A Study Of Existentialist Feminism In Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains Of The Day

Kazuo Ishiguro is a famous Japanese-British immigrant writer in the20^{th_</sup>century British literature,and The Remains of the Day helps him win the Booker Prize.Ever since its publication in 1988,this novel has drawn wide attention from critics and scholars.Previous studies have centered on unreliable narration,post colonialism,psychoanalysis,trauma theory and culture diversity studies.Up till now,most of the studies focus on the protagonist Stevens,but seem to overlook the importance of Miss Kenton,the only main female character in the novel.In light of Simone de Beauvoir’s theory of existentialist feminism,this thesis attempts to study Miss Kenton’s otherness and her unwillingness to become the absolute other.Based on textual reading and reference studies,this thesis concludes that Miss Kenton,living in the patriarchal society,is doomed to fail in her struggle for freedom and independence.This study can certainly help readers better understand the sad farewell between her and Stevens.}