Bartleby the Scrivener

“Imprimis:  I am a man who, from his youth upwards, has been filled with a profound conviction that the easiest way of life is the best.  Hence, though I belong to a profession proverbially energetic and nervous, even to turbulence, at times, yet nothing of that sort have I ever suffered to invade my peace.  I am one of those unambitious lawyers who never addresses a jury, or in any way draws down public applause; but in the cool tranquility of a snug retreat, do a snug business among rich men’s bonds and mortgages and title-deeds.  All who know me consider me an eminently safe man.  The late John Jacob Aster, a personage little given to poetic enthusiasm, had no hesitation in pronouncing my first grand point to be prudence; my next, method.  I do not speak it in vanity, but simply record the fact, that I was not unemployed in my profession by the late John Jacob Astor; a name which, I admit, I love to repeat, for it hath a rounded and orbicular sound to it, and rings like unto bullion.  I will freely add, that I was not insensible to the late John Jacob Astor’s good opinion.” (Loc. 11)

Herman Melville’s short story Bartleby, the Scrivener A Story of Wall-Street could have been alternately titled Wall Street Lawyers: Lacking Self Awareness (in Addition to Being Weak and Smug).  Melville created the narrator a character who believed he was simply choosing the easiest way which, as Melville illustrated, would be enough to skewer him with; but as it turned out he was tremendously afraid of confrontation.  The narrator claimed he was valued John Jacob Astor’s opinion, noted that Astor was not given to “poetic enthusiasm” (Loc. 11) and yet waxed poetic about Astor. This single passage contains an abundance of contradictory information and proves the narrator to be both imperceptive and foolish.

The narrator professed to be one who had “a profound conviction that the easiest way of life is the best” (Loc. 11), yet it is evident that what he should have said was that he was profoundly afraid to be the bad guy.  The easiest thing to do when faced with someone who refused to leave would have been to contact the police and have them removed; instead the narrator went to the trouble of renting a new office space and moving his office and employees.  If the narrator’s clients and business associates hadn’t commented and began gossiping about Bartleby the move would not have happened, the narrator would have allowed the situation to continue.  It was only the discomfort of others that caused him to move his office.  This is an example of the extreme exaggeration that Melville utilized to make the point of the story, for no man who has a modicum of self awareness can say he takes the easy way and then move his office rather than confront the situation head on.  

 Melville further illustrated the narrator’s foolishness with his claim to value Astor’s opinion, which would lead to living up to Astor’s description of him being prudent and methodical, was then contradicted with the gushy “…John Jacob Astor; a name which, I admit, I love to repeat, for it hath a rounded and orbicular sound to it, and it rings like unto bullion” (Loc.11).   Another prime example of poetic speech is earlier in the section “in the cool tranquility of a snug retreat” (Loc.11), which serves as example of the narrator’s imprudence, the opposite of Astor’s description of him.

            This lack of self-awareness continued – and in fact grew – throughout the story as the narrator projected this same way of viewing himself onto the world around him.  It’s as if he intentionally wore fogged glasses that obscured and softened the external.  Nippers’ morning hangovers became indigestion, Turkey’s inkblots and explosive nature in the afternoons was allowed to be explained away as age related rather than a product of his affinity for “red ink” (whiskey) at lunch, and Bartleby’s strange and insubordinate behavior was disregarded as the narrator conjured up multiple sob stories to excuse his behavior.  It is clear from Melville’s description that the narrator knew what was going on but chose to obscure his own vision as to be able to continue fooling himself.  He was lacking internal integrity; that understanding of who he truly was vs. the image he projected.  

This link on gaining self awareness contains information that could have assisted the narrator.

Politicians have the difficult role of trying to please the majority of the people all of the time and often appear to have a lack of self-awareness.  Please note that whether they truly lack awareness isn’t my point, it’s the perception of such that I’m pointing out.  

Cartoon courtesy of Dana Summers-Tribune Media Services. http://www.usnews.com/cartoons/gop-2012-hopefuls-cartoons