Dignity for me has a few different meanings.... I feel the "
dignity of life" is the God given right to life. Every individual has that inherent value and worth, and is born with the dignity of life.
dignity also for me means....an honor given to a person, who has earned it through exemplary actions, as a soldier who goes to the battlefield, rifle in hand, facing the enemy, knowing he could die for the belief in, and love of his country, or a president or leader who serves his country under extreme duress conditions, and puts the people of his country before him, hence the saying,
"dignity of the office."dignity also for others I feel means..... earned
respect/
status/self worth, in which I do think this is how Stevens refers to dignity. Stevens feels because he, and other butlers have been loyal, exercised their duties to the best of their abilities, and gave up their own personal lives for the Lord of the Manor, that earned them the respect/status/worthiness, and in doing so, has dignity.
It's very important throughout the book for Stevens to feel he has earned this honor/status/self worthiness, of
dignity for his services. But then in the end, when
reality sets in, he questions everything about his life, and the years of trust and loyalty he gave to Lord Darlington, who proves to have not necessarily been a worthy man, to give such loyalty and service to. It has to be earth shattering for Stevens to be at the end of his best years, to wonder what is next for him, and has he foolishly served an impostor.
It reminds me of the story,
The Emperor's New Clothes. People had to believe the Emperor had on clothes of royalty, because if they actually saw the reality of the foolishness of the the Emperor being naked, they then would see the foolishness in themselves, for putting their blind trust in such a person. Poor Stevens, must at least feel he earned the status/dignity/worthiness, he so obsesses over, to prove his life was worth something, to know he has self worth.
Ginny asks,
So is Ishiguro saying that idealists cannot survive in the real world? And who creates that "real world," anyway?
In my opinion, and here I, like you Ginny, will go out on a limb and play amateur psychologist, I believe idealist not only
can live in the real world, but
do so every day. They just have a very difficult time when reality squashes, their idealist narrative of life.
Not to get political, but this idea of a Green New Deal by AOC, is for me a perfect example of an idealist believing so strongly in her ideals, that when presented with the
reality of how her ideals would banish air travel, train travel, energy,cows, etc., she was like a deer in headlights. She has convinced herself, (or someone else has convinced her) and wanted to convince the country, that if we did not get on board with her idealistic views, and implement this Green New Deal, asap, the world will end in 10 - 12 years. Her own party was like the people in the story of The Emperor's New Clothes, until a few of them were forced to see the reality of what effects this would have on the country/world. I mean how could you conduct any business or vacation in Hawaii or other places in the world without this diesel fueled transportation?
Stevens was convinced he made all the right choices in serving, and being loyal to Lord Darlington, and when he is faced with the
reality, he is left with, what next?
Ginny,
And who creates that "real world," anyway?
My best guess..... those with status and power.
As a Christian, I know God created a
"perfect" world, and Lucifer wanted the power God had, so he exerted himself to achieve that goal, that status, only to be struck down to a snake, and Adam and Eve were tempted by him to eat of the forbidden tree, which we all know how that ended, and I will go one step further and ask, didn't Stevens himself want Lord Darlinton's status, I mean he did pretend he was the Lord to the Taylors and others. So yes, we can follow commandments, or we, like the people in the Emperor's story, or Adam and Eve in the Bible story, can allow others to set the
status quo/real world. Every person chooses to
believe and act in their own way, whether you are an
idealist,
pragmatist or
realist..... you choose. God gave us all, "
free will, along with
inherent human dignity." If we are disappointed in the end, we have only ourselves to blame, as does Stevens.