Why do people think that the life of stevens was a waste ? Yes he does indeed have some regret but that does not mean he wpuld have been happy if he changed something in the past ,like for eg if he left the job or if he stopped miss keaton that evening and married her later.He might have had an uneventful life and would have had other regrets.Suppose ,what if lord darligton was not chastised but acclaimed universally.