Dignity is a central theme of the book, and Stevens admires it both n his employer and in himself and his peers. It also comes at the cost of sacrifice, and Stevens went without a romantic relationship out of his desire to remain at Darlington Hall and continue to serve his beloved master Lord Darlington. This explanation Stevens makes of his generation, which was coming into adulthood in the years leading up to the Second World War, applies to the war effort and England's involvement as much as it does to his own life. The English suffered a terrible loss during the war, and it would have been made easier by their capitulation. Instead, they remained dedicated to their principles of making the world better in the long-term, even if it meant they themselves suffered.

A scene that speaks more directly to Stevens relationship with Miss Kenston and how this affected his ideas of dignity, service, and success occurs later in the novel. Stevens recalls a time before the war when both he and Miss Kenston were still working at Darlington Hall. He is reading in the butler's pantry, which he considers an inviolable space and "a crucial office, the heart of the house's operations, not unlike a general's headquarters during the battle" (Ishiguro 165). This is the space that Miss Kenston intrudes...

He does not appreciate the way that she crosses the boundary of the dignity of his office or the barriers of their duties and positions in Darlington Hall, and disregards his authority.
When she finds out he is reading a love story, he finally succeeds in getting her to leave the room. This scene can be read as showing Stevens' embarrassment and reluctance regarding his romantic feelings towards Miss Kenston, but this is only using our modern sensibilities, where individual happiness is generally used as the measure of success. Stevens came from a culture that he himself notes is dedicated to service and sacrifice. His priorities are markedly different from those of the average reader of this novel, and it is unfair and inaccurate to judge Stevens on terms other than his own -- he would certainly see our lives as selfish and frivolous.

Success is a very subjective thing. What one person sees as achieving something, another might see as a waste of time. Cultural values often dictate larger meanings of success, but even these are subject to great change. Stevens is of the pre-war generation, before hope had been replaced by disillusionment.

Work Cited

Ishiguro, Kazuo. The Remains of the Day. New York: Random House, 1988.