Literary Criticism/ Essays

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Author's Note: Read, if you're interested. This is on Melville's Bartleby.

Scriveners of the Bible

Though not intentionally a commentary on Christianity, Herman Melville’s Bartleby, contains many allusions to the Bible. Bartleby is at times, the physically weak, but spiritually strong believer in God – and at others, Christ incarnate, himself. The narrator, in response, acts as a “Good Samaritan” for the weak Bartleby and a two-faced disciple of the messianic one. These relationships create a dichotomy and trilogy, which further enhance Melville’s criticism of American modern life, point out the comedy that is Wall Street and have an everlasting effect on one of Wall Street’s slaves – the narrator.

Bartleby, initially, appears weak and vulnerable – “I can see that figure now – pallidly neat, pitiably respectable, incurably forlorn! It was Bartleby” (10) the narrator cries when he firsts meets Bartleby. In addition, the narrator constantly describes Bartleby as “cadaverous” – reminiscent of Christ’s body after suffering on the Cross and being laid in the tomb. Bartleby’s writing is described as “silently, palely, mechanically” (11) which gives him an altogether meek, almost superficial nature. This description is similar to the beaten man’s in Jesus’s parable, the “Good Samaritan.” Luke, the Evangelist, writes:

“Jesus answered, ‘There was once a man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him, stripped him, and beat him up, leaving him half dead. It so happened that a priest was going down that road; but when he saw the man, he walked on by on the other side. In the same way a Levite also came there, went over and looked at the man, and then walked on by on the other side. But a Samaritan who was traveling that way came upon the man, and when he saw him, his heart was filled with pity. He went over to him, poured oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them; then he put the man on his own animal and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Take care of him,’ he told the innkeeper, ‘and when I come back this way, I will pay you whatever else you spend on him’” (Luke 10:30-35)

Bartleby, like the beaten man, is in need of help and like the Good Samaritan, the narrator provides this assistance. It is interesting to note that the race of Samaritan and the job of scrivener are similar in that, respectively, each is looked down upon. The Samaritans are scorned by the Jews because the Samaritans have different religious beliefs. Likewise, a scrivener, a professional copyist, is a pathetic career that is scoffed at by other “professionals.”

Bartleby and the beaten man act as test cases from God for the Good Samaritan and Bartleby’s narrator. These tests are to see if these men will submit to the will of God and practice acts of charity, at the correct time. The Good Samaritan passes because he cares for the beaten man. The narrator also passes – for several reasons. He offers money: “’Bartleby,’ said I, ‘I owe you twelve dollars on account; here are thirty-two; the odd twenty are yours.—Will you take it?’ and I handed the bills towards him” (26). The narrator also offers food: “’Well then,’ said I, slipping some silver into the grub-man’s hands (for so they called him). ‘I want you to give particular attention my friend there; let him have the best dinner you can get. And you must be as polite to him as possible’” (39). He contemplates giving medicine when he realizes Bartleby is sick: “What I saw that morning persuaded me that the scrivener was the victim of innate and incurable disorder. I might alms to his body” (22). He gives up his office for Bartleby: “Established in my new quarters, for day I kept the door locked, and started at every footfall in the passages” (34). He visits Bartleby in prison: “Going upstairs…there was Bartleby sitting upon the banister at his landing” (35). Interestingly enough, these five charitable acts parallel those in the Bible. Matthew, the Evangelist, writes:

“Then the King will say to the people on his right, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father! Come and possess the kingdom, which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world. I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, imprisoned and you visited me.’ The righteous will then answer him, ‘When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you in our homes, or naked and clothe you? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you? The King will reply, ‘I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these followers, of mine, you did it for me!’” (Matthew 25:34-40)

