Self-deception in The Remains of the Day

English Studies

Self-deception in The Remains of the Day

Åsa Fredriksson

Table of Contents

Introduction………...3

Previous Research and Material………...5

Introduction to Memory and Self-deception………..6

Analysis Psychological Profile of Stevens: the Self-deceiver...…7

A Screen Memory: the “great” Butler-issue...7

Sublimation: the influential Lord Darlington.…………...9

Repression of Feelings for Stevens´ Father...…...11

Repression of Feelings for Miss Kenton………....12

The Freudian Slip: the Errors…………..………..13

The End: Finally Self-recognition………....…..14

Conclusion………...15

Works Cited………..…..16

Introduction

Someone once said that everyone has a story to tell. Sometimes when we look back on life, we think to ourselves that we should have chosen or done that other thing instead. What happens in life depends on the choices we make, either we think they are the right ones or they prove to be the wrong ones. There are also unpleasant things, which we would rather not think about, and which only upsets us or makes us sad. The reality can sometimes be very harsh. In Kazuo Ishiguro´s The Remains of the Day, memories of the past still seem to be part of the present. In an interview made by Dunn, Ishiguro explains that memory is a central theme for him: “I´m interested in memory because it´s a filter through which we see our lives, and because it´s foggy and obscure, the opportunities for self-deception are there.” (Dunn 2) In the novel, Stevens; the protagonist, is the one who lives through his memories and deceives himself. He regrets the choices he made, and he tries to hide from the harsh reality. He has served at one of the last grand houses in England, Darlington Hall during the time between the world wars. As time goes by, the society changes and the grand houses seem to be fewer and fewer. As a last attempt to hold on to the past, Stevens takes a trip down the coast to look up Ms Kenton, a former employee and a long lost love. The trip turns out to be just as much an inner journey as a holiday. Repressed memories of events in Stevens’ life come back and one truth after another is revealed. Finally, the moment of self-recognition comes and along with that some new insights. In this essay, I will argue that Stevens deceives himself and that he tackles the memories of the past with different defense mechanisms to protect himself from the reality.

In The Remains of the Day, Stevens speaks directly to the reader. He has considered what he would like to tell the reader and in which order. It is almost as if he was lying on a couch at a therapist, taking part of a session so that he could get his life back on the right track and come to terms with himself. The fact is that he needs to enlighten his heart, because so much has built up inside of him over the years. Like Chira points out in The New York Times:

“Stevens, the butler, has spent a life denying ugly truths and personal ties in the name of dignity and duty.“ (Chira 1) Until recently, it has been convenient for Stevens to hide behind his duties instead of facing reality. The new course in Stevens´ life is caused by two moving moments at the end of the novel: firstly, a shift of time challenges Stevens to meet the future because it is no longer possible to remain in the past, and secondly, the insight that his life has almost passed him by, and he has thrown it all away. Altogether, this is an inner/mental journey that Stevens makes to turn his life around and to gain new insights. In another interview, Ishiguro explains his angle: “the episodes of the novel are narrated through the

haze of the memory” and “the characters view their worlds with blinders on, trying to forget the missed opportunities, their loss of their pasts”. Ishiguro also points out that he mainly wrote about what Stevens told himself rather than what actually happened (Dunn 2).

Therefore, as a theoretical approach, I will use psychoanalytic criticism, which likewise focuses on aspects of the human psyche. For the analysis, I will use the method of close reading and the analysis of quotations.

Psychoanalytic criticism uses some of the psychoanalytic techniques to interpret literature. It has several predecessors: Sigmund Freud, Jacques Lacan, Shoshona Felman, Jane Gallop, Elisabeth Wright, George Klein and Frederick Hoffman. Psychoanalytic

criticism focuses on the writer’s psyche, the creative process, the study of psychological types and principles within the literature or the effects upon the readers (kristisiegel.com).

