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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/remains_of_the_day.jpg]]
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Old picture was a picture of the book from someone's blog.
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/RemainsOfTheDay_7112.jpg]]
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/RemainsOfTheDay_7112.org/pmwiki/pub/images/remains_of_the_day.jpg]]
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Ishiguro now has a page here.
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''The Remains of the Day'' is an acclaimed 1989 novel by Japanese-born English author Kazuo Ishiguro, adapted into a 1993 James Ivory film starring Creator/AnthonyHopkins, Creator/EmmaThompson, Creator/HughGrant, and Creator/ChristopherReeve.
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''The Remains of the Day'' is an acclaimed 1989 novel by Japanese-born English author Kazuo Ishiguro, Creator/KazuoIshiguro, adapted into a 1993 James Ivory film starring Creator/AnthonyHopkins, Creator/EmmaThompson, Creator/HughGrant, and Creator/ChristopherReeve.
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* ArtisticLicenceHistory: A minor example: David Cardinal tells Stevens that the meeting Lord Darlington is hosting between Lord Halifax, Joachim von Ribbentrop, and the Prime Minister is intended to persuade the latter to visit Hitler in Berlin, and possibly to arrange a similar meeting between the Fuhrer and the newly-crowned king, who is regarded as pro-Nazi. The implication is that the Prime Minister is UsefulNotes/NevilleChamberlain and the king is Edward VIII, but Chamberlain became PM five months after King Edward had abdicated in favour of his brother. Either the Prime Minister was actually Chamberlain's predecessor, UsefulNotes/StanleyBaldwin, or Cardinal is implying that King George VI was pro-Nazi (which he definitely was not), or Ishiguro is engaging in a bit of artistic licence regarding dates. And that's not getting into the fudging of the dates of Lord Halifax' tenure as Foreign Secretary...
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* LastNameBasis: Stevens and Miss Kenton. He also insists that she refer to his father as Mr. Stevens Sr. although she would normally be entitled to use his Christian name due to being in charge of his duties.
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* LastNameBasis: Stevens and Miss Kenton.Kenton; in the book, we never even learn their first names. He also insists that she refer to his father as Mr. Stevens Sr. although she would normally be entitled to use his Christian name name, William, due to being in charge of his duties.
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* TheOneThatGotAway: Miss Kenton.
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* TheOneThatGotAway: Miss Kenton.Kenton is in love with Stevens during their service together at Darlington Hall, but he is too MarriedToTheJob to act on his own feelings for her (he also has a dim view of household staff who are not so professionally devoted). At the end of the book, Mrs. Benn (as she now is) says she has often regretted the lost opportunity for a happier life with Stevens instead of the merely adequate life she has had with her husband - a confession which breaks Stevens' heart, as he is forced to privately acknowledge that not telling her how he felt has proved a terrible mistake.
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* TwiceShy: A truly painful example.
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* TwiceShy: A truly painful example. Stevens and Miss Kenton are clearly in love with each other, but Stevens is too emotionally repressed (seeing it as part of the "dignity" central to his job description) to act on his feelings, leaving Miss Kenton to wait in vain for him to make the first move. Eventually, when it becomes clear he never ''will'' make the first move, she gives up and rushes into a whirlwind courtship and marriage with Mr. Benn. It isn't until she makes an offhand remark during her reunion with Stevens at the end of the book that she thinks she could have had a much happier life with him than she has had with Mr. Benn that he realises what he has lost by letting her get away.
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* InVinoVeritas: Stevens' last reminiscence of his service to Lord Darlington involves David Cardinal suddenly showing up on their doorstep asking if he could be put up for the night. The fact that his visit coincides with a secret meeting Lord Darlington is hosting between Neville Chamberlain, Lord Halifax, and Joachim von Ribbentrop arouses Stevens' suspicions, and eventually Mr. Cardinal has had enough to drink that he admits to Stevens that he is there in his professional capacity as a journalist to report on this latest development in the appeasement policy.
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* InVinoVeritas: Stevens' last reminiscence of his service to Lord Darlington involves David Cardinal suddenly showing up on their doorstep asking if he could be put up for the night. The fact that his visit coincides with a secret meeting Lord Darlington is hosting between Neville Chamberlain, Lord Halifax, and Joachim von Ribbentrop arouses Stevens' suspicions, and eventually Mr. Cardinal has had enough to drink that he admits to Stevens that he is there in his professional capacity as a journalist to report on this latest development in the appeasement policy. He tells Stevens that, thanks to the Nazis' manipulations of him, Lord Darlington is trying to persuade Chamberlain, and even the newly-crowned King Edward VIII, to visit Hitler, but Stevens simply isn't interested.
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* MarriedToTheJob: Stevens is, to the point where he believes he shouldn't be seen off-duty by anyone, at any time.
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* MarriedToTheJob: MarriedToTheJob:
** Stevens is, to the point where he believes he shouldn't be seen off-duty by anyone, at any time.
** Stevens is, to the point where he believes he shouldn't be seen off-duty by anyone, at any time.
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* NaziNobleman: Stevens claims that Lord Darlington disliked the British fascist movement and was not an anti-Semite. He did, however, like [[TheBaroness a certain member of the British Union of Fascists]] quite a bit, enough to start talking about "Jewish propaganda," stop giving money to a Jewish-run charity and tell Stevens to fire two Jewish housemaids.
* NoAccountingForTaste: Mr. and Mrs. Benn's marriage has never been a happy one (it is implied she rushed into it after losing patience with Stevens' emotional repression), and she admits to having left him several times, but she always returns to him.
