Bartleby, The Scrivener: A Story Of Wall Street

“Bartleby. The Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street,” written by great American writer Herman Melville, entailed the story of a man who eventually lost the interest do things as simple as living. This short story by Melville carries a theme of isolation, physically and mentally, and what Herman Melville experienced in his life was mental isolation. The idea of Bartleby in this story is the reflection of Melville, a man who was lonely on the inside just as Bartleby was.
“Bartleby, The Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street” opens with an elderly, unnamed narrator, who quickly introduces his current employees, Turkey, Nippers and Ginger Nut”(Melville 1104), then jumps into telling the story of his newly hired scrivener, Bartleby. The narrator describes

Bartleby as “the strangest I ever saw or heard of” (Melville 1103). The theme of isolation can be seen right from the start; Bartleby is the only man in the office who does not have a nickname, whereas Turkey, Nippers and Ginger Nut do. The fact that these workers have nicknames and Bartleby is not included does not only show the idea of being singled out from the rest, but it is also the beginning point for the theme of isolation to set in and linger for the remainder of this story. The narrator writes: “I resolved to assign Bartleby a corner by the folding-doors, but on my side of them, so as to have this quiet man within easy call, in case any trifling thing was to be done. I placed his desk close up to as small side-window in that part of the room, a window which originally had afforded a lateral view of certain grimy back-yards and bricks, but which, owing to subsequent erections, commanded at present no view at all, though it gave some light. Within three feet of the panes was a wall, and the light came down from far above, between two lofty buildings, as from a very small opening in a dome. Still further to a satisfactory arrangement, I procured a high green folding screen, which might entirely isolate Bartleby from my sight, though not remove him from my voice” (Melville 1108), here, another clear example of isolation. Bartleby was placed away from his co-workers, and to make matters worse, the narrator decided to isolate Bartleby from everything but the narrator’s voice.
Herman Melville chose to write this short story with a setting that took place in New York, more specifically, Wall Street; with such a fast-paced and crowded setting, one might wonder how someone could feel lonely, however, being around people does not take the place of socially interacting with them. Towards the end of Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street,” the reader learns that Bartleby “had been a subordinate clerk in the Dead Letter Office at Washington, from which he had been suddenly removed by a change in the administration,” and the narrator continues on to say: “Conceive a man by nature and misfortune prone to a pallid hopelessness, can any business seem more fitted to heighten it than that of continually handling these dead letter, and assorting them for the flames? For by the cartload they are annually burned. Sometimes from out of the folder paper the pale clerk takes a ring: - the finger it was meant for, perhaps, moulders in the grave; a banknote sent in swiftest charity- he whom it would relieve, nor eats nor hungers any more; pardon for those who died despairing; hope for those who died unhoping good tidings for those who died stifled by unrelieved calamities. On errands of life, these letters speed to death” (Melville 1127-8). From this, the reader learn that this is not the first time in Bartleby’s life where he was isolated – Bartleby worked in the dead letters office until he was replaced. Seeing the mail going to loved ones, while not having any of his own.
Bartleby’s loneliness from the isolation was very much so a reflection of Herman Melville.

No, Melville did not exactly experience loneliness the way Bartleby did; Melville’s loneliness was more mental, whereas Bartleby suffered more from physical isolation. David Van Leer, a student at the University of California writes in his biography and analysis that “often the opinions of Melville’s wife or sister are offered as his own.” Simply put: what Melville said himself was not taken into account. Herman Melville is valued as a great writer and poet today; however, during the 19th century that was not always the case. Van Leer goes on to discuss that the “rise and fall of Melville’s literary reputation with [particular] attention to certain biographical cruxes- [especially Melville’s purported homosexuality, his relations with the strong women who support him,] [along with] the rumors about his father’s bastard daughter, and the trauma of his son’s suicide” could have been a factor that played a part of Melville’s career, and contribute to his mental isolation. The way mental loneliness can be seen about Melville from the biography and analysis written by Van Leer is the way it tells about the pretty traumatic experiences Melville had. Melville had support, but having people there does not always take away from the greater issues – Melville had to face his son’s suicide, the rumors, as well as accept the truth about his father’s daughter. For any individual, that is a lot to

take in at once. Before Melville began his career as a writer, he lived life at sea and did commercial whaling. The big ocean has nothing but one thing to offer him other than the job, which was the ability to be away from other people.
Nothing can prove that Herman Melville was completely lonely; but if the reader decides to dig a bit deeper into “Bartleby, the Scrivener: a Story of Wall-Street,” Bartleby had no family; he lived in the law office, and had no friends. To tell a story about a man who had no one, who spent his life alone, a short story that carries a theme of isolation and being away from everyone is hard to write, especially with no experience of what it is like to feel lonely.