Psychoanalysis itself is originally a therapy to cure mental disorders, which was developed by Sigmund Freud at the beginning of the 20^th century. The classic method Freud used was to get the patient to talk freely, so that repressed conflicts and fears, which were thought to cause the problems, are brought into the conscious mind and dealt with. Freud claimed that the

unconscious has a strong impact on our actions and that dreams are our tools to express wishes and desires (Barry 96-98). One of psychoanalysis´ most stunning discoveries is how far reaching influence on our thoughts, experiences, and behavior the unconscious has and it can also cause symptoms (freud-zentrum.ch). Linked with the unconscious are several key terms of psychoanalysis, which I intend to use in my analysis. They are all known as defense mechanisms. Freud described defense mechanisms as “a mental operation that kept painful thoughts and affects out of the awareness.” (Cramer 637) Repression is the forgetting or ignoring of traumatic past events, un-admitted desires or unresolved conflicts, so that they are forced into the unconscious. I intend to use repression in relation to how Stevens represses his feelings for his father and Miss Kenton. Something similar as repression is sublimation, which is when the repressed material is disguised as something grand and noble. In the novel, Stevens uses sublimation to conceal the truth about his employer. There is also something called a screen memory, which is a memory that is trivial and only functions to obliterate a painful thought. In relation to Stevens, I will show that the screen memory is closely

connected to his role as a butler. Further, there is phenomenon known as Freudian slip, when unresolved conflicts, desires or traumatic events, which are stored in the unconscious, find an outlet in our everyday behavior as unintended actions (Barry 96-99). I will use the Freudian Slip in relation to Stevens and the errors he admits to. The last mechanism I intend to use is

self-deception, which I will show that Stevens uses throughout the entire novel. All defense mechanisms are closely connected to self-deception, because people use them to deceive themselves, to enhance their self-esteem and to foster unrealistic self-illusions (Cramer 639).

These defense mechanisms refer to aspects of the unconscious. The Remains of the Day also includes other aspects such as the role of an oppressed female in a patriarchal society,

criticism of the class system, and cultural differences, but these aspects will not be covered in this essay.

Previous Research and Material

The Remains of the Day was first published in Great Britain in 1989 by Faber and Faber. The edition that I will use as my primary source is a paperback edition published in 1996. Since the novel earned the Booker Prize¹ in 1989, there is much information available about it. The Remains of the Day is regarded as Ishiguro´s best novel and it was even adapted to an award winning film. The novel is praised by literary critics and is described as “a dream of a book: a beguiling comedy of manners that evolves almost magically into a profound and heart-

rending study of personality, class and culture” (Graver 1), and “a fine novel about people who struggles with their past.” (Sontheimer 3) The judges of the Booker Prize were amazed by “the depiction of a between-wars country-house butler´s self-deception” and described it as

“a cunningly structured and beautifully paced performance.” (Wroe 1)

For the analysis, the secondary sources I rely on the most are Sigmund Freud´s Die Traumdeutung and Zur Psychopathologie des Alltagslebens to cover the key terms I mentioned in the previous section. I will also use a book that identifies different aspects of memory: Hans J. Markowitschs´ Das Gedächtnis to sort out what and how we remember things. Furthermore, two articles of special interest and importance are “Self-Deception: A Concept in Search of a Phenomenon”, published in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and “Defense Mechanisms in Psychology Today”, published in American

______________________

1 Literary prize awarded each year for the best full-length novel in English by a citizen of either the Commonwealth of Nations or Ireland.

Psychologist. Apart from that, I will use a number of articles published in The New York Times, The Guardian, and Neue Zürcher Zeitung.