* NoAccountingForTaste: Mr. and Mrs. Benn's marriage has never been a happy one (it is implied she rushed into it after losing patience with Stevens' emotional repression), and she admits to having left him several times, but she always returns to him.
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* NaziNobleman: Stevens claims that Lord Darlington disliked the British fascist movement and was not an anti-Semite. He did, however, like [[TheBaroness a certain member of the British Union of Fascists]] Fascists, [[TheBaroness Mrs. Carolyn Barnet,]] quite a bit, enough to start talking about "Jewish propaganda," stop giving money to a Jewish-run charity and tell Stevens to fire two Jewish housemaids.
* NoAccountingForTaste: Mr. and Mrs. Benn's marriage has never been a happy one (it is implied she rushed into it after losing patience with Stevens' emotional repression), and she admits to having left him several times, but she always returns to him, and she claims she has grown to love him.
* NoAccountingForTaste: Mr. and Mrs. Benn's marriage has never been a happy one (it is implied she rushed into it after losing patience with Stevens' emotional repression), and she admits to having left him several times, but she always returns to him, and she claims she has grown to love him.
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* NouveauRiche: Mr. Farraday.
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* NouveauRiche: Mr. Farraday.Farraday, the rich American who buys Darlington Hall (and its staff, including Stevens) after the death of Lord Darlington. Stevens never relates how Mr. Farraday made his fortune (it is implied he is from Boston, so he could be from old New England money, or he could be a SelfMadeMan), but however it happened, he would have been considered "new money" compared to the English aristocracy.
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* ArcWords: "dignity"
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* ArcWords: "dignity""Dignity". Stevens believes it is the defining quality of a "great" butler and spends much of the book ruminating on just what "dignity" truly means.
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* BigFancyHouse
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* BigFancyHouseBigFancyHouse: Darlington Hall, Stevens' place of employment for most of the book, is a typical English nobleman's country house, having employed a staff of several dozen (but down to just four since Lord Darlington's death) and being lavishly furnished and decorated.
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* TheGhost: In the novel, Mr. Benn.
* HappilyMarried: Mrs. Benn turns out to be this... most of the time.
* HappilyMarried: Mrs. Benn turns out to be this... most of the time.
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* TheGhost: In the novel, Mr. Benn.
Benn is frequently mentioned, but never actually seen.
* HappilyMarried: Mrs. Benn turns out to be this... most of the time. She admits to having left her husband several times, but she always returns to him, and although she didn't love him at first, having married him essentially out of spite for Stevens, she says she has grown to love him over their years together.
* HappilyMarried: Mrs. Benn turns out to be this... most of the time. She admits to having left her husband several times, but she always returns to him, and although she didn't love him at first, having married him essentially out of spite for Stevens, she says she has grown to love him over their years together.
* InVinoVeritas: Stevens' last reminiscence of his service to Lord Darlington involves David Cardinal suddenly showing up on their doorstep asking if he could be put up for the night. The fact that his visit coincides with a secret meeting Lord Darlington is hosting between Neville Chamberlain, Lord Halifax, and Joachim von Ribbentrop arouses Stevens' suspicions, and eventually Mr. Cardinal has had enough to drink that he admits to Stevens that he is there in his professional capacity as a journalist to report on this latest development in the appeasement policy.
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* NoAccountingForTaste: Mr. and Mrs. Benn.
* NoHeroToHisValet: Stevens insists all along that the criticism that has been heaped on Lord Darlington for his connections to the Nazis is overdone and unfair, and that Darlington was motivated by honor and generosity. As more and more details of those events come through, it becomes clear, and Stevens is eventually forced to acknowledge, that Darlington was at best extremely naive and misguided, and that he himself was worse in a way for relinquishing his responsibility to make his own moral judgements on his employer's actions.
* NoHeroToHisValet: Stevens insists all along that the criticism that has been heaped on Lord Darlington for his connections to the Nazis is overdone and unfair, and that Darlington was motivated by honor and generosity. As more and more details of those events come through, it becomes clear, and Stevens is eventually forced to acknowledge, that Darlington was at best extremely naive and misguided, and that he himself was worse in a way for relinquishing his responsibility to make his own moral judgements on his employer's actions.
to:
* NoAccountingForTaste: Mr. and Mrs. Benn.
Benn's marriage has never been a happy one (it is implied she rushed into it after losing patience with Stevens' emotional repression), and she admits to having left him several times, but she always returns to him.
* NoHeroToHisValet: Stevens insists all along that the criticism that has been heaped on Lord Darlington for his connections to the Nazis is overdone and unfair, and that Darlington was motivated by honor and generosity. As more and more details of those events come through, it becomes clear, and Stevens is eventually forced to acknowledge, that Darlington was at best extremely naive and misguided, and that he himself was worse in a way for relinquishing his responsibility to make his own moral judgements on his employer'sactions.actions, such as his decision to fire his housemaids Ruth and Sarah simply for being Jewish.
* NoHeroToHisValet: Stevens insists all along that the criticism that has been heaped on Lord Darlington for his connections to the Nazis is overdone and unfair, and that Darlington was motivated by honor and generosity. As more and more details of those events come through, it becomes clear, and Stevens is eventually forced to acknowledge, that Darlington was at best extremely naive and misguided, and that he himself was worse in a way for relinquishing his responsibility to make his own moral judgements on his employer's
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* OldRetainer: Stevens.
** And his father, William Stevens.
** And his father, William Stevens.
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* OldRetainer: Stevens.
