He thinks back to when he first met Miss Kenton, in 1922. Benn-will actually agree to return he’s received some letters from her in which she seems unhappy, even desperate. The next day Stevens wonders whether or not Miss Kenton-who now, he reminds himself, uses her married name, Mrs. He recalls a number of anecdotes that he thinks prove his father’s dignity. Stevens turns to his own father (who was a butler himself) as one example of someone who was a great butler-that is, who embodied the dignity of the profession. Stevens also reflects on what it means to be a “great” butler, recalling a number of conversations he’s had with other butlers over the years. On his first day of travel, Stevens reflects on the greatness of English scenery-scenery which he believes to be all the greater precisely because it is subtle and not as “magnificent” as the landscape of other countries.

Stevens has been making a few errors in running the household- mistakes he dismisses as minor-but he thinks Miss Kenton’s return might help him resolve them. Although he’s initially unsure, he finally decides he will take the trip: it will give him the chance to pay a visit to Miss Kenton, who used to be Darlington Hall’s housekeeper, but who married and left several decades ago. As a result, Stevens is still learning to banter and joke, which he thinks of as a professional skill he should develop. Farraday’s casual, informal manner is unfamiliar to Stevens, who had served for many years under a traditional English aristocrat, Lord Darlington. Farraday, is returning to the United States for a visit, and Farraday has suggested that Stevens take some time off. Stevens, a butler at an old English country house called Darlington Hall, is preparing to take a short trip through the English countryside.

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