Introduction to Memory and Self-deception

Memory is the basis for our personality. What we remember and how we remember things differ from one person to another. The information the memory contains must be learned, and we learn during our entire lifetime. At first, we must be aware of the information before it is saved, resaved and at last put a side. We forget part of the information as time goes by and some of it is even repressed. Our mood plays an important role in how we evaluate our memories. False memories are those which are resaved time and time again, and every time according to the current state of mind, which does not agree with the original memory. There is also a distinction between remembering an event, but not what you did or experienced at the time. In that case, it is not entirely a false memory. In general, false memories are more common when somebody is in stress or unsure of his or her personality. What is most important to know is that the brain reconstructs our memories. Therefore, neither individual nor collective memories mirror a past event exactly. They rather mirror the way it was saved in the brain. The memory is divided in a short time memory and a long time memory. In the short time memory, things are saved for +/- 7 minutes. The long time memory can save things for days, weeks and years. Something that catches our attention is more likely to be saved.

New information is compared to old information, and something we already know is quickly forgotten. Unknown information is intensively analyzed and connected to similar information.

There is also a phenomenon which is called time windows or critical periods, when new information is optimally analyzed and saved. When the window is closed, it is much harder to relearn (Markowitsch 1-17, 34-37, 40,49,61,69,109-111).

To return to the defense mechanisms, it is worth mentioning that self-deception constitutes “a defining characteristic of all defense mechanisms” (C. Gur 147). In general, self-deception means that two contradictory beliefs are held simultaneously. The self-deceiver is not aware of one of the beliefs. However, he could be aware of both of them deep down inside, but he chooses not think about it. Self-deceivers are often aware of their cognition and the concept itself is really paradoxical, since the one to whom a lie is told and the person lying is the same person. Therefore, the self-deceiver must know his own capacity, and he must know the truth very exactly to conceal it carefully. People who deceive themselves often fail to recognize their own voices and identity others as the self (C. Gur 148-150). Self-deception is today recognized as a positive feedback mechanism that prevents people from “recognizing the contradictions between their sets of behaviors and their sets of beliefs”. (Welles 325)

Analysis

Psychological Profile of Stevens; the Self-deceiver

Stevens is correct, loyal and a friendly character. He is deeply devoted to his work, which actually makes up most of his life. By that, he defines himself through his work; it is the main subject for his concerns. Over the years, he has searched for an answer to the question of what distinguish a great butler from a butler. He also tries to sort out what dignity is and how you earn it. After his employer´s death, Stevens has to struggle with new issues concerning what has become of him and what kind of life he has lived so far.

Stevens is the sole narrator of The Remains of the Day and all of what he remembers is told from his point of view. The novel is only about Stevens´ life, his feelings and his difficulties. As Dunn suggests, Stevens is a “backward-looking narrator whose obfuscative memory has passed from the selective to the repressive.” (Dunn 1) Issues from the past are constantly returning, and so is the need for Stevens to justify himself for the choices he has made. Kakutani describes the situation as “a difficult emotional acrobatics that Stevens is forced to perform in order to remain in control.” (Kakutani 2) Indeed, Stevens has to control himself, because a butler is not supposed to show emotions. Besides his work, Stevens has no life of his own, and he has never even considered leaving his position as a butler. Ishiguro states in another interview that he is interested in “the human capacity to accept a horrible destiny”. He means that Stevens accepts his living conditions and tries to save his pride and dignity (Sonntheimer 2005). There is no question that he is too afraid of creating a life of his own, even if he could actually benefit from that. He also refuses to change and he clings to the past, even though things around him change.

A Screen Memory: the “great” Butler-issue

One of the defense mechanisms that Stevens uses is something called a screen memory, which is a trivial memory that serves as a cover for another memory (Barry 98). Whenever Stevens remembers something he cannot handle, the screen memory links his attention to something else. Freud found out that the screen memory has an associative connection with the contents of the repressed thoughts (Freud 106). In Stevens´ case, the screen memory is namely about his role as a butler and the question of what a great butler is. He spends an enormous amount of time examining the question from every angle he can think of. For Stevens, there is no simple answer to that question: “It would seem there is a whole dimension to the question what is a great butler.” (Ishiguro 119) However, there are a few criterion a great butler must possess anyway, like “the ability to draw up a good staff plan,” which he claims is “the

