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Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street!
by Herman Melville
(Review: November 2005) Melville’s
short, but cherished fable of Wall Street unfolds in the mid 1800s, long
before there was a crash (the 20s) or a teaming of avaricious Gordon Geckos
(in the 80s). The weave is simple, the narrator, a lawyer, employs scriveners
to transcribe his legal documents. They’re an odd lot with odd names:
Nippers, Turkey and Grape Nut. His newest employ, the titular Bartleby, is a
slight, yet highly productive adage—at first. Taciturn and enigmatic,
Bartleby suddenly ceases all output and politely refuses any further duty. An
act made more peculiar when literature’s most infamous fainéant sequesters
himself to the confines of his working quarters, behind a flimsy folding
divide. This would seemingly madden any normal employer, but not so here; the
attorney rationalizes and compromises, uncertain as to what to do next.
Matters carry on in a lunge-and-retreat fencing match fashion until things
finally escalate to a fatal turn. Melville, who was none
too successful in the matters of commerce during his enterprises in New York
City, obviously draws upon those experiences for Bartleby the
same way he did with his seafaring past for Moby Dick.
Melville’s detailed style gives an eye into another time and culture (where
the have and have nots resembled more of a caste system than a class system)
with poignancy. And while it may drag at times, it also digs at something
deeper than the topographical set up implies. Many have branded the tale a
socialist anthem born from Melville’s own failures. Others say Bartleby
is steeped in religious allegories. Both interpretations work. Even
seamlessly side by side. But what keeps Melville’s piquant tale alluring
after all these years is Bartleby. He’s a scant wisp of a character, too thin
to hang a hat on, but perverse enough to maintain intrigue and drive the
story. No matter what you make of him, he’s a compelling persona and a
reflection of a society, a time and its norms. - TBM |
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