** AndStevens, and his father, William Stevens.
** And
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* [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech The Reason We Suck Speech]]: At the end of the book, Stevens at last can articulate the truth about Lord Darlington and himself. Lord Darlington played HeadInTheSandManagement for the Nazis, and at the end of the day, he could admit he was wrong and take the responsibility like a man. [[ShrinkingViolet Stevens never did anything for himself]], [[TearJerker and he cannot say even that]].
to:
* [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech The Reason We Suck Speech]]: At TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Directed inwards; at the end of the book, Stevens at last can articulate the truth about Lord Darlington and himself. Lord Darlington played HeadInTheSandManagement for the Nazis, and at the end of the day, he could admit he was wrong and take the responsibility like a man. [[ShrinkingViolet Stevens never did anything for himself]], [[TearJerker and he cannot say even that]].
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* TheStoic: Stevens, so very much.
** And his father (see GeneralFailure).
** And his father (see GeneralFailure).
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* TheStoic: Stevens, so very much.
TheStoic:
**And Stevens views a lack of outward displays of emotion as central to the definition of "dignity" by which he has defined his father (see GeneralFailure). entire life. He accepts Lord Darlington's insistence that his father's duties be scaled back due to his declining health without a word of protest, and even his father's death does not interfere with his service during a summit meeting between assorted European and American diplomats at Darlington Hall (although his lordship does notice that Stevens has been crying).
** Mr. Stevens senior is just as stoic as his son. Even when acting as personal valet to the GeneralFailure whose botched commands resulted in the death of his elder son during the Boer War, he is never anything less than polite and professional, despite being regaled with [[MilesGloriosus tales of the general's military exploits]]. The only time he displays any emotion is when two drunken guests of one of his employers, John Silvers, say rude things about the man while Mr. Stevens senior is driving them around the countryside, and he stops the car, pulls the back door open, and gives them a DeathGlare that subdues them into silence for the rest of the journey.
**
** Mr. Stevens senior is just as stoic as his son. Even when acting as personal valet to the GeneralFailure whose botched commands resulted in the death of his elder son during the Boer War, he is never anything less than polite and professional, despite being regaled with [[MilesGloriosus tales of the general's military exploits]]. The only time he displays any emotion is when two drunken guests of one of his employers, John Silvers, say rude things about the man while Mr. Stevens senior is driving them around the countryside, and he stops the car, pulls the back door open, and gives them a DeathGlare that subdues them into silence for the rest of the journey.
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* YouMakeMeSic: When Lisa, a housemaid who worked under Miss Kenton for a few years, runs away with a footman to get married, Stevens comments on the "misspelled, ill-formed sentences" that made up her letter of resignation, seeming just as offended by her crimes against the English language as by her offences against the duties of her position.
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A pre-stardom Creator/LenaHeadey has a small part in the movie as a pretty servant girl.
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''The Remains of the Day'' is an acclaimed 1989 novel by Japanese-born English author Kazuo Ishiguro, adapted into a 1993 James Ivory film starring Creator/AnthonyHopkins and Creator/EmmaThompson.
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''The Remains of the Day'' is an acclaimed 1989 novel by Japanese-born English author Kazuo Ishiguro, adapted into a 1993 James Ivory film starring Creator/AnthonyHopkins Creator/AnthonyHopkins, Creator/EmmaThompson, Creator/HughGrant, and Creator/EmmaThompson.
Creator/ChristopherReeve.
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''The Remains of the Day'' is an acclaimed 1989 novel by Japanese-born English author Kazuo Ishiguro, adapted into a James Ivory film starring Creator/AnthonyHopkins and Creator/EmmaThompson in 1993. The novel is set in 1956 and narrated by a butler, Stevens, who recalls his career and considers the nature of his profession as he drives through the English countryside to visit his old colleague, Miss Kenton (now Mrs. Benn) for the first time in twenty years to ask her to return to her old job. Darlington Hall, where they worked together, is now owned by a rich American; through Stevens's memories of working there over the decades, [[UnreliableNarrator and through his way of telling them]], we learn not only about the Lord Darlington who used to live there and how his downfall came about, but also about Stevens's character, his relationships with Lord Darlington, Miss Kenton, and his father, and what's left for him after a life of completely devoting himself to the service of another person.
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''The Remains of the Day'' is an acclaimed 1989 novel by Japanese-born English author Kazuo Ishiguro, adapted into a 1993 James Ivory film starring Creator/AnthonyHopkins and Creator/EmmaThompson in 1993. Creator/EmmaThompson.
The novel is set in 1956 and narrated by a butler, Stevens, who recalls his career and considers the nature of his profession as he drives through the English countryside to visit his old colleague, Miss Kenton (now Mrs. Benn) for the first time in twenty years to ask her to return to her old job. Darlington Hall, where they worked together, is now owned by a rich American; through Stevens's memories of working there over the decades, [[UnreliableNarrator and through his way of telling them]], we learn not only about the Lord Darlington who used to live there and how his downfall came about, but also about Stevens's character, his relationships with Lord Darlington, Miss Kenton, and his father, and what's left for him after a life of completely devoting himself to the service of another person.
----
The novel is set in 1956 and narrated by a butler, Stevens, who recalls his career and considers the nature of his profession as he drives through the English countryside to visit his old colleague, Miss Kenton (now Mrs. Benn) for the first time in twenty years to ask her to return to her old job. Darlington Hall, where they worked together, is now owned by a rich American; through Stevens's memories of working there over the decades, [[UnreliableNarrator and through his way of telling them]], we learn not only about the Lord Darlington who used to live there and how his downfall came about, but also about Stevens's character, his relationships with Lord Darlington, Miss Kenton, and his father, and what's left for him after a life of completely devoting himself to the service of another person.