cornerstone of any decent butler´s skills(…),” “an attachment to a distinguished household (not the houses of businessmen or the newly rich),” “a good accent, command of language, general knowledge on wide-ranging topics(…),” and above all, “a great butler must have dignity”(Ishiguro 5,32,35). In the first place, it is dignity that concerns Stevens the most. He tries to straighten out what it is and how you earn it. According to Graver: “Stevens provides a long, solemn, yet unwittingly brilliant disquisition on the question what makes a great butler” and it “continues to obsess him throughout his narrative.” (Graver 1) There is no doubt that this particular question has become somewhat of a life question for Stevens and it

continues to haunt him for years.

Furthermore, there is also a society for these few talented great butlers called Hayes Society. Only a few butlers are admitted to the society and they try to keep a low number of members. These butlers possess a special kind of dignity: the “dignity in keeping with his position.” (Ishiguro 33) In the following monologue Stevens explains what this special kind of dignity means and his view of the distinction between a butler and a great butler:

Lesser butlers will abandon their professional being for the private one at the least provocation. For such persons, being a butler is like playing some pantomime role; a small push, a slight stumble, and the façade will drop off to reveal the actor underneath.

The great butlers are great by virtue of their ability of inhabit their professional role and inhabit it to the outmost; they will not be shaken out by external events, however surprising, alarming or vexing. They wear their professionalism as a decent gentleman wears his suit: he will not let ruffians or circumstances tear it off him in the public gaze;

he will discard it when and only when, he wills to do so, and this will invariably be when he is entirely alone. It is, as I say, a matter of dignity.” (Ishiguro 43-44) The great butlers are flawless, and almost inhuman in the way they control their emotions.

Not for a single moment are they personal, they are rather like the stereotype. Nothing and nobody means anything to them except their role as a butler. Stevens thinks that it is something to strive for. For us, it is just one of the ways he deceives himself, and the great butler-issue is just a defense mechanism he uses to create a distance between the harsh reality and himself. On the one hand, he holds the belief that if only he could be one of these great butlers his life would be fulfilled and on the other hand, he is incapable of meeting the criterion, because he has to struggle to keep a distance between himself and his memories of his past. Cramer enlightens the fact that the use of defense mechanisms increases when there

is a threat to self-esteem (Cramer 639). It is obvious that there is a threat to Stevens´ self- esteem, because he has not discovered his own personality. In my opinion, he defines himself too much through his work and he even obsesses about it.

Sublimation: the influential Lord Darlington

Another defense mechanism Stevens uses to master his inner chaos is sublimation. It means that repressed material is disguised as something grand and noble (von Matt 37-40). Stevens uses it to cover up the nasty truth about his employer Lord Darlington. He has given him 35 years of service and he has built up his world around serving him. Stevens seems to feel some genuine affection for him, and fails to see him for the narrow-minded aristocrat and Nazi sympathizer he really is. Stevens says the following about him: “I can declare that he was a truly good man at heart, a gentleman through and through, and one I am proud to have given my best years of service to.” (Ishiguro 64) Lord Darlington arranged a number of unofficial meetings after World War I to persuade English and European Statesmen to amend the Treaty of Versaille.¹ He felt that the Treaty was too unfair on the Germans. Stevens makes something grander and nobler out of him and claims that Lord Darlington played an important role in foreign affairs. As Graver points out; Stevens is “so caught up in his own dream of serving a gentleman of international renown that he keeps trying to paint away the blemishes in his Lordship´s portrait.” (Graver 1) Stevens compares himself to his employer and in general he seems to think that butlers are not intelligent or educated enough to understand the problems of the world. This way of thinking is a token of his low self-esteem, which is a typical

characteristic for a self-deceiver. Another typical characteristic is that they do not realize their own importance (C. Gur). It goes without saying that for Stevens, being a butler

