Hidden Love

Passage: "It is of course tragic that her marriage is now ending in failure. At this very moment, no doubt, she is pondering with regret decisions made in the far-off past that have now left her, deep in middle age, so alone and desolate. And it is easy to see how in such a frame of mind, the thought of returning to Darlington Hall would be a great comfort to her. Admittedly, she does not at any point in her letter state explicitly her desire to return; but that is the unmistakable message conveyed by the general nuance of many of the passages, imbued as they are with a deep nostalgia for her days at Darlington Hall. Of course, Miss Kenton cannot hope by returning at this stage ever to retrieve those lost years, and it will be my first duty to impress this upon her when we meet. I will have to point out how different things are now - that the days of working with a grand staff at one's beck and call will probably never return within our lifetime. But then Miss Kenton is an intelligent woman and she will have already realized these things. Indeed, all in all, I cannot see why the option of her returning to Darlington Hall and seeing out her working years there should not offer a very genuine consolation to a life that has come to be so dominated by a sense of waste." (Ishiguro 48)

In this passage, the narrator, Stevens, is making a reference in regards to his former fellow butler, Miss Kenton. Stevens seems to have a strictly professional attitude towards Miss Kenton, however I believe this is purely out of bitterness and regret. He is still not over her departure from Darlington Hall and the marriage that followed.
The tone of this passage comes off as very arrogant and two-sided. He states that it will "be my first duty to impress this upon her when we meet," meaning he will make sure that she knows things are different and she has lost her attributes as a butler. But then he goes on to say But then Miss Kenton is an intelligent woman and she will have already realized these things." It is becoming a pattern of his to criticize Miss Kenton but quickly recuperate and say something he enjoys about her. Whether it be her intelligence, her attitude, her skills, etc. His constant contrast comes off as feelings that he is not able to shake for her. He wishes to view himself as a professional butler who is superior to others, but he pays so much attention to Miss Kenton and has such a strong desire for her to come back to Darlington Hall that one can only assume there is something more than a professional relationship between them. In addition, he has the nerve to say that after her divorce she is now "deep in middle age, so alone and desolate." Who is he to say that the divorce was not beneficial to her and got her out of a bad relationship? Stevens again tries to make himself seem as if he is a much better position in his life than she is, the desire to be superior and "seem happy" is constantly appearing. His internal struggle between professional life and love life is shown through the switching viewpoints and contrasting ideas. Overall, the main idea of this passage is that Stevens has a very bitter attitude towards Miss Kenton. He is trying to highlight the negatives of her life ever since she became married as if to seem as though he was better off without her. But I believe that he has true feelings towards Miss Kenton whether he wants to address them or not. He puts up the front that he cares solely about being the best butler possible, which is true, but there will always be a soft spot in his heart for Miss Kenton.