----
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* DidNotGetTheGirl
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* DidNotGetTheGirlCompositeCharacter: Mr. Farraday is combined with Congressman Lewis for the film.
* DidNotGetTheGirl: Stevens' inability or refusal to express deep feelings, despite Miss Kenton's warmth and interest, drives her away from him.
* DidNotGetTheGirl: Stevens' inability or refusal to express deep feelings, despite Miss Kenton's warmth and interest, drives her away from him.
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* DownerEnding
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* DownerEndingDownerEnding: Miss Kenton, now Mrs. Benn, decides to [[spoiler:return to her husband when she gets the news that their daughter is expecting, leaving Stevens alone. He never learns to think or behave in any way but as a dignified servant.]]
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* LastNameBasis
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* LastNameBasisLastNameBasis: Stevens and Miss Kenton. He also insists that she refer to his father as Mr. Stevens Sr. although she would normally be entitled to use his Christian name due to being in charge of his duties.
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* NoHuggingNoKissing
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* NoHuggingNoKissingNoHuggingNoKissing: Enforced by Stevens; he does not approve of romance on the job and complains that too many of the servants marry each other and leave.
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* NouveauRiche: Mr. Farraday
to:
* NouveauRiche: Mr. FarradayFarraday.
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Work titles should be italicized, but not boldfaced
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'''''The Remains of the Day''''' is an acclaimed 1989 novel by Japanese-born English author Kazuo Ishiguro, adapted into a James Ivory film starring Creator/AnthonyHopkins and Creator/EmmaThompson in 1993. The novel is set in 1956 and narrated by a butler, Stevens, who recalls his career and considers the nature of his profession as he drives through the English countryside to visit his old colleague, Miss Kenton (now Mrs. Benn) for the first time in twenty years to ask her to return to her old job. Darlington Hall, where they worked together, is now owned by a rich American; through Stevens's memories of working there over the decades, [[UnreliableNarrator and through his way of telling them]], we learn not only about the Lord Darlington who used to live there and how his downfall came about, but also about Stevens's character, his relationships with Lord Darlington, Miss Kenton, and his father, and what's left for him after a life of completely devoting himself to the service of another person.
to:
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''The Remains of the Day'' is an acclaimed 1989 novel by Japanese-born English author Kazuo Ishiguro, adapted into a James Ivory film starring AnthonyHopkins and Creator/EmmaThompson in 1993. The novel is set in 1956 and narrated by a butler, Stevens, who recalls his career and considers the nature of his profession as he drives through the English countryside to visit his old colleague, Miss Kenton (now Mrs. Benn) for the first time in twenty years to ask her to return to her old job. Darlington Hall, where they worked together, is now owned by a rich American; through Stevens's memories of working there over the decades, [[UnreliableNarrator and through his way of telling them]], we learn not only about the Lord Darlington who used to live there and how his downfall came about, but also about Stevens's character, his relationships with Lord Darlington, Miss Kenton, and his father, and what's left for him after a life of completely devoting himself to the service of another person.
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* BreakingSpeech: Senator Lewis attempts to deliver one to Lord Darlington and the guests at the conference, pointing out that they're "amateurs" in over their heads, but nobody listens to him.
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* GeneralFailure: Stevens' older brother was killed in the Boer War thanks to one of these. When the ex-general came to visit William Stevens' (Stevens' father) employer some years later, William not only refused to take time off, but voluntarily served as the ex-general's personal valet.
* TheGhost: In the novel, Mr. Benn.
* TheGhost: In the novel, Mr. Benn.
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** As was his father. Stevens doesn't even mention his mother's existence.
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** And his father, William Stevens.
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** And his father (see GeneralFailure).
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Moved to Trivia.
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* ThrowItIn: The pigeon at the end of the movie. WordOfGod from Merchant and Ivory states that it is most definitely not a metaphor.
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* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Joachim von Ribbentrop, Lord Halifax, Oswald Mosley, NevilleChamberlain, Creator/HGWells and Creator/GeorgeBernardShaw are mentioned by way of proving that not everyone Lord Darlington had at his house was a shady political figure.
to:
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Joachim von Ribbentrop, Lord Halifax, Oswald Mosley, NevilleChamberlain, UsefulNotes/NevilleChamberlain, Creator/HGWells and Creator/GeorgeBernardShaw are mentioned by way of proving that not everyone Lord Darlington had at his house was a shady political figure.
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* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: In the film, Miss Kenton is the only one of the staff who ever wears anything even remotely colourful, while Stevens sticks to black, white and grey.
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* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: In the film, Miss Kenton is the only one of the staff who ever wears anything even remotely colourful, colorful, while Stevens sticks to black, white and grey.grey.
* TheComicallySerious: Stevens is only just coming to realize that in certain situations he's expected to come out with "witticisms," and is studying a radio program called ''Twice a Week or More'' [[DontExplainTheJoke ("which is in fact broadcast three times each week")]] for ideas. Every time he has to make a joke, he dissects the subject before and afterward in a typical WallOfText.
* DidNotGetTheGirl
* TheComicallySerious: Stevens is only just coming to realize that in certain situations he's expected to come out with "witticisms," and is studying a radio program called ''Twice a Week or More'' [[DontExplainTheJoke ("which is in fact broadcast three times each week")]] for ideas. Every time he has to make a joke, he dissects the subject before and afterward in a typical WallOfText.
