Effective answers will clarify the meaning and types of duty and discuss instances of each. The main kinds of duty are: duty to one's employer, country, friends and family (perhaps including fellow workers). Of these major types, some are in conflict; for instance, Stevens' duty to his employer arguably conflicts with his duty to his country.

Duty at Darlington Hall means the efficient maintenance of the household. Lord Darlington insists on its supreme importance. Stevens as the head butler

➤ supervises junior staff and the new housekeeper.

➤ provides his views about being a good butler in a speech for employees. He says that a great butler has dignity in keeping with his position.

➤ maintains that he has worked hard-his actions in the film strongly support this.

➤ follows his father's guidelines by saying what a great butler is.

➤ allows his work to come first before any personal involvement with Miss Kenton, who at one time hints they might marry.

Thus for Stevens there is a conflict between duty to his employers and possible emotional involvement with the housekeeper. The former is stronger. However, the latter might not be regarded as a duty, unless it is argued that possible personal ties form a kind of duty.

Miss Kenton

➤ assists dutifuly in the household by telling Stevens about problems (e.g. cleaning implements left in the wrong place).

➤ sees in duties as including a concern for Stevens's father, who is having difficulty being a servant due to age.

Stevens' father

➤ takes much the same attitude to his work in the household as his son.

➤ refuses to stop working even when he is asked to no longer to wait at table. Even on his death bed he places his duty to the household first.

2. Duty to one's country

This aspect of duty, serving one's country and being loyal to it, manifests itself when

➤ Stevens appears unaware of important political developments happening at Darlington Hall which may endanger the country.

➤ Cardinal (who is dutiful to England) tries to warn him about them but he loyally adheres to his employer's support for 'Peace in our Time'. Stevens clearly puts his duty to his employer before any considerations of duty to country by refusing to consider political matters.

3. Duty to one's friends

This is shown when

➤ Lord Darlington reveals to Stevens that he supports peace with Germany because he let a German friend down after the First World War and wants to back the Germans' proposals at the conference. He therefore sees his duty to his friend as justifying his position on duty to his country, seeing no conflict of interest.

➤ Miss Kenton tries to stop the dismissal of the two Jewish girls, and reasons with Stevens. He, however, does not show any feelings about their treatment and does not permit whatever feelings he may have to get in the way of his employer's wishes.

4. Duty to one's family (and fellow workers)

This theme is evidenced when

➤ Miss Kenton considers it her duty to show Stevens that her father is too old to wait at table. She thus places duty to her fellow workers in the same category as duty to her employer.

➤ Stevens goes to see to the conference guests even as his father is dying.

➤ Mr Stevens Senior puts duty to serve the household before family duty when he encourages his son to go and attend to the guests. Thus, both Stevens and his father prioritise duty to one's employer before duty to one's family.

The Remains of the Day is to a great extent about repression. Repression means keeping down and controlling one's own emotions or desires, perhaps unconsciously. The main focus of answers will be on Stevens himself, who

➤ cannot properly brief Cardinal about sex, and talks obscurely and confusedly to him.

➤ has difficulty relieving his guilt about having been Lord Darlington's butler when

● he denies having known him to a shopkeeper.

● he at first denies having known him to a man who helps him refuel his car.

His relations with Miss Kenton particularly demonstrate Stevens' repression. At a simple level, he is her superior in the household at Darlington Hall. The events of the film suggest, however, that their relationship is more complex.

Stevens' interest in Miss Kenton

The butler early on takes a secret interest in the housekeeper. He spies on her through keyholes. This suggests that he is unable or unwilling to communicate directly with her, although he is fascinated by her and perhaps finds her attractive.

Miss Kenton's interest in Stevens

Very differently from him, she is open and speaks her mind. She takes an interest in his family, addressing his father by his first name William and advising him about his father's physical and mental inabilities (e.g. his forgetfulness when he leaves his brushes in the wrong place).

Interactions between Stevens and Miss Kenton

Both of the housekeeper's attempts to relax formality with the butler produce a cold response from him. He says that she should be more respectful to his father and not give him advice.

Significance of their interactions

Both apparently have some feelings for each other, but express them through confrontation. Stevens is the more repressed, it seems: Miss Kenton's openness seems a sincere gesture of goodwill or reaching out. In contrast, the head butler retreats into a world where household traditions are most important. He is ultimately a lonely figure and the film's ending suggest that Stevens' personal hopes are unfulfilled.

Significance of their relationships to the film

In the film a tension is created during the development of the relations between them. The viewer wonders whether the two will marry.

Their further interactions

Stevens persistently hides his feelings but Miss Kenton develops her feelings toward him, for example she:

twice brings flowers to his room, and

tells him she has married Benn, she receives no expression of emotion, only Stevens' good luck wishes.

The repression of feelings is reinforced by the confinement of the setting. Servants must live below stairs, watching their masters through doors, windows and corridors. Answers which mention the filmic techniques for presenting this should be rewarded.