Bartleby, the Scrivener Summary

"I would prefer not to." This enigmatic phrase, echoed time and again by Bartleby, captures the silent but palpable resistance to the monotony of life and work in a modernizing world.

1. Work, Repetition, and the Mechanization of Life

Herman Melville explores how repetitive work dulls the human spirit and reduces individuals to mere cogs in a machine. In this story, Bartleby starts off as an efficient scrivener but soon disengages entirely from his tasks.

The lawyer as narrator describes his office as bustling with transactions and legal documents. This environment, though productive, is devoid of personal fulfillment or creativity. Bartleby perfectly reflects the bleak outcome of such conditions: once consumed with writing, he later loses all will even to participate in it. This shift reveals how mechanical jobs drain workers, stripping them of purpose and individuality.

Bartleby's work setup is significant—his desk is tucked behind a screen and faces a blank wall. This windowless view is emblematic of his stunted worldview and isolation within the workplace. The unchanging, confined walls underscore a lack of meaningful progression. Melville uses this imagery to reflect how modernity confines humans mentally and emotionally.

Examples

• Bartleby produces documents at an extraordinary pace early on, suggesting his hunger for engagement, though mechanical and rote.
• The stark absence of stimulation in Bartleby’s environment mirrors the lack of fulfillment in his work.
• The lawyer's other assistants, Turkey and Nippers, exhibit comical, exaggerated quirks tied to their professional routines.

2. Mental Mystery and Invisible Suffering

The story gives us no direct explanation for Bartleby’s behavior, yet his pallid appearance and "forlorn" demeanor suggest mental and emotional suffering.

The narrator observes Bartleby’s unwillingness to explain his actions or background, leading to speculation and a subtle exploration of mental illness. There are signs of depression or despair but described in the 19th-century language of spiritual and moral malaise. The lawyer’s inability to confront or understand Bartleby reflects societal discomfort surrounding mental health at the time.

Bartleby’s refusal to perform even the simplest tasks, his prolonged stares at the wall, and his eventual renunciation of eating altogether highlight how his suffering transcends the tangible. This sharp decline forces readers to reflect on how mental health issues can manifest in everyday settings.

Examples

• The narrator suspects Bartleby suffers from an "innate and incurable disorder."
• Bartleby stares endlessly at the wall, an act suggesting disconnection from reality.
• Descriptions like “pallid” and “hopeless” provide subtle clues about Bartleby’s mental state.

3. Isolation in a Crowd

Melville emphasizes isolation, not just in Bartleby but in city life itself. New York’s Wall Street is bustling, yet each character remains isolated by their individual struggles.

Bartleby’s physical placement in the office reflects his emotional state—he is screened off and set apart from others, both literally and figuratively. Meanwhile, his coworkers, despite constant interaction, share little meaningful connection. This isolation extends to the lawyer, who, despite narrating the story, admits his confusion over Bartleby and feelings of helplessness.

The lawyer's sympathy for Bartleby grows as he sees traces of his loneliness—a couch imprint, a blanket under the desk—but his sympathy falters when it conflicts with practicality. This dynamic shows how societal structures often perpetuate detachment, even when empathy is present.

Examples

• Bartleby’s separation by a screen physically mirrors his emotional detachment.
• Despite working together daily, Turkey, Nippers, and Ginger Nut remain caricatures to one another.
• The lawyer only truly reflects on Bartleby’s plight after he realizes Bartleby has been living at the office.

4. The Power of Passive Resistance

Bartleby’s quietly repeated statement, “I would prefer not to,” serves as a subtle rebellion against authority and expectations.

This polite refusal frustrates the lawyer because it both avoids direct conflict and disrupts the established order of the office. Bartleby’s phrase is neither aggressive nor defiant in tone, but its persistence breaks social norms and challenges power dynamics in small yet meaningful ways.

The lawyer is paralyzed by Bartleby’s passivity, unsure whether to fire him, help him, or ignore him. This inaction reveals Bartleby’s quiet power: his refusal forces others to confront their own assumptions about obedience and normalcy.

Examples

• Bartleby refuses simple requests like proofreading, yet offers no anger or justification.
• The repetition of “I would prefer not to” becomes a mantra, shaking the lawyer’s confidence and authority.
• Bartleby’s passive stance shifts the focus from his actions to the lawyer’s response.