* DidNotGetTheGirl
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* HeadInTheSandManagement: Lord Darlington is actively involved in appeasing the Nazis. He has Chamberlain himself at the house at one point, with Ribbentrop and Halifax, to persuade him to meet with Hitler (and to have the king meet with him too).
* TheComicallySerious: Stevens is only just coming to realize that in certain situations he's expected to come out with "witticisms," and is studying a radio program called ''Twice a Week or More'' [[DontExplainTheJoke ("which is in fact broadcast three times each week")]] for ideas. Every time he has to make a joke, he dissects the subject before and afterward in a typical WallOfText.
* DidNotGetTheGirl
* TheComicallySerious: Stevens is only just coming to realize that in certain situations he's expected to come out with "witticisms," and is studying a radio program called ''Twice a Week or More'' [[DontExplainTheJoke ("which is in fact broadcast three times each week")]] for ideas. Every time he has to make a joke, he dissects the subject before and afterward in a typical WallOfText.
* DidNotGetTheGirl
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* HeadInTheSandManagement: Lord Darlington is actively involved in appeasing the Nazis. He has Chamberlain himself at the house at one point, with Ribbentrop and Halifax, to persuade him to meet with Hitler (and to have the king meet with him too).
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* TheTalk: Lord Darlington asks Stevens to give one of these to Mr. Cardinal, with amusingly awkward results.
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* TheTalk: Lord Darlington asks Stevens to give one of these to Mr. Reginald Cardinal, with amusingly awkward results.
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* TheTalk: Lord Darlington asks Stevens to give one of these to Mr. Cardinal, with amusingly awkward results.
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* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Joachim von Ribbentrop, Lord Halifax, Oswald Mosley, NevilleChamberlain. Creator/HGWells and Creator/GeorgeBernardShaw are mentioned by way of proving that not everyone Lord Darlington had at his house was a shady political figure.
to:
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Joachim von Ribbentrop, Lord Halifax, Oswald Mosley, NevilleChamberlain. NevilleChamberlain, Creator/HGWells and Creator/GeorgeBernardShaw are mentioned by way of proving that not everyone Lord Darlington had at his house was a shady political figure.
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* TheStoic: Stevens
to:
* TheStoic: StevensStevens, so very much.
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* [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech The Reason We Suck Speech]]: At the end of the book, Stevens at last can articulate the truth about Lord Darlington and himself. Lord Darlington played HeadInTheSandManagement for the nazis, and at the end of the day, he could admit he was wrong and take the responsibility like a man. [[ShrinkingViolet Stevens never did anything for himself]], [[TearJerker and he cannot say even that]].
to:
* [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech The Reason We Suck Speech]]: At the end of the book, Stevens at last can articulate the truth about Lord Darlington and himself. Lord Darlington played HeadInTheSandManagement for the nazis, Nazis, and at the end of the day, he could admit he was wrong and take the responsibility like a man. [[ShrinkingViolet Stevens never did anything for himself]], [[TearJerker and he cannot say even that]].
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''The Remains of the Day'' is an acclaimed 1989 novel by Japanese-born English author Kazuo Ishiguro, adapted into a James Ivory film starring AnthonyHopkins and EmmaThompson in 1993. The novel is set in 1956 and narrated by a butler, Stevens, who recalls his career and considers the nature of his profession as he drives through the English countryside to visit his old colleague, Miss Kenton (now Mrs. Benn) for the first time in twenty years to ask her to return to her old job. Darlington Hall, where they worked together, is now owned by a rich American; through Stevens's memories of working there over the decades, [[UnreliableNarrator and through his way of telling them]], we learn not only about the Lord Darlington who used to live there and how his downfall came about, but also about Stevens's character, his relationships with Lord Darlington, Miss Kenton, and his father, and what's left for him after a life of completely devoting himself to the service of another person.
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''The Remains of the Day'' is an acclaimed 1989 novel by Japanese-born English author Kazuo Ishiguro, adapted into a James Ivory film starring AnthonyHopkins and EmmaThompson Creator/EmmaThompson in 1993. The novel is set in 1956 and narrated by a butler, Stevens, who recalls his career and considers the nature of his profession as he drives through the English countryside to visit his old colleague, Miss Kenton (now Mrs. Benn) for the first time in twenty years to ask her to return to her old job. Darlington Hall, where they worked together, is now owned by a rich American; through Stevens's memories of working there over the decades, [[UnreliableNarrator and through his way of telling them]], we learn not only about the Lord Darlington who used to live there and how his downfall came about, but also about Stevens's character, his relationships with Lord Darlington, Miss Kenton, and his father, and what's left for him after a life of completely devoting himself to the service of another person.
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* PrecisionFStrike: Stevens does let out a curse once, when he drops a wine bottle after hearing that Miss Kenton is leaving to marry Mr. Benn. EmmaThompson also executes one in the DVD commentary.
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* PrecisionFStrike: Stevens does let out a curse once, when he drops a wine bottle after hearing that Miss Kenton is leaving to marry Mr. Benn. EmmaThompson Creator/EmmaThompson also executes one in the DVD commentary.
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* GreenEyedEpiphany: Miss Kenton attempts to invoke this when she tells Mr. Stevens that Mr. Benn has proposed to her.
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* OldMaid: Miss Kenton.
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* OldMaid: Miss Kenton.Kenton, at least as far as Lizzie's concerned:
-->"[S]he's old. She must be at least 30."
-->"[S]he's old. She must be at least 30."
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* OperationJealousy: Miss Kenton attempts this when she tells Mr. Stevens that Mr. Benn has proposed to her.