__________

1One of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. Germany had to take the sole responsibility for causing war and pay for the reparations

and serving a gentleman is the one and only thing that matters. It seems like there is no room for him to develop and grow as a person. Stevens explains the simple tasks of a butler in the following sentences:

A butler´s duty is to provide good service. It is not to meddle in the great affairs of the nation. The fact is, such great affairs will always be beyond the understanding of those such as you and me, and those who wish to make our mark, must realize that we best do so by concentrating on what is within our realm; that is to say, by devoting our attention to providing the best possible service to those great gentlemen in whose hands the destiny of civilization truly lies. (Ishiguro 209)

In conclusion, according to Stevens´ point of view, the role of a butler is to serve and not to question anything or be personal. Kakutani thinks that Stevens is “blindly loyal to his master and hesitant to venture any opinions of his own” (Kakutani 1). At this point, it is clear that the sublimation relates to what Stevens thinks of his role as a butler and the way he thinks of his employer, Lord Darlington, as a man of influence.

During his trip down the coast, he even once pretends to be a lord himself, and tells people that he knows Churchill and that he had much to do with foreign affairs in his time. In that moment, he deceives others as well as himself, which is another typical characteristic for self-deceivers. They often distort reality and identify others as the self, (C.Gur 149). Stevens took this one chance to identify himself as Lord Darlington and to try out his role.

Stevens also seems to think that he has done something good for the world. He explains that “a great butler can only be, surely, one who can point to his years of service and say that he has applied his talents to serving a great gentleman-and through the latter, to serving humanity.” (Ishiguro 123) Stevens believes that he has had a very important task to fill and by that, he makes more out of his role as a butler than what it really is to it. As Kakutani points out: “Stevens believed that he helped further cause of humanity,” and “by serving his employer loyally, Stevens participated too, in the making of history.” (Kakutani 1) In that case, if Stevens has participated in some way in “the making of history” and even to serve the humanity, it is rather strange that he has not achieved the status of a great butler.

Obviously, this is just another act of self-deception; otherwise he would have been a great butler by now.

Repression of Feelings for the Father

One defense mechanism Stevens uses to protect himself from feelings is repression.

Repression is when traumatic past events, un-admitted desires or unresolved conflicts are

forgotten or ignored. A vital conception in Freud´s thoughts is that whatever that is repressed will return in some way (Brock University 3). Stevens represses the traumatic event of the night his father died. The same night, Lord Darlington held a conference and Stevens was needed to carry out his service as a butler, which Stevens also thought was more important than his father. Miss Kenton, the housekeeper, informs him time after time again that his father is only getting worse and she must persuade him to come and see his father. The following dialogue between Miss Kenton and Stevens shows his unwillingness: “Mr. Stevens, he really is in a poor state. You had better come and see him”. “I only have a moment. The gentlemen are liable to retire to the smoking room at any moment”. “Of course. But you must come now”. “Mr. Stevens, or else you may deeply regret it later”. After he has seen his father he declares “this is most distressing. Nevertheless, I must return downstairs” (Ishiguro 108).

He returns downstairs and tries to ignore what happens to his father. Inside is he torn apart by emotions, which the following dialogue between Stevens and Lord Darlington shows:

-“Stevens, are you all right”

-“Yes, sir. Perfectly”

-“You look as though you´re crying”

-I laughed and taking out my handkerchief, quickly wiped my face. “I´m very sorry, sir.

