A Personal Tragedy The professionalism of Stevens

■戴晨陽／寧波大學

Stevens is the protagonist and narrator in The Remains of the Day，which means that he is the crux and that it is inevitable to interpret him when we attempt to understand the novel. In my opinion， his professionalism is so entrenched and powerful that other ethical values are obscured and this can explain why his demeanor sometimes seems inhuman or emotionless. Namely， Stevens is not a heartless or merciless person but his feelings are extremely repressed by his distorted professionalism， the core of Stevens’ values impelling him to dedicate himself to his butler career，the crazy pursuit of which to a great extent leads him to tragedy. Next I will briefly interpret it. In order to explore its complex connotations， I divide it into three characteristics： dignity， loyalty and perfection.

一、Dignity

Stevens attaches much importance to dignity as the crucial point to judge whether a butler is great or not. In his viewpoint， “dignity has to do crucially with a butler’s ability not to abandon the professional being he inhabits”. A great butler should overcome all difficulties to carry out his duties so as to maintain his dignity， which is why he continues to work when his father is about to die and why he alienates Miss Kenton， both of whom are exactly obstacles on his way to becoming a excellent butler. Suppressing his emotions is also to maintain the dignity， as he mentions that great professionals “will not be shaken out by external events， however surprising，alarming or vexing.”

Stevens believes that his father is no doubt a respectable butler who manifests the dignity in keeping with his position. Therefore， the young Stevens feels unhappy when hearing Miss Kenton calls his father William. He thinks this appellation is a kind of disrespect to his father， which to some extent damages his father’s dignity. Afterwards， for the sake of his father’s dignity， he refuses to accept that the power of his adorable father is greatly diminished due to his age when Miss Kenton corrects some mistakes made by Stevens senior， which Stevens would rather describe as “most trivial of errors” .

It is true that dignity is important to everyone， especially those who have strong principles and norms， but Stevens is always trying to ignore some obvious truths so as to maintain that socalled dignity， which will only make the situation worse and worse. What he pursues is no longer dignity， but vanity indeed.

二、Loyalty

Stevens regards loyalty as“one quality essential in all good professionals”. He desires to realize his value by serving a wise and virtuous man loyally. Lord Darlington is exactly the one. Therefore， Stevens， who feels proud and grateful to be given such a privilege to work at Darlington Hall， exerts himself to satisfy his master as he once told Miss Kenton， “... my vocation will not be fulfilled until I have done all I can to see his lordship through the great tasks he has set himself.”

The incident of the dismissal of two Jewish maids fully demonstrates his understanding of loyalty. In considering the safety and well-being of Nazi guests，Lord Darlington intends to dismiss two Jewish maids on the staff in his house.Stevens indeed has a slight hesitation when first hearing that， for the two Jewish maids are both “perfectly satisfactory employees”. Even though his instinct opposes the idea of their dismissal，he defers to his lordship without any justification for them. Miss Kenton thinks the dismissal is totally unreasonable so she quarrels with Stevens for it， claiming that she will resign from her housekeeper and leave Darlington Hall if two Jewish maids are dismissed. However， Stevens is determined to obey the order and replies to her， “...we must not allow sentiment to creep into our judgment...our professional duty is not to our own foibles and sentiments， but to the wishes of our employer”.

It seems to be understandable that Stevens trusts in his lordship and respects his authority， but I think he is just blindly obedient to his employer because he is afraid of withstanding the consequences of his own decisions that Lord Darlington may have doubts about his loyalty as a butler. If he had opposed the dismissal， he could have advised his master discreetly or turned to Miss Kenton. With the help of Miss Kenton and his professional skills， probably Stevens can persuade Lord Darlington to change his mind， as Atkinson （1995： 206） has pointed out，“Had Stevens been willing to take that turn， Miss Kenton might have helped him craft a tactful， but firm， reply to Darlington， making things go much better for all concerned.” If not， then he could carry out the order. Conversely， Stevens is unwilling to take any risks， not even make an attempt. No matter whether the order is right or wrong， he never formulates his own strong opinions on his employer’s affairs and the only thing he can do is to obey.

三、Perfection

To Stevens， perfection is the quality of being perfect in the field of his butler career. It demands for high standards that he should master all skills that one great butler has， such as serving his lordship and guests， keeping the manor clean and tidy， being in charge of his subordinates，making plans for conferences. In essence，he attempts to ensure that the whole system works well and that everything is under control. That is why he sometimes criticizes Miss Kenton for her small mistakes at work.

Perfection impels him to set high standards and devote all his life to reaching them. At the end of the novel， he grieves for the decline in his professional ability， realizing the impossibility for him to be perfect again in the rest of his life.On the other hand， it is perfection that makes him extreme and relentless and that loses the last chance to improve the relationship with his father and gives up a romance with Miss Kenton during the process of pursuing dignity and loyalty.What he pursues is no longer dignity and loyalty， but exactly vanity and blind obedience.

四、Conclusion

Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day is a novel rich in ethical value through character delineation of the protagonist and narrator Stevens.

Affected by specific ethical environment， Stevens is greatly convinced that to be an outstanding butler is his most significant value in his life.Therefore， he sets high standards himself and begins to pursue the professionalism.The values of Stevens are complicated but his professionalism is so entrenched and powerful that other principles are overwhelmed when they are conflicted.In order to maintain the dignity of butler，he loses the last chance to improve the relationship with his father and gives up a romance with Miss Kenton. Even though he is capable of repressing his emotions well， he suffers from his selection absolutely. Then， he is blindly obedient to Lord Darlington， his lordship he dedicates himself to， consequently，becoming the optimal image of butler in his mind as well as a professional working machine.

Essentially， Stevens is an ordinary person who cannot determine his own destiny. When the ethical environment is changed， he is forced to change so as to adapt to the present environment in spite of his unwillingness. To be a great butler is the biggest dream he struggles for，but the fatal problem is that he sacrifices too much for his career without careful deliberation， implying that his story tends to be a tragedy. We can find Stevens is nothing but a perfect butler. If something threats his only ethical identity， he will become rather nervous and ultimately lose himself.

Stevens’ personal tragedy plays a role in moral teaching， instructing us not to obsess with single identity and early achievements. Meanwhile， we should not be extreme and stubborn in pursuit of dreams. It is certainly important to understand what we want to achieve，whereas we should know how to realize the value of life correctly： to be more discreet when making a selection and try to find some better and suitable solutions.

Under the restraint of the perverted professionalism， he becomes so numb and extreme that being a great butler is the only value in his whole life.

參考文獻：

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