The Remains of the Day Summary: Plot, Characters and Ending
The Remains of the Day follows Stevens, an aging English butler, on a short motoring trip in 1956 to visit Miss Kenton, the housekeeper he worked with twenty years earlier. As he drives, his memories reveal the cost of his perfect devotion to duty: a love he never acknowledged and loyalty to a master who was badly wrong.
Stevens narrates, and much of the story lies in what he avoids saying.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Stevens | Butler at Darlington Hall |
| Miss Kenton (Mrs. Benn) | Former housekeeper |
| Darlington | The aristocrat Stevens served for decades |
| Mr. Farraday | New American owner of the Hall |
| William Stevens | Stevens's father, an under-butler |
Why does Stevens take the trip?
Darlington Hall now belongs to a wealthy American, Mr. Farraday, who teases Stevens and encourages him to take a holiday in his car. Stevens has received a letter from Miss Kenton hinting that her marriage is unhappy, and he hopes she might come back to work. As he drives through the West Country, he reflects on what makes a great butler: dignity, never stepping out of his role.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens to Stevens's father?
Years earlier Stevens's father, also a butler, worked under him. During an important international conference at the Hall in 1923, the old man suffers a stroke. Stevens keeps serving the guests, and his father dies upstairs while he works. He remembers it as a triumph of professional dignity.
↑ Back to the topWhat did Darlington do?
Darlington was a decent gentleman who wanted to help Germany after the First World War, and in the 1930s he hosted secret meetings to bring Britain and Nazi Germany together. Under the influence of his friends, he once ordered Stevens to dismiss two refugee maids because of their background. Stevens obeyed without question; Miss Kenton was outraged. After the war Darlington's name was disgraced, and Stevens now sometimes denies having worked for him.
↑ Back to the topWhat happened with Miss Kenton?
Miss Kenton and Stevens bickered, shared evening cocoa and grew close. She brought him flowers and tried to reach him, but he shut her out every time. When she told him she had accepted a proposal from another man, hoping for a reaction, he only congratulated her. That night he heard her crying in her room and did not go in.
↑ Back to the topHow does The Remains of the Day end?
Stevens meets Mrs. Benn in a hotel. She admits she has sometimes wondered what her life with him might have been, but she has come to love her husband and is expecting her first grandchild. Stevens confesses only to himself that his heart is breaking. On the pier at Weymouth, a stranger tells him the evening is the best part of the day. Stevens resolves to make the most of what remains and to practice the friendly banter Mr. Farraday seems to enjoy.
↑ Back to the topMore about The Remains of the Day
This summary reveals the whole plot, including the ending.