Narrative technique and Stevens as a character

Stevens biased way of describing events makes him an unreliable narrator. As readers, we are encouraged to read between the lines in order to understand what really happens around him.
The story is very subjective since you only get to hear it from one point of view which is Stevens's.
Stevens only includes the things he finds significant and appropriate, while other matters that he finds less significant are excluded from his narration. There are certain aspects in his life that he does not want to acknowledge such as his emotions and other things he does not consider to be a part of his professional self.

Stevens's main point of attention is his profession. He focuses on trivialities, such as how to polish silver in the best possible manner, instead of realizing significant occurences going on around him.

During Stevens's trip the narrator includes flashbacks from his time as a servant to Lord Darlington. He recalls memories with his colleague Miss Kenton, his father and about Lord Darlington himself. One of his flashbacks is about an international conference that Lord Darlington had in 1923, the very same night that his father passed away. At first he remembers this with a sense of pride since his effort of being a great butler was carried out very well that night, even though his father was dying he was able to preserve his dignity in his profession. When thinking about it more closely, Stevens may start to regret some of his actions during that night.

As a person Stevens is shallow and untrue to himself. He is ignorant towards his own feelings and the feelings of others.

Stevens's purpose with this journey is to visit Miss Kenton and to find himself. He has been pursuing dignity his whole life and been unattentive towards his own private life. At the end of his trip he discovers that he has been wasting a large part of his life due to his dedication to his profession. Not only does he realize this but also that the master that he has been serving has been dishonest. Stevens has always been faithful and loyal to Lord Darlington, thus he fails to see his negative side. The fact that Lord Darlington has shared views with the German nazis and has helped them significantly with gaining acceptance and followers in Britain throughout his life is something that Stevens simply will not acknowledge. However, he comes to realize this later in his life and feels disappointed and fooled by the one man he has dedicated his life to.


It is unclear whom Stevens is speaking to in the novel, it may be argued that Stevens is telling the story to someone of the same status. This is due to the fact that he uses expressions such as 'someone like you and me' and similar phrases. We speculate that it could be someone like his former colleague Miss Kenton or perhaps his father since they have their profession in common and Stevens is following his father's footsteps.