The strains of a hard day.” (Ishiguro 110)

Stevens represses his feelings, gathers himself and carries on with his duties. According to Freud, the repressed thoughts will try to find their back into the conscious (Freud 596-597). It is unlikely that Stevens would not have been affected by the situation. As his father gets worse, Stevens refuses to come and see him and hides again behind his work. The following dialogue takes place between Stevens and Miss Kenton:

-“Will you come up and see him”

-“I´m very busy just now, Miss Kenton. In a little while perhaps”

-“In that case, Mr. Stevens, will you permit me to close his eyes” (…) -“Miss Kenton, please don´t think me unduly improper in not ascending to see my father in his deceased condition just at this moment. You see, I know my father would have wished me to carry on just now.“ (Ishiguro 111)

The- “I´m very busy just now”-phrase is a phrase Stevens often uses to avoid and push back reality. It is almost as if he hopes that the difficulties would go away and that they would, at a later stage, be forgotten. For him they are probably forgotten by then, pushed back in the

unconscious by a defense mechanism. When he later reflects on that evening, he praises himself for carrying out his duties, even in a moment of strong emotion: “For all its sad associations, whenever I recall that evening today, I find I do so with a large sense of

triumph.” (Ishiguro 115) He does not even spend a single thought on his father. According to Chira, Stevens has managed to “keep a calm surface” and he understates feelings and

emotions.” (Chira 2) I would rather say that he has repressed his feelings for the moment and that he deceives himself when he believes that he can avoid dealing with his father´s death.

McDaniel states that self-deceivers create illusions about themselves and it improves their self-esteem, the way they react to tragedy, and their feelings of control over their futures”

(McDaniel 119). That could explain Stevens´ awkward behavior and his sense of triumph, and by using the defense of self-deception, he found a way to cope with his father´s death.

Repression of Feelings for Miss Kenton

Stevens uses the same defense mechanism of repression to repress his feelings for Miss Kenton. He claims that he admires her professionalism and her devotion to her duties, but at the same time he finds her annoying and pushy. Miss Kenton shows her affection for him by bringing him flowers, visiting his room every now and then and spending a few moments every night drinking hot chocolate with him. She makes her small attempts to reach out to him, but Stevens continues to send her away. Finally, Miss Kenton decides to leave

Darlington Hall and to marry. Even then Stevens does not reveal his true feelings. The following scene takes place when she tells him about her departure:

-“I shall just tell you that I have accepted my acquaintance’s proposal(…)”

-“Ah, is that so, Miss Kenton, than may I offer you my congratulations(…)”

-“Am I to take it, she said, that after the many years of service I have given in this house, you have no other words to greet the news of my possible departure than those you have just uttered.” (Ishiguro 229)

Miss Kenton goes on, eager to receive some reaction to her news about her departure:

-“Did you know, Mr. Stevens, that you have been a very important figure for my acquaintance and I”(…) “We often pass the time amusing ourselves with anecdotes about you. For instance, my acquaintance always wants me to show him the way you pinch your nostrils together when you put pepper on your food. That always gets him

laughing”

-“Indeed.“ (Ishiguro 230)

But Stevens is unaffected by Miss Kenton´s feelings, even if she hopes in vain that he would understand her intentions and act on his feelings. She has also spent so much time arguing with Stevens about the most trivial things; for instance, if the Chinamen were in their right place or if Stevens room was too dark and bereft of colors or not. One could claim that Stevens “does not only sacrifice his manpower, the rest of what remains of his emotions as well” (Neue Züricher Zeitung). In other words, Stevens could have been the one marrying Miss Kenton, if only he had chosen his own path in life instead of clinging on his role as a butler.

The Freudian Slip: the Errors

After Stevens has used different defense mechanisms, repressed memories start to find their ways back to his conscious. This is called the Freudian Slip and it occurs when unresolved conflicts, desires or traumatic events of the unconscious find an outlet in our everyday

behavior as unintended actions (Barry 96-99). Freud described it as the unconscious “peaks in the world through dreams and slips” and called it “an inevitable force in our lives” (Brock University 4). As the new employer takes over, Stevens notices that he cannot focus on his work anymore. The new employer also expects his employees to banter with him, which Stevens feels that he is unable to do. His mind has gone from focusing on the great butler- issue to how he should provide the service his new employer awaits from him: “Since my new employer, Mr. Faraday arrived, I´ve tried very hard indeed, to provide the sort of service I would like him to have. I´ve tried and tried, but whatever I do I find I am far from reaching the standards I once set myself. More and more errors are appearing in my work.” (Ishiguro 255) The errors show that Stevens has many unresolved issues in his unconscious that are seeking an outlet and that the time has come for him to solve them. Kakutani describes it as

