Bartleby, the Scrivener
“
Bartleby the Scrivener, the Scrivener, the Story of
Wall Street” is
narrated in first person by an unnamed lawyer who hired Bartleby as a scrivener in response to an increased need at his office. Bartleby begins his employment with success demonstrating outstanding work ethic. Bartleby slowly and passively deteriorates into doing essentially nothing at all. He uses an interesting phrase: “I prefer not to,” which ultimately allows him to effectively manipulate his employer. Bartleby’s
character lacked insight to the impact that this phrase had on the lawyer and for reasons which will be discussed, it is apparent that Bartleby’s character was not responsible for the suffrage that the lawyer endured. It is therefore not fair to say that “Bartleby was not an innocent
victim but the cruel psychological tormentor of his patron”.
As the story is in first-person narration, we come to know Bartleby’s personality and character traits through subjective interpretations and observations from the lawyer. Bartleby is presented to us as a lonely man, a man who speaks only when spoken to. He eats almost nothing, and appears to be extremely dedicated to his work initially. With the absence of friends or family, Bartleby is extremely socially isolated. Persons with characteristics such as these are often known to be susceptible to mental illness. This was most likely the case with Bartleby as the description offered by the lawyer of observed behaviors, is congruent with common characteristics of depressed persons (Johnson, 2001, p. 543).
If in fact Bartleby was suffering from mental illness, you would have to consider perspective; that is, the way that a person suffering from mental illness views the world. It is unfair to say that Bartleby was intentionally tormenting the lawyer. People suffering from mental illness often have a very difficult time “stepping outside their realm of self” and seeing things from other people’s perspectives. Certainly then, it would be less appropriate to describe Bartleby as a cruel psychological tormentor, and more appropriately, an individual afflicted with depression disorder.
The personality of the lawyer is interesting and behaviors that he himself recalls, may have amplified or worsened Bartleby’s initial refusals. In our first introduction to the lawyer, he makes a point to clearly state: “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” (Stone, Packer, & Hoopes, 1983, p. 122). This statement is pertinent in the development of the relationship between Bartleby and the lawyer. Recall the reaction of the lawyer following the first time that Bartleby “preferred not to” compare a document. Bartleby’s decline was followed by a silence, then an outburst of confused and outraged emotion that the lawyer displayed in response to his displeased disposition. That ultimately ended with Bartleby not having to do the task after all. It is interesting to note that these interactions: characterized by a displeasing action causing a reaction from a supervisor, but ultimately ending in a supervisor yielding, thus the displeasing action goes unaltered, is called “intermittent reinforcement.” As described by Babcock and Miller (1994):
Irregular and inconsistent reinforcement of a behavior strengthens the persistence of that behavior. Parents who try to resist a whining child’s complaints or demands but who eventually give in are inadvertently strengthening the whining behavior with the most powerful method known: intermittent reinforcement. (p. 36)
Perhaps the lawyer’s use of intermittent reinforcement developed the pattern of “preferring not to” that Bartleby used so effectively. The lawyer’s response was characteristic and predictable. Every time that Bartleby “preferred not to,” the repeated use of intermittent reinforcement likely strengthened Bartleby’s responses and behavior patterns to the point that he “preferred not to” do anything. Consistent to the lawyer’s belief in doing things the easy way, it is far easier to dismiss and give in to unacceptable behavior than it is to firmly disapprove and seek resolution. This could indicate then that the individual responsible for the torment experienced by the employer is none other than the lawyer himself.
In the self-description provided, the lawyer presents with grandiose. The lawyer begins with John Jacob Aster, who was at one time the richest man in the United States. “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” (Stone, Packer, & Hoopes, 1983, p. 123). The lawyer proceeds with interjecting his thoughts about the abolishment of the Court of Chancery which he felt was “a premature act” (Stone, Packer, & Hoopes, 1983, p. 123). His blatant self-absorption and borderline narcissism proved detrimental in his dealings with Bartleby. A lack of insight into others inhibited the lawyer from possibly dealing therapeutically with the deteriorating Bartleby. Right in front of the lawyer’s eyes, Bartleby began to fade away. From refusing simple tasks, Bartleby progressed to refuse copying altogether; a complete cessation of eating followed. It is apparent that the lawyer lacked any insight at all. Ironically the lawyer felt that he did, when he assumed that Bartleby had stopped copying from eye sore, or when he offered the twenty dollars in exchange for quitting him, or when he suggested Bartleby be a guest at his home for quitting the office.
At the end of the story the lawyer pays a visit to Bartleby at the prison. Interestingly Bartleby says to the lawyer “I know you… I want nothing to say to you,” (Stone, Packer, & Hoopes, 1983, p. 143) as if to suggest that he was let down by his unnoticed early cries for help. Bartleby quit life one step at a time. He did not abruptly cease all life’s activities, which presented opportunities to the lawyer for intervention throughout Bartleby’s decent. The self-absorption, the grandiose, and the lack of insight were each factors into the neglect and the ultimate dismal fate of the scrivener. The altered personality of the lawyer combined with the compromised mental status of Bartleby interacted in a way that heightened each others preexisting maladies. For Bartleby this relationship took his condition to a point of no return. Luckily for the employer his denial and delusions shielded him from the emotional consequences of his neglected responsibilities.
References
Babcock, D.E., & Miller, M.A. (1994). Client Education: Theory &Practice (1st ed.). St. Louis,
Missouri: Mosby-Year Book Inc.
Johnson, B.S. (1997). Psychiatric mental-health nursing (4th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: J.B.
Lippincott Co.
Melville, H. (1983). Bartleby the scrivener: the story of Wall Street. In Stone, Packer, & Hoopes
The Short Story: an introduction (2nd ed.). (p. 122-144). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Pub Co.