Summer Reading Analysis - The Remains of the Day, Part II

Reading through everyone's posts in this section, it appears to me that one common thread is the discussion of Stevens' lack of emotion. Throughout the book there has not been, to my recollection, a single instance noted where Stevens had a proper emotional response to some kind of stimulus. A few instances come to mind, namely the greatly-discussed scene of his father's passing, and the overreaction at Miss Kenton's inquiry regarding the book Stevens was reading in his quarters. To me, these demonstrate two opposite extremes on the "emotional response spectrum", the former being an instance where there seemed to be a deficiency in emotion and the latter, where he seems to have been overly-emotional.

Stevens goes to great lengths in this novel to describe the "qualities of a truly great butler", which everyone has noticed. I have a sneaky suspicion, due to the sheer number of times these qualities have been referenced, that this explanation for Stevens' odd emotional behavior might be something of a cover-up or an excuse. It just seems to me that in some instances, all of a completely social nature, Stevens has acted quite inappropriately. Instances where his occupation of being a butler should not even matter.

I am also referencing to the fact that Stevens seems to have difficulty performing what he calls witticisms, or the improper usage of said witticisms, or unrelated events such as his lying about his relationships with his former employer Lord Darlington. It seems to me that Stevens is either a socially awkward individual, or there is something deeper going on.

Thalp made an interesting point that seems to support the notion of Lord Darlington secretly supporting the motives of Nazi Germany. I don't know how I overlooked the connection between his firing of the Jewish employees and his wish for reparations on Germany to be stopped. Maybe I was fooled like everyone else? Or maybe his intentions were pure after all? Stevens' odd behavior seems to hint at some sort of deep, dark secret, but speculation can only go so far!