“cracks begin to appear in Steven´s immaculate façade”. She mentions that he is “confronted with several ghosts from his past, and he is gradually forced to re-evaluate his entire life.”

(Kakutani 1) Not only is Stevens forced to re-evaluate his life, he is also forced to deal with his repressed memories. He admits that there are “more and more” errors which appear in his work, not just one every now and then. According to Freud, whenever a slip occurs, there is always a repressed thought behind it and it happens when somebody is untrue to himself

(Freud 532-533). It is obvious that Stevens is untrue to himself, because the circumstances in his life have changed and he tries to hold on to a past that no longer exists.

The End: Finally Self-recognition

As the errors indicate, it is no longer possible for Stevens to continue his self-deception. He has to face some facts, look over the past and see what the future holds for him. Kakutani emphasizes that Stevens´ “account is filled with rationalizations, white lies and distortions”

(Kakutani 1). How would it be possible for him to continue to deceive himself when he has used up all his lies. He has outlived his role as a butler, given the best he could to Lord Darlington and he admits to himself that he really has no more to give: “I gave him the very best I had to give, and now-well- I find I do not have a great deal more left to give (Ishiguro 255). Along with that comes another insight. Stevens realizes that there is no dignity in trusting the wrong person and not choosing his own path in life. When he realizes that, he recognizes his own importance too. Then, after the final conversation with Miss Kenton, when she reveals her feelings for him, Stevens has to recognize his own repressed feelings as well:

-“When I left Darlington Hall all those years ago, I never realized I was really, truly leaving. I believe I thought of it as simply another ruse, Mr. Stevens, to annoy you”

(…)” there are occasions-when you think to yourself: What a terrible mistake I´ve made with my life. And you get to thinking about a life I might have had with you, Mr.

Stevens”.

–“Indeed-why should I not admit it?-at that moment, my heart was breaking.”

(Ishiguro 251-252)

Even though his heart is actually breaking, Stevens must find a way to justify himself. He chooses once more to deceive himself and builds up another lie. He comes to the conclusion that he will look at the past with no worries: “What is the point in worrying oneself too much about what one could or could not have done to control the course one´s life took? Surely it is enough that the likes of you and me at least try to make a small contribution count for

something true and worthy” (Ishiguro 257). The way he expresses himself: “likes of you and me” again shows that he does not think much of himself, which is also typical for a self- deceiver, who often “fails to recognize his own voice” (C. Gur 149). He also fails to

understand that he could have done something by making different choices. Graver mentions that “ Stevens with such a long history of self-deception, can only respond to this impasse by

deftly creating still another innocent fiction that will allow him to suppress feeling and knowledge in pursuit of a newly revised ideal of service” (Graver 1). It is possible that a time window has closed a long time ago, and it is too difficult for him to relearn to tackle these truths in any other way than to the use a defense mechanism. On the other hand, as McDaniel points out, people´s positive illusions are not part of the regular defense mechanisms: “They are mechanisms commonly used by all of us to withstand a sometimes harsh and cruel world”

(McDaniel 119). In that way, even though Stevens again deceives himself, the deception seems to serve a good purpose this time and it helps him to tackle his new course in life.

Conclusion

After having used the defense mechanisms of sublimation, repression, and a screen memory to protect himself, a phenomena called the Freudian Slip starts to appear in Stevens´ everyday life. Over the years, Stevens has been able to keep a distance between himself and his

memories. Every time he has come to think of something unpleasant and emotional or someone has come too near him, he has used different defense mechanisms as a protection.

