Space And Subjectivity In The Remains Of The Day

Kazuo Ishiguro,a well-known contemporary British-Japanese novelist,is generally known as one of the “Three British Literary Migrant Giants” along with Naipaul and Rushdie.The Remains of the Day,the Booker Prize-winning novel by Ishiguro,with the British noble mansion Darlington Hall during the two world wars as its historical and narrative background,explores the issues of war,identity building,gentleman culture and the decline of the empire through Stevens' s memories.Although scholars at home and abroad have discussed the unique space narrative in the novel,the multi-layered space and its relevance with the subjectivity crisis of the hero has not been fully explored.This thesis,based on Gabriel Zoran's space narrative theory,aims to explores how Ishiguro develops space into both a narrative strategy and thematic concept in The Remains of the Day.It further delves into how Stevens' s subjectivity crisis is presented in space narrative,reveals the deep-level relevance between space and subjectivity crisis,and reflects on the possibilities and pathways to reconstruct subjectivity in space.The thesis is divided into five chapters.Chapter One mainly introduces the creative background and literary characteristics of Kazuo Ishiguro's writings.Based on the domestic and foreign review of the research status of Kazuo Ishiguro and his works,the research questions are put forward.Furthermore,the theoretical framework of the thesis is proposed is basis of Gabriel Zoran's space narrative theory.The body of the thesis is composed of three chapters.Chapter Two explores how the textual space constructed by language in the novel embodies the main division of Stevens' s imagined self and real self.The choice of language is full of self-deception,shaking the consistency between Stevens' s self-imagination and true self.The flashback and juxtaposed space narrative strategy construct the non-linear narrative structure and show the chaotic space of the imagined self and the real self.The unreliability of the first-person narrative perspective further reveals the main division of Stevens' s imagined self and real self.Chapter Three seeks for the causes of Stevens' s divided subjectivity from the topographical space presented in the novel.Darlington Hall,an English manor as the main topographical space,is not only the physical space of Stevens' s existence,but also the epitome of the times,which as a metaphor influences Stevens' s subjectivity construction from three aspects: professional ethics,gentleman culture and national status.Blind adherence to professional ethics solidifies Stevens' s professional identity,which,however,leads to his loss of other identities in Darlington Hall.Stevens blindly follows the gentlemen class represented by Lord Darlington,which creates a departure from the values of dignity by his self-imagination.With the rise of the United States and the decline of the British empire,the global situation has changes dramatically and Darlington Hall is finally sold as a commodity.However,Stevens is still obsessed with Darlington Hall's former glory.Chapter Four analyzes how Stevens' s subject consciousness is awakened in the chronotopic space.Miss Kenton's letter serves as the triggering event for Stevens' s initiation into the journey,and the collision of reality and memories on the journey triggers Stevens to reflect on his past relationship with Miss Kenton.The collision with the thoughts of the real gentleman Harry Smith and Mr.Carlisle's inspires Stevens to reexamine the meaning of dignity.The real imperial landscape on the road and the friendly treatment from the strangers motivate Stevens to embark on the journey to search for his true self.Chapter Five summarizes the main conclusions and makes further reflections.Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day presents the symptoms and causes of Stevens' s identity crisis and his awakened consciousness from three spatial levels: textual space,topographical space and chronotopic space.The hero's split subjectivity is represented in the textual space through the manipulation of the self-deceptive language,narrative structure and narrative perspective.The topographical space,as the physical background against which the hero lives,serves as the major factor contributing to the hero's split subjectivity.The hero's awakened consciousness mainly takes place in the chronotopic space,within which the hero adjusts himself in the tempo-spatial movements triggered by external events.In this novel,Ishiguro,by taking the two world wars as the historical background,explores the subjectivity issue of human beings through the study of the individual identity crisis.He reflects upon the relevance between space and subjectivity,and focuses on the influence of space within certain historical context on individual subjectivity.Ishiguro,through his literary creation,makes a deep reflection upon the social and historical times and suggests the possible pathways for the individual to reconstruct subjectivity within space,expressing his deep concern for the existential conditions of human beings.