Service and class
In the novel, a disenfranchised young man takes a job as a servant in a hotel, carrying bags, serving as a waiter, etc. He encounters many powerful men, whom he deeply admires. Once, as the title suggests, he serves the King of England. He also serves the president of Czechoslovakia, and he even serves the emperor of Ethiopia, who gives him a medal. When he finally opens his own hotel, he serves John Steinbeck.
These are more than just political allusions. They serve a thematic role, because they remind the reader that this character is humble, and that he is happy to serve people whom he admires. He is so passionate about good service that his greatest desire in life is to own a wonderful hotel.
Political mistakes and humanitarianism
In the book, Dite is known for supporting the Nazis, but this is a misunderstanding. He hates the Nazis, but he's dating one. When they get married, they go to a Nazi retreat where the Nazis embarrass and humiliate him. Back home, he is not accepted because he was willing to receive help from the enemy, but that's precisely the point. Dite's political opinions are non-political. He just cares about his girlfriend and his job, but unfortunately, the reality of his political situation demands a higher response than that.
In other words, one of the themes is political naïvete. He demonstrates this most clearly when he uses the Jewish man's stamp collection to buy a hotel, not realizing that it's blood money from a Holocaust victim.
Suffering, tragedy, and redemption
Dite is not a well-accepted man in his culture. His son is born with serious mental defects, and his wife dies in a bombing (offering support to the Nazis). Because the Nazi occupation was on everyone's mind, it indicates something about Dite's character that he dates and marries a Nazi, a woman with whom he has nothing in common, a woman whose political ideology is repulsive. Their baby is a person whose life is defined by struggle and suffering.
These are pictures of tragedy, naïvete, and hubris, but eventually, these themes resolve into a sense of redemption. We end the novel with a picture of Dite in nature, where he is not judged by his fellow man. Dite writes this book (fictitiously of course) partially because he wants to explain himself. He spends his time pursuing peace and religious enlightenment.