Stevens used sublimation to make a noble man of international importance out of his former employer. He has repressed feelings for his father and Miss Kenton and repressed the traumatic events of the night his father died. He has over and over again used a screen memory to shut himself out from the reality and by that occupied himself with finding an answer to the question of what a great butler is. By using the defense mechanisms, Stevens has only managed to deceive himself. It does not mean that reality has stopped to exist; it means that his memories, traumatic past events and unresolved conflicts have been deposited in his unconscious. What he stored in his unconscious kept influencing his thoughts and his actions, and after some time, one error after another appeared in his work. Suddenly, the burden of the unpleasant memories became too heavy for him to bear. Finally, the moment of self-recognition comes, and Stevens decides to leave his memories behind and see what the future holds for him without any worries and without remaining in the past.

Works Cited Primary source

Ishiguro, Kazuo. The Remains of the Day. London: Faber and Faber Limited, 1996.

Secondary sources

Berry, Peter. Beginning Theory. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2002.

Brock University. Department of English Language and Literature. [Date accessed May, 20th, 2009] Available from World Wide

Web:<http://www.brocku.ca/english/courses/4F70/terms.php<

Chira, Susan. “A Case of Cultural Misperception”. The New York Times. October 28, 1989.

Cramer, Phoebe. “Defense Mechanisms in Psychology Today”. American Psychologists. Vol.

55(8). 637-646.

Dunn, Adam. “In the land of memory, Kazuo Ishiguro remembers when”. CNN. [Date accessed June, 4th, 2009] Available from World Wide Web:<

http://www.archieves.cnn.com/2000/books/news/10/27/kazuo.ishiguro/>

Freud, Sigmund. Die Traumdeutung. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 1991.

--. Zur Psychopathologie des Alltagslebens. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 2009.

Graver Lawrence. “What the Butler saw”. The New York Times. October 8, 1989.

Kakutani, Michiako. “Books of the Times; An Era Revealed in A Perfect Butler´s Impressions”. The New York Times. September 22, 1989.

--. “Books of the Times; From Kazuo Ishiguro, A New Annoying Hero”. The New York Times. October 17, 1995.

Markowitsch, Hans J. Das Gedächtnis, Entwicklung, Funktionen, Störungen. München:

Verlag C.H. Beck oHG, 2009.

McDaniel, H. Susan. “Positive Illusions: Creative Self-Deception and the Healthy Mind”.

Family Systems Medicine, Vol. 10 (1). 119-122.

Mount Mary College, Dr Kristi Siegel. Introduction to Modern Literary Theory. [Date accessed May, 20th, 2009] Available from World Wide Web: <

http://www.kristisiegel.com/theory.htm>

Ruben C., Gur, Sacheim, A., Harold. „Self- Deception: A Concept in Search of a Phenomenon”. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Vol 37(2). 148-152

Neue Züricher Zeitung, NZZ Online, Die leisen Lügen der Erinnerung. August, 27th, 2005.

[Date accessed April, 12th, 2009] Available from World Wide Web: <

http://www.nzz.ch/2005/08/27/li/articlecyizt_1.166241.html >

Sigmund Freud Zentrum Bern, [Date accessed April, 20th, 2009]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://freud-zentrum.ch/psychoanalyse.html>

Sontheimer, Michael, Scott Moore, Michael. „Erinnerung ist faszinierend“. Der Spiegel, October, 14th, 2005.

Von Matt, Peter. Literaturwissenschaft und Psychoanalyse. Stuttgart: Reclam, 2001.

Welles, F. James. “Self-Deception as a Positive Feedback Mechanism”. American Psychologist. Vol 41(3). 325-326.

Wroe, Nicholas. “The butler´s job in fiction”. The Guardian, April, 8th, 2009.

--. “Living memories”. The Guardian, February, 19th, 2005.