5. The Role of the Narrator: Sympathy or Selfishness?

The lawyer’s narrative voice blends empathy with detachment, raising questions about his true motives.

Throughout the story, the lawyer’s treatment of Bartleby swings between pity and frustration. At times, he fancies himself a savior, offering Bartleby food, money, and even a place to live. Yet, his curiosity about Bartleby seems more voyeuristic than truly compassionate.

His ultimate decision to abandon Bartleby reflects his limits as a caretaker. The lawyer symbolizes how society often fails individuals like Bartleby by offering temporary aid while ignoring the systemic factors that contribute to their suffering.

Examples

• The lawyer gives Bartleby multiple chances to leave the office but hesitates to enforce consequences.
• He chooses to move offices rather than confront Bartleby directly.
• The lawyer muses extensively about Bartleby’s past, but these reflections do nothing to help him.

6. Dead Letters and Dead Hopes

The revelation that Bartleby once worked in the Dead Letter Office drives home the story’s themes of despair and futility.

Bartleby’s former job involved handling letters that failed to reach their destinations. This tragic metaphor—messages of hope and connection burned into ashes—parallels Bartleby’s own life. He becomes a “dead letter” himself, wandering aimlessly until his tragic death.

The lawyer sees Bartleby’s work with these letters as exacerbating his melancholia, suggesting that some environments intensify human suffering when individuals already feel hopeless.

Examples

• The lawyer imagines Bartleby sorting through misplaced “hope” and “pardon” in the Dead Letter Office.
• Bartleby’s office silence mirrors the futility of unsent communications.
• The description of burning dead letters symbolizes the destruction of human connection.

7. Office Spaces as Modern Prisons

The story critiques urban office life as a space that confines and consumes individuals.

Bartleby’s small, screened-off desk evokes the image of a prison cell. This setup traps him, both as an employee and as a man with no home to return to. When Bartleby finally ends up in jail, this symbolism becomes literal—modern labor and institutional indifference combine to extinguish his spirit.

Melville suggests that the sterile, rigid structures of the corporate world rob individuals of agency and dignity, reducing human beings to mere tools of production.

Examples

• Bartleby stares endlessly at a brick wall outside his office window.
• The small cubicle-like space behind the lawyer’s screen isolates Bartleby in his role.
• Bartleby’s arc ends tragically in a real cell, where he declines further into despair.

8. Mental Health and Societal Failure

Bartleby’s decline illustrates a widespread failure to address or understand mental health.

The lawyer recognizes Bartleby’s suffering but misinterprets or overlooks it due to the limited medical and social understanding of the era. This apathy echoes in current systems where mental illness is often ignored until it leads to homelessness, imprisonment, or worse. Bartleby’s refusal to eat at the end emphasizes the neglect of deeper emotional needs.

The story underlines how individuals like Bartleby, though visibly suffering, often fall through the cracks of society.

Examples

• The lawyer repeatedly calls Bartleby “forlorn” but makes no real effort to intervene.
• Bartleby spirals into his silent protest despite the lawyer’s occasional pity.
• Historical figures in the 19th century, like Bartleby, lacked access to any meaningful mental health support.

9. Alternatives to Conformity

Bartleby's phrase reveals the possibility of rejecting societal norms, but it also depicts the consequences of such choices.

By refusing to conform, Bartleby challenges his employer and the rigid structure of his environment. Yet his resistance does not lead to freedom but isolation and suffering. Melville suggests that while conformity crushes individuality, nonconformity without support can be equally isolating.

Bartleby’s tragic fate prompts readers to consider the importance of creating systems that support those who reject harmful norms.

Examples

• Bartleby actively chooses not to work, despite pressure to conform.
• His refusal to leave the Wall Street building highlights his defiance of societal expectations.
• Bartleby’s homelessness demonstrates the consequences of nonconformity in an unsympathetic system.

Takeaways

1. Recognize signs of mental and emotional distress in colleagues and offer meaningful support rather than superficial solutions.
2. Evaluate workplace practices to ensure they foster both productivity and personal connection.
3. Reflect on the balance between conformity and individuality—consider how current systems can adapt to support those who challenge the norm.