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* AvoidTheDreadedGRating: The film got a U in the UK, but the MPAA gave it a PG rating for "themes".
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!!This work includes examples of:
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!!This work novel and film includes examples of:
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/RemainsOfTheDay_7112.jpg]]
''The Remains of the Day'' is an acclaimed 1989 novel by Japanese-born English author Kazuo Ishiguro, adapted into a James Ivory film starring AnthonyHopkins and EmmaThompson in 1993. The novel is set in 1956 and narrated by a butler, Stevens, who recalls his career and considers the nature of his profession as he drives through the English countryside to visit his old colleague, Miss Kenton (now Mrs. Benn) for the first time in twenty years to ask her to return to her old job. Darlington Hall, where they worked together, is now owned by a rich American; through Stevens's memories of working there over the decades, [[UnreliableNarrator and through his way of telling them]], we learn not only about the Lord Darlington who used to live there and how his downfall came about, but also about Stevens's character, his relationships with Lord Darlington, Miss Kenton, and his father, and what's left for him after a life of completely devoting himself to the service of another person.
!!This work includes examples of:
* AdaptationNameChange: Ruth and Sarah become Elsa and Irma in the film. They're also German instead of presumably being English.
* ArcWords: "dignity"
* BelligerentSexualTension: Stevens and Miss Kenton.
* BigFancyHouse
* BritishStuffiness: Deconstructed.
* CannotSpitItOut: Stevens wouldn't spit it out if you paid him.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: In the film, Miss Kenton is the only one of the staff who ever wears anything even remotely colourful, while Stevens sticks to black, white and grey.
* DirtyCoward: How Miss Kenton views herself for [[spoiler:not leaving Darlington hall after Elsa and Irma were fired.]]
* HeadInTheSandManagement: Lord Darlington is actively involved in appeasing the Nazis. He has Chamberlain himself at the house at one point, with Ribbentrop and Halifax, to persuade him to meet with Hitler (and to have the king meet with him too).
* TheComicallySerious: Stevens is only just coming to realize that in certain situations he's expected to come out with "witticisms," and is studying a radio program called ''Twice a Week or More'' [[DontExplainTheJoke ("which is in fact broadcast three times each week")]] for ideas. Every time he has to make a joke, he dissects the subject before and afterward in a typical WallOfText.
* DidNotGetTheGirl
* DownerEnding
* DullEyesOfUnhappiness: Mrs. Benn in the film.
* ForWantOfANail: One of the ways in which Stevens argues that the role of a butler to a man like Lord Darlington is a noble contribution to the world is by explaining how the performance of household staff can affect the meetings that take place in houses like his. At one point he claims with pride that Lord Halifax once called the silver at Darlington Hall "a delight," and that Darlington later told him it had "put him into quite a different frame of mind altogether."
-->These were -- I recollect it clearly -- his lordship's actual words and so it is not simply my fantasy that the state of the silver had made a small, but significant contribution towards [[ComicallyMissingThePoint the easing of relations between Lord Halifax and Herr Ribbentrop that evening]].
* GreenEyedEpiphany: Miss Kenton attempts to invoke this when she tells Mr. Stevens that Mr. Benn has proposed to her.
* HappilyMarried: Mrs. Benn turns out to be this... most of the time.
* HatesBeingAlone: Miss Kenton:
-->"All I see out in the world is loneliness, and it frightens me."
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Joachim von Ribbentrop, Lord Halifax, Oswald Mosley, NevilleChamberlain. Creator/HGWells and Creator/GeorgeBernardShaw are mentioned by way of proving that not everyone Lord Darlington had at his house was a shady political figure.
* TheJeeves: What Stevens aspires to be. Lengthy passages are spent on the subject of what does and what doesn't make a butler "great." Stevens believes that the crucial quality is dignity.
* LastNameBasis
* MarriedToTheJob: Stevens is, to the point where he believes he shouldn't be seen off-duty by anyone, at any time.
* MyMasterRightOrWrong: Various characters espouse the belief that the ruling class are the only people equipped to handle political problems. Stevens tells himself and others that his only responsibility is to Lord Darlington, and that he has no business having opinions on Darlington's political activities. At the end, after realizing he's spent his life effacing himself for the sake of being as perfect a butler as possible, he understands that in doing so he's robbed himself of dignity, the very thing he thought he was pursuing. However, the man he's talking to tells him to think of his future instead of his past, [[IgnoredEpiphany and he concludes that such demoralization is]] InherentInTheSystem, and that the best thing he can do now is work on improving his "bantering skills" before Mr. Farraday comes home.
* NaziNobleman: Stevens claims that Lord Darlington disliked the British fascist movement and was not an anti-Semite. He did, however, like [[TheBaroness a certain member of the British Union of Fascists]] quite a bit, enough to start talking about "Jewish propaganda," stop giving money to a Jewish-run charity and tell Stevens to fire two Jewish housemaids.
* NoAccountingForTaste: Mr. and Mrs. Benn.
* NoHeroToHisValet: Stevens insists all along that the criticism that has been heaped on Lord Darlington for his connections to the Nazis is overdone and unfair, and that Darlington was motivated by honor and generosity. As more and more details of those events come through, it becomes clear, and Stevens is eventually forced to acknowledge, that Darlington was at best extremely naive and misguided, and that he himself was worse in a way for relinquishing his responsibility to make his own moral judgements on his employer's actions.
* NoHuggingNoKissing
* NoNameGiven: Stevens, Miss Kenton and Mr. Benn don't have any first names in the book. In the film, they are James, Sarah and Tom respectively.
