Description
Bartleby, The Scrivener is a story that means many things to many people, and much has been written about the enigmatic clerk since it’s publication in 1853. The fact that the eponymous Bartleby would ‘prefer not to’ may lead one to reading the text as a treatise on conscientious objection, or perhaps an indictment on living in an increasingly impersonal modern urban environment.
My belief is that all personal readings are valid, and that the beauty of Bartleby is in part the fact there is something so universal in what Melville describes. As I re-read the story throughout my life I continue to see more of my own experiences and observations reflected within. Published nearly 175 years ago, the characters and the society they exist within are not very much different from today.
As a first publication for the press, I can think of little that could be more continually resonant and relevant.
