“Generativity versus Stagnation”: Midlife Crisis in Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day

This paper discusses midlife crisis as a driving force behind the thought and action of the protagonist of Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day. The whole novel contains a diary written by the English butler Stevens who relates his history of servitude at Darlington Hall and concludes with some revelations about the true nature of his past. Since the butler’s account gives hints to his concern for the extent of his achievement in life, his reassessing act of delving into the past can be taken as an attempt to resolve midlife crisis. Being the seventh stage of Erik Erikson’s developmental psychology, midlife crisis is primarily characterized by the binary “generativity versus stagnation” and the subject’s struggle to decide on the meaning of life. Occurring between 40 and 65, midlife crisis is stimulated by the reconsideration of social demands such as career and marriage. Applying this psychoanalytic approach to Stevens’ experience of midlife crisis, the present research investigates the place of Lord Darlington and Miss Kenton, the former Stevens’ employer and the latter his only love object, as embodiments of the social demands of career and marriage that the butler reviews in his midlife stage. Ultimately, this research discusses the butler’s success in resolving midlife crisis by considering the individuation process, namely self-awareness, self-actualization, and the caring power the protagonist goes through. Keywords: Ishiguro, Erikson, Midlife Crisis, Generativity, Stagnation, Individuation.

Caring power of mothers who have a child with cancer and its predictors

Background: Attention to the family care provider needs and their caring power is essential. Since mothers are considered as the child’s main care provider, this study aimed to determine the caring power and its predictors among mothers of children with cancer. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-correlational study, 196 mothers who had a child with cancer were selected through purposive sampling. The data were collected using two questionnaires, namely demographics questionnaire and the care power of the care providers of cancer patient questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS 19 and running descriptive statistics and regression analysis. Results: The highest average score belonged to dimensions of “effective role play” (44.62 ± 5.28) and “trust” (14 ± 1.67), and the lowest ones respectively belonged to dimensions of “fatigue and resignation” (22.38 ± 6.33), “awareness” (8.46 ± 2.70), and “uncertainty” (12.38 ± 3.50). In addition, variables of educational level (p <0.001), adequacy of family income (p <0.001), and duration of illness (p0.29) were found as predictors of caring power. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the caring power of mothers with a child with cancer is favorable. High trust and effective role-play reduced fatigue and resignation of mothers, and low awareness about the provision of care caused uncertainty affecting negatively the care power. In addition, the adequacy of family income, the high level of mother's education, and the reduction in the duration of the disease had a direct impact on care power.