* NouveauRiche: Mr. Farraday
* OldMaid: Miss Kenton.
* OldRetainer: Stevens.
* TheOneThatGotAway: Miss Kenton.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: The only two times when Stevens' stoic and neat professionalism takes a drop occur after he is informed of the death of his father and of the marriage of no-longer Miss Kenton.
* PrecisionFStrike: Stevens does let out a curse once, when he drops a wine bottle after hearing that Miss Kenton is leaving to marry Mr. Benn. EmmaThompson also executes one in the DVD commentary.
* [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech The Reason We Suck Speech]]: At the end of the book, Stevens at last can articulate the truth about Lord Darlington and himself. Lord Darlington played HeadInTheSandManagement for the nazis, and at the end of the day, he could admit he was wrong and take the responsibility like a man. [[ShrinkingViolet Stevens never did anything for himself]], [[TearJerker and he cannot say even that]].
* SeriousBusiness: Everything. Everything is serious business. Including "banter," frothy romance novels and giving TheTalk to the boss's best friend's twenty-three-year-old son.
* SpockSpeak: Stevens's characteristic style. This is funny at some times; at others, not.
-->I do not think I responded immediately, for it took me a moment or two to fully digest these words of Miss Kenton. Moreover, as you might appreciate, their implications were such as to provoke a certain degree of sorrow in me. Indeed -- why should I not admit it? -- [[TearJerker at that moment, my heart was breaking.]]
* TheStoic: Stevens
* ThrowItIn: The pigeon at the end of the movie. WordOfGod from Merchant and Ivory states that it is most definitely not a metaphor.
* TitleDrop: Not quite, but in the last scene Stevens resolves to forget the past and "try to make the best of what remains of my day."
* TwiceShy: A truly painful example.
* UnreliableNarrator: A repeated device has Stevens placing a detail or a bit of dialogue in one scene, then wondering if he's not misremembering that, and offering a different scene in which the same detail fits similarly, creating a MeaningfulEcho. More generally, Stevens's repression of his emotions in all situations results in many moments where even as it's incredibly obvious what he must be feeling, he refuses to acknowledge having any feelings at all -- his father's death, for instance.
* UnwantedSpouse: Mr. Benn. Mrs. Benn leaves him a few times over the course of their marriage but she doesn't manage to make it stick.
* WorldWarII
* WrongGuyFirst: Subverted. At first, Mr. Benn seems like a much better match for Miss Kenton than Mr. Stevens - he's [[NiceGuy friendly, talkative]] and has some aspirations for his life beyond service. The only problem is that they don't love each other, or even like each other very much: Mr. Benn is looking for a business partner for his guest house and Miss Kenton is using him to make Mr. Stevens jealous.
* YouNeedToGetLaid: Probably a factor that drives Miss Kenton into the arms of Mr. Benn. Could even be a case of NatureAbhorsAVirgin given the time period.
-----
''The Remains of the Day'' is an acclaimed 1989 novel by Japanese-born English author Kazuo Ishiguro, adapted into a James Ivory film starring AnthonyHopkins and EmmaThompson in 1993. The novel is set in 1956 and narrated by a butler, Stevens, who recalls his career and considers the nature of his profession as he drives through the English countryside to visit his old colleague, Miss Kenton (now Mrs. Benn) for the first time in twenty years to ask her to return to her old job. Darlington Hall, where they worked together, is now owned by a rich American; through Stevens's memories of working there over the decades, [[UnreliableNarrator and through his way of telling them]], we learn not only about the Lord Darlington who used to live there and how his downfall came about, but also about Stevens's character, his relationships with Lord Darlington, Miss Kenton, and his father, and what's left for him after a life of completely devoting himself to the service of another person.
!!This work includes examples of:
* AdaptationNameChange: Ruth and Sarah become Elsa and Irma in the film. They're also German instead of presumably being English.
* ArcWords: "dignity"
* BelligerentSexualTension: Stevens and Miss Kenton.
* BigFancyHouse
* BritishStuffiness: Deconstructed.
* CannotSpitItOut: Stevens wouldn't spit it out if you paid him.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: In the film, Miss Kenton is the only one of the staff who ever wears anything even remotely colourful, while Stevens sticks to black, white and grey.
* DirtyCoward: How Miss Kenton views herself for [[spoiler:not leaving Darlington hall after Elsa and Irma were fired.]]
* HeadInTheSandManagement: Lord Darlington is actively involved in appeasing the Nazis. He has Chamberlain himself at the house at one point, with Ribbentrop and Halifax, to persuade him to meet with Hitler (and to have the king meet with him too).
* TheComicallySerious: Stevens is only just coming to realize that in certain situations he's expected to come out with "witticisms," and is studying a radio program called ''Twice a Week or More'' [[DontExplainTheJoke ("which is in fact broadcast three times each week")]] for ideas. Every time he has to make a joke, he dissects the subject before and afterward in a typical WallOfText.
* DidNotGetTheGirl
* DownerEnding
* DullEyesOfUnhappiness: Mrs. Benn in the film.
* ForWantOfANail: One of the ways in which Stevens argues that the role of a butler to a man like Lord Darlington is a noble contribution to the world is by explaining how the performance of household staff can affect the meetings that take place in houses like his. At one point he claims with pride that Lord Halifax once called the silver at Darlington Hall "a delight," and that Darlington later told him it had "put him into quite a different frame of mind altogether."
