A Hat, a Handshake, and a Rainy Day: Translating Unspoken Emotion from Page to Screen in The Remains of the Day

Abstract

Through a comparative analysis of Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day and its adapted films, this paper explores how emotional restraint is translated from literature to film. Focusing on the farewell scenes of Mr. Stevens and Miss Kenton, the study holds that adaptation should not be understood as a simple retelling, but as an intermediate form of translation. The novel relies on first-person narration, memory, and language restraint to imply repressed emotions, while the film reconfigures these internal states into visual and auditory forms, including lens composition, sound design, and performance. Based on adaptation theory and film research, this paper demonstrates that the film subtly externalizes psychology through figurative performance, spatial distance, and symbolic gestures such as handshakes and hat removal. By comparing the limitations of narrative and film expression, we find that emotional meaning is not lost in the adaptation process but is redistributed in different expression systems. Finally, the study argues that the film does not simplify the emotional complexity of the novel but transforms it into a sensory experience that makes unspoken emotions visible and direct. sensory experience that makes unspoken emotions visible and immediate.