Miss Kenton Remains Of The Day

Humans are emotional creatures. While some people are ruled by them, others learn how to control, and sometimes, suppress their emotions. In the book Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, the main character, Mr. Stevens, seems to be devoid of emotions. In one passage of the book Miss Kenton, the housekeeper, calls Mr. Stevens out saying, “Why, Mr. Stevens, why, why, why do you always have to pretend?”. Miss Kenton accuses Mr. Stevens of this because up until this point, she has not seen much of an emotional response from Mr. Stevens throughout their whole career. Miss Kenton is right that Mr. Stevens is pretending due to the fact that no person is born with an inherently professional attitude at all times; this is a learned habit. However,

Stevens is only pretending to be emotionless. Humans are born with emotions. This strange facet is part of what makes us human and separates us from other creatures. From her first days at Darlington Hall, Miss Kenton tries to make a connection with Mr. Stevens; she brings him flowers to brighten up his little pantry. However, he turns away her kindness. Miss Kenton knows that Mr. Stevens has emotions, and that he is hiding them under his professional butler mask. Miss Kenton witness one instance of emotion from Mr. Stevens the day his father died. Even though the days leading up to this were tense between Miss Kenton and Mr. Stevens due to a squabble about sheets, Miss Kenton was able to see this emotional part of Mr. Stevens and, therefore, was very gentle when dealing with him. She did her best to help him any way that she could. Even during that night, however, Mr. Stevens remained professional and, as he would say, dignified. He did not let his emotions interfere with his work. Mr. Stevens believes that dignity is what makes a butler great. His definition of dignity comes from a story that his father told many times about the butler that went with his master to India. In this story, a tiger gets into the dining room, and the butler arms himself with a gun and takes care of it. When he returns to his lord, all the butler says is, “‘Dinner will be served at the usual time and I am pleased to say there will be no

Stevens pretending. Mr. Stevens has been suppressing his emotions for most of his adult life, probably all of his adult life. When a muscle is not used, it atrophies. Perhaps, in Mr. Stevens case, the same principle applies. Mr. Stevens has learned to control his emotions so well, that he does not have much of an emotional response when it is appropriate to have one. Mr. Stevens did not learn how to compartmentalize his business life and his personal life. Instead, the two are just one, leaving absolutely no room for personal feelings. Just as with the only space in the house that Mr. Stevens claims as his, the pantry. In the pantry, there is nothing personal that would bring happiness or comfort to Mr. Stevens. Where other people might have pictures of family and loved ones or little nick knacks, Mr. Stevens does not want anything in there that could possibly distract him. When Miss Kenton first starts at Darlington Hall, she attempts to be kind to Mr. Stevens and bring him flowers in order to bring life into his little pantry. Unfortunately, he rebukes her kindness. Here is the conversation between Mr. Stevens and Miss