First, let me say that I enjoyed this story as much as I was annoyed by it. At certain points I wanted to shake Stevens: What in the world are you thinking?! For example, when he dismissed Miss Kenton's news that she was going to marry her acquaintance I really wanted him to just suck it up and tell her how he felt. And then when Mr Cardinal was telling him that Mr Darrington was being used as a pawn by Hitler, I wanted him to LISTEN and at least think for himself. That said, I was also very taken with his pride in his work, and respect for his employer, and the dedication he had in all that he did.
Steven's narration was reliable only in what he was overhearing, what he was observing. He wasn't even completely honest about how he was feeling or what he was thinking. I'm sure that if he had opened up at all we would have heard all about how he felt about his employers, Miss Kenton, his father, his job, etc. But he was even fooling himself, I think. He was so dedicated to the cause of "dignity," so closed off that he couldn't even let his narration be betrayed by his emotions.
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