FREE ESSAY ON THOUGHS ABOUT THE STORY

THOUGHS ABOUT THE STORY

Etiquette beween a butler and all others is, at least in Stevens' world, defined clearly
and narrowly, and 'dignity' has to do crucially with a butler's ability not to abandon
the professional being he inhabits (42). He is to be chummy but distant with butlers from
other households, to maintain a strict professionalism with other employees in his own
household, and to remain unquestioningly loyal to his own employer. To achieve dignity
and its crucial link with greatness (113), it seems, he must even separate himself from
himself, as he abstains from the use of first person pronouns and almost always uses the
term one when describing his own actions and thoughts. In Beerbohm's story it is humorous
that a brief and not unpleasant interaction between two strangers is a situation of
potential ill-will or blame. But in the case of Stevens' relationships, a similar
exaltation of the non-participatory, spectator-like attitude towards acquaintanceship
leads to much sadder results; although the same sorts of values are reflected and often
are just as amusing, the detachment that Stevens equates with dignity is depressing and
ultimately is chilling, as well. 
The distance Stevens insists upon (by default) between himself and Mr. Graham, a butler
from another household whom he greatly admires and enjoys, denies both a friendship that
could be quite gratifying, for although we had not known each other well, I would say we
had got on on those occasions we had met (19). But Stevens, though he would like to have
discovered what had become of Mr Graham, since those evenings [talking with him] rank
amongst my fondest memories, never inquires about the man, for the simple reason that no
suitable opportunity arose for me to gain such information (19, 31). Again and again
Graham's name appears; Stevens thinks of him often. But because there is no detached way
to discover his whereabouts, the potential friendship goes unrealized. 
The professionalism Stevens insists upon between himself and Miss Kenton, the maid in
Darlington's employ, denies him any romantic or sexual pleasure, though there obviously
exists a great tension between them; Stevens is too late when he finally (sort of) admits
his affection for the woman, and Miss Kenton has gone on to make a life of her own (in
which she, incidentally, is equally unhappy). Stevens thinks about Miss Kenton even more
than he does about Graham, and with an even stronger sense of regret: