, Stevens stands on a hill and says "We call this land of ours Great Britain, and there may be those who believe this a somewhat immodest practice. Yet I would venture that the landscape of our country alone would justify the use of this lofty adjective." (2) I got up to get some food halfway through writing that first point, and forgot my reasoning around my second point. It had something to do with Britain (Sorry, GREAT Britain) in the 1980s, when this book was published.

I also found the whole bit on 'dignity' ironic. It gives us a good deal of information on Stevens and his character, of course. Yet, he's making the point for a servant needing 'dignity' to be a great servant. The word choice I found ironic and a little humorous, but through the segment there's clear picture of what he means by 'dignity'. This is especially clear in that awesome tiger story. There was an interesting bit when he identifies Englishmen as the most apt to be great butlers. He says, "In a word, 'dignity' is beyond such persons. We English have an important advantage over foreigners in this respect and it is for this reason that when you think of a great butler, he is bound, almost by definition, to be an Englishman." Personally, Alfred from Batman sprang to mind. I thought it interesting how the people of a historically colonizing nation are models of great servants, rather than great masters. You can post-colonialism that, as you're more knowledgeable than I am.

I kept thinking, Did Stevens once have his own dignity, as a butler or as a person, impugned upon? Also, the motherfucker's on vacation and he's still thinking about nothing but work. Shit, son.

Edit: Also, somewhere in this chapter was a clear explanation for why Stevens was uncomfortable with Faraday's (sp? his master) sexual bantering, but I forgot where exactly. A kink meme of Faraday coming on to Stevens, Stevens being tight lipped (but only because his job demands him to be, apparently), Faraday making some bigger come on, then some big move like Stevens turning Faraday over onto his desk (spilling the tea!) and fucking him would be interesting. Yes: interesting.