Kazuo Ishiguro (November 9, 1954)

Long before “Downton Abbey” the recent past in England was explored by Kazuo Ishiguro in his book “The Remains of the Day” in 1989. By 1993, this book was adapted into a film, starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. I always wondered how he did that.

Ishiguro, who has been described as a British Asian author, explained in a BBC interview how growing up in a Japanese family in the UK was crucial to his writing, enabling him to see things from a different perspective to that of many of his English peers.

Wikipedia

I’m surprised that none of the astrology sites have rectified his chart, based on his life’s story. To me, it was obvious that his moving to Guildford, Surrey at age 5 would be symbolized by Jupiter. Gaining naturalized British citizenship at age 29 is symbolized by the Sun, while marrying his wife at age 32 is symbolized by Venus. That makes his birth time at 5 pm local Japanese time, and his Ascendant in Taurus. As a result, there are two inconjuncts, one dependent on a correct timing, the other not.

Moon Inconjunct Venus

You need to be loved, even more than most people, particularly by your mother or another woman who takes the place of your mother. This need for love will be the force behind many of your actions. If you don’t find the love you are looking for, you will develop an insecure hunger for love from everyone you meet. However, you may express this in very strange ways, such as a desire for food, especially sweets, which unconsciously represent love to you.

Pluto Inconjunct Midheaven

You may have trouble with older people who try to teach you how to effectively take control of your life. Even while you are young, you may resent their control over you and resist everything they are trying to teach you. To a great extent, your path in life will be shaped by your early confrontations with authority figures. Your parents would be well advised to give you as much control as possible over your own affairs and as much self-determination as you can handle. They should not try to keep an extremely tight rein on you, for if they do, you will explode and become very difficult to handle. Also your self-esteem would be damaged. Your parents and teachers should be very straightforward with you, because if you feel that people are not being honest with you, you will not be honest with them. You are quite capable of acting behind peoples’ backs if you consider it necessary or if you feel that you never get your own way.

{It is interesting that Pluto’s placement in his chart would coincide with his becoming immersed in the British education system…]

The Remains of the Day

The main character, Mr. Stevens, is a very buttoned-down personality. His main counterpart, Miss Kenton, is the housekeeper he hired for the Darlington Hall household. He probably thought they would grow old together, but she had other plans. They meet again in 1956, and the title comes from a line, near the end of the tale, when she asks him why the people applaud when the lights are turned on the Grand Pier. He replies that the evening is the best part of the day after the work is done.

When they finally meet again, Mrs. Benn, having been married now for more than twenty years, admits to wondering if she made a mistake in marrying, but says she has come to love her husband and is looking forward to the birth of their first grandchild. Stevens later muses over lost opportunities, both with Miss Kenton and regarding his decades of selfless service to Lord Darlington, who may not have been worthy of his unquestioning fealty. Stevens even expresses some of these sentiments in casual conversation with a friendly stranger of a similar age and background whom he happens upon near the end of his travels.

This man suggests that it is better to enjoy the present time in one’s life than to dwell on the past, as “the evening” is, after all, the best part of the day. At the end of the novel, Stevens appears to have taken this to heart as he focuses on the titular “remains of the day”, referring to his future service with Mr. Farraday (Mr. Lewis in the film) and what is left of his own life.

Here’s the scene from the film:

And that, my friends, is what retirement is like.