论小说《长日留痕》中史蒂文斯选择的必然性(3)
The pride to be an English man also can be revealed from Stevens’s trip. “The English landscape at its finest…possesses a quality that the landscapes of other nations, however more superficially dramatic, inevitably fail to possess” (Kazuo Ishiguro, 1989, p. 22). He takes it for granted that there is the most splendorous village scenery in England and describes English scenes with the word “restraint” while uses the word “demonstrativeness” for other countries’ scenes, which shows a kind of superiority (Tang & Wang, 2014).
From this story, Stevens, serves in the Darlington Hall in British glorious era for a long time. He is exposed to this kind of imperialist superiority and regards himself as a prominent man. Even it is high time that his father was dying; he fails to absent himself from the service. It is the glorious time that encourages Stevens to be confident enough as if he can share a high sense of superiority.
3.2 Elitist Culture
In the Darlington Hall, Stevens needs to serve not only Lord Darlington but also many distinguished guests who make mighty decisions and “their mighty decisions emanate out to all else, rich and poor, who revolved around them” (Kazuo Ishiguro, 1989, p. 86). A group of so-called elites decide the national and international affairs of Britain and rule people’s way of life. Working in the great house, Stevens views the world “not as a ladder, but more as a wheel” (Kazuo Ishiguro, 1989, p. 85) and those distinguished lords, who represent the supreme power, are the center of the wheel, so he tries his best to get as close as he can to the center. “…as professionals, the surest means of doing so would be to serve the great gentlemen of our times in whose hands civilization had been entrusted” (Kazuo Ishiguro, 1989, p. 86). Stevens is always exposed to this kind of elitist culture and believes that the authority is in the hands of the minority including the upper class and ruling class. The elitist culture aims to control the mass and their destiny (Fu, 2001). And in Stevens’s heart, Lord Darlington is the master of the great house as well as the center of the world, so he deserves high respect and appreciation. Stevens is grateful for this opportunity to serve Lord Darlington and is willing to be governed by Lord Darlington and sacrifices everything for him regardless of his father’s death.