Characters in The Remains of The Day
- James Stevens (Mr Stevens) – the narrator, an English butler who serves at Darlington Hall. He is a devoted butler with high standards and particularly concerned with "dignity"
- Miss Kenton – housekeeper at Darlington Hall, afterwards married as Mrs Benn
- Lord Darlington – the owner of Darlington Hall, whose failed efforts toward talks between English and German diplomats caused his political and social decline
- William Stevens (Mr Stevens senior) – the 75-year-old father of butler Stevens (the narrator), serving as under-butler; Stevens senior suffers a severe stroke during a conference at Darlington Hall. His son was divided between serving and helping.
- Senator Lewis – An American senator who criticizes Lord Darlington as being an "amateur" in politics.
- Mr Farraday – the new American employer of Stevens
- Young Mr Cardinal – a journalist; he is the son of one of Lord Darlington's closest friends and is killed in Belgium during the Second World War
- Dupont – a high-ranking French politician who attends Darlington's conference
On his motoring trip, Stevens briefly comes into contact with several other characters. They are mirrors to Stevens and show the reader different facets of his character; they are also all kind and try to help him. Two in particular, Dr. Carlisle and Harry Smith, highlight themes in the book.
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“His leanings were strictly lyrical, descriptions of nature and emotions came to him with surprising facility, but on the other hand he had a lot of trouble with routine items, such as, for instance, the opening and closing of doors, or shaking hands when there were numerous characters in a room, and one person or two persons saluted many people.”
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