Annotated Biography: Bartleby the Scrivener
Stempel, Daniel, and Bruce M. Stillians. “Bartleby the Scrivener: A Parable of Pessimism.” Nineteenth-Century Fiction, vol. 27, no. 3, Dec. 1972, pp. 268–282, 10.2307/2932890.
The authors suggest that all readers of Bartleby the Scrivener are constantly reminded of Bartleby’s frequent avoidance of the verb “to will,” and instead substitutes it with the verb “prefer.” This form of speech is one that makes both his employers and coworkers grow curious about him. Stempel and Bruce indicate that Bartleby’s choice of words is not something that his employer is used to with regard to a master and a man (employer and employee). Bartleby exudes an aura of holiness that impresses not only his lawyer but also his coworkers. These authors describe the lawyer as a complacent storyteller who, even though he starts by congratulating himself on his good conduct and personal circumstances, unintentionally reveals that he is actually the opposite of a Spartan. A comparison between Bartleby and his fellow clerks reveals that he is less energetic and excited about his work, so much that the others seem to be driven with some unnatural or demonic powers. All Bartleby does is produce copies of documents, but whenever he is required to verify his copies, he declines in a manner that is not conventional in a work environment. These authors generally attempt to present various highlights of the story, rather than look at it from a more critical perspective.
Widmer, Kingsley. “Melville’s Radical Resistance: The Method and Meaning of ‘Bartleby.” Studies in the Novel, vol. 1, no. 4, 1969, pp. 444–458. JSTOR.
Widmer starts by acknowledging that “The Scrivener, A Story of Wall Street,” was its author’s first novella or long story. He attributes this story’s charm to the author’s synthesis of comedy and pathos, which is the resultant effect of Bartleby’s ambiguities. Widmer poses several questions: what makes Bartleby “prefer not to” do what he is asked to do? What does he stand for? He suggests that as a reader attempts to understand Bartleby’s character, he is likely to get a forced interpretation of the same. Bartleby adds that it is essential that Bartleby remains mysterious to the reader, and they should not focus their attention on explaining or instead explaining away this demand on consciousness and conscience but on his significance. Melville uses words such as “mystery,” “forlornness,” “solitude,” “will,” “preference,” and “perseverance,” among others. Such must only be taken as key conditions of existence. Widmer is curious to find out whether Melville was doing a satiric by using an abstracted sketch of a famous person through the character of Bartleby. Other critical readers of Bartleby the Scrivener have given various suggestions such as Henry David Thoreau. Widmer presents other analogies of Bartleby he considers farfetched since they just in part supported by scholarly knowledge of other works of Melville. In these instances, Bartleby often gets described as a Buddhistic contemplative, a Christian hermit, or a Hindu saint. This is because any parabolic literary figure has the potential to suggest some similarities with religious symbols. Even though this is a well-learned game, drawing religious parallels does not give the reader much information. Generally, Widmer is much more critical of the story.