-->These were -- I recollect it clearly -- his lordship's actual words and so it is not simply my fantasy that the state of the silver had made a small, but significant contribution towards [[ComicallyMissingThePoint the easing of relations between Lord Halifax and Herr Ribbentrop that evening]].
* GreenEyedEpiphany: Miss Kenton attempts to invoke this when she tells Mr. Stevens that Mr. Benn has proposed to her.
* HappilyMarried: Mrs. Benn turns out to be this... most of the time.
* HatesBeingAlone: Miss Kenton:
-->"All I see out in the world is loneliness, and it frightens me."
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Joachim von Ribbentrop, Lord Halifax, Oswald Mosley, NevilleChamberlain. Creator/HGWells and Creator/GeorgeBernardShaw are mentioned by way of proving that not everyone Lord Darlington had at his house was a shady political figure.
* TheJeeves: What Stevens aspires to be. Lengthy passages are spent on the subject of what does and what doesn't make a butler "great." Stevens believes that the crucial quality is dignity.
* LastNameBasis
* MarriedToTheJob: Stevens is, to the point where he believes he shouldn't be seen off-duty by anyone, at any time.
* MyMasterRightOrWrong: Various characters espouse the belief that the ruling class are the only people equipped to handle political problems. Stevens tells himself and others that his only responsibility is to Lord Darlington, and that he has no business having opinions on Darlington's political activities. At the end, after realizing he's spent his life effacing himself for the sake of being as perfect a butler as possible, he understands that in doing so he's robbed himself of dignity, the very thing he thought he was pursuing. However, the man he's talking to tells him to think of his future instead of his past, [[IgnoredEpiphany and he concludes that such demoralization is]] InherentInTheSystem, and that the best thing he can do now is work on improving his "bantering skills" before Mr. Farraday comes home.
* NaziNobleman: Stevens claims that Lord Darlington disliked the British fascist movement and was not an anti-Semite. He did, however, like [[TheBaroness a certain member of the British Union of Fascists]] quite a bit, enough to start talking about "Jewish propaganda," stop giving money to a Jewish-run charity and tell Stevens to fire two Jewish housemaids.
* NoAccountingForTaste: Mr. and Mrs. Benn.
* NoHeroToHisValet: Stevens insists all along that the criticism that has been heaped on Lord Darlington for his connections to the Nazis is overdone and unfair, and that Darlington was motivated by honor and generosity. As more and more details of those events come through, it becomes clear, and Stevens is eventually forced to acknowledge, that Darlington was at best extremely naive and misguided, and that he himself was worse in a way for relinquishing his responsibility to make his own moral judgements on his employer's actions.
* NoHuggingNoKissing
* NoNameGiven: Stevens, Miss Kenton and Mr. Benn don't have any first names in the book. In the film, they are James, Sarah and Tom respectively.
* NouveauRiche: Mr. Farraday
* OldMaid: Miss Kenton.
* OldRetainer: Stevens.
* TheOneThatGotAway: Miss Kenton.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: The only two times when Stevens' stoic and neat professionalism takes a drop occur after he is informed of the death of his father and of the marriage of no-longer Miss Kenton.
* PrecisionFStrike: Stevens does let out a curse once, when he drops a wine bottle after hearing that Miss Kenton is leaving to marry Mr. Benn. EmmaThompson also executes one in the DVD commentary.
* [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech The Reason We Suck Speech]]: At the end of the book, Stevens at last can articulate the truth about Lord Darlington and himself. Lord Darlington played HeadInTheSandManagement for the nazis, and at the end of the day, he could admit he was wrong and take the responsibility like a man. [[ShrinkingViolet Stevens never did anything for himself]], [[TearJerker and he cannot say even that]].
* SeriousBusiness: Everything. Everything is serious business. Including "banter," frothy romance novels and giving TheTalk to the boss's best friend's twenty-three-year-old son.
* SpockSpeak: Stevens's characteristic style. This is funny at some times; at others, not.
-->I do not think I responded immediately, for it took me a moment or two to fully digest these words of Miss Kenton. Moreover, as you might appreciate, their implications were such as to provoke a certain degree of sorrow in me. Indeed -- why should I not admit it? -- [[TearJerker at that moment, my heart was breaking.]]
* TheStoic: Stevens
* ThrowItIn: The pigeon at the end of the movie. WordOfGod from Merchant and Ivory states that it is most definitely not a metaphor.
* TitleDrop: Not quite, but in the last scene Stevens resolves to forget the past and "try to make the best of what remains of my day."
* TwiceShy: A truly painful example.
* UnreliableNarrator: A repeated device has Stevens placing a detail or a bit of dialogue in one scene, then wondering if he's not misremembering that, and offering a different scene in which the same detail fits similarly, creating a MeaningfulEcho. More generally, Stevens's repression of his emotions in all situations results in many moments where even as it's incredibly obvious what he must be feeling, he refuses to acknowledge having any feelings at all -- his father's death, for instance.
* UnwantedSpouse: Mr. Benn. Mrs. Benn leaves him a few times over the course of their marriage but she doesn't manage to make it stick.
* WorldWarII
* WrongGuyFirst: Subverted. At first, Mr. Benn seems like a much better match for Miss Kenton than Mr. Stevens - he's [[NiceGuy friendly, talkative]] and has some aspirations for his life beyond service. The only problem is that they don't love each other, or even like each other very much: Mr. Benn is looking for a business partner for his guest house and Miss Kenton is using him to make Mr. Stevens jealous.
* YouNeedToGetLaid: Probably a factor that drives Miss Kenton into the arms of Mr. Benn. Could even be a case of NatureAbhorsAVirgin given the time period.
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