It would seem that the narrator is a perfect example of a “Good Samaritan.” However, he does not deserve praise for these acts. Though they are kind, they are purely self-motivated and also beneficial for the narrator. When the narrator first thinks of helping Bartleby, he quickly concedes: “Yes. Here I can cheaply purchase a delicious self-approval. To befriend Bartleby; to humor him in his strange willfulness, will cost me little or nothing, while I lay up in my soul what will eventually prove a sweet morsel for my conscience” (15). Here, the narrator says it will be good for his soul to help Bartleby. In addition, behind the facades that are the five charitable acts, one can see that the narrator is not being that nice after all. He carefully distributes his money to Bartleby: “I owe you twelve dollars on account; here are thirty-two; the odd twenty are yours” (26). He talks with precision – “twelve,” “thirty-two,” “twenty.” In addition, “account” hints that the narrator was somehow keeping track of the monetary situation between himself and Bartleby. Likewise, he advises a meal to the willing grub-man, but does not go out of his way to get it. He gives up his office only because he is, as his acquaintances say, “an eminently safe man” (4) – in other words too passive for his own good. He goes to the prison because the guards say is he responsible for Bartleby – “You are responsible for the man you left there” (34). These self-motivational acts, though like the Good Samarian’s on the surface, liken the narrator to Jesus’s betrayer – Judas. Judas, though initially engaged with Jesus’s teachings, sees a lucrative option for himself and seeks it.

“Then one of the twelve disciples – the one named Judas Iscariot – went to the chief priests and asked, ‘What will you give me if I betray Jesus to you?’ They counted out thirty silver coins and gave them to him. From then on Judas was looking for a good chance to hand Jesus over to them” (Matthew 26:14-16)

The narrator, just like Judas, has money on his mind at some point in time. Melville writes, “but in the cool tranquility of a snug retreat, do a snug business among rich men's bonds and mortgages and title-deeds” (4). This describes the narrator’s inherently frugal, avaricious nature – thus why he works on Wall Street.

Despite Melville’s many morbid descriptions of Bartleby, there are also several allusions to him as the Christ. The narrator talks of Bartleby’s arrival as an “advent” – “At the period just preceding the advent of Bartleby” (5). This is an allusion to the four weeks in December that precede the birth of Christ. Likewise, Bartleby’s advent is at a time when the narrator needs “additional help” – “Not only must I push the clerks already with me, but I must have additional help” (10). Jesus also comes in a time of help – to save God’s people:

“An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone over them. They were terribly afraid, but the angel said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people. This very day in David’s town your Savior was born – Christ the Lord!” (Luke 2:9-12)

Just like Christ, Bartleby arrives at the perfect time: “In answer to my advertisement, a motionless young man one morning, stood upon my office threshold” (10). Furthermore, Bartleby’s writing can be compared to Jesus’s miracles – his preaching and healing. Matthew writes:

“Jesus went all over Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, preaching the Good News about the Kingdom, and healing people who all kinds of disease and sickness” (Matthew 4:23)

Melville similarly writes, “At first Bartleby did an extraordinary quantity of writing” (11). There is some ambiguity, however, in the message that Bartleby would be trying to send out for his work is done in such extremes. In addition, on the same page, Melville also alludes to the latter events of Jesus’s life: “It was on the third day, I think, of his being with me, and before any necessity had arisen for having his own writing examined, that, being much hurried to complete a small affair I had in hand, I abruptly called to Bartleby” (11). Moreover, the Christian prayer, the Nicene Creed goes:

“On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father” (19-22)

On page eleven, Melville alludes to the resurrection of Christ by saying “third day” and “arisen.”

Shortly after hiring him, the narrator discovers Bartleby’s starvation. “Rolled away under his desk, I found a blanket; under the empty grate, a blacking box and brush…in a newspaper a few crumbs of ginger nuts and a morsel of cheese…His poverty is great” (20). Jesus preaches about the relationship between man and food in Luke’s Gospel:

“And so I tell you not to worry about the food you need to stay alive or about the clothes you need for your body. Life is much more important than food, and the body much more important than clothes” (Luke 12:22-24)

Bartleby is executing Jesus’s words. Because Bartleby is an enigma, it is impossible to know why Bartleby starves himself. But it is fascinating to point out that there may be something other than stubbornness in Bartleby’s words when he says, “I prefer not to dine to-day” (39).

Also, Bartleby’s passive behavior is like Jesus’s. “As I afterwards learned, the poor scrivener, when told that he must be conducted to the Tombs, offered not the slightest obstacle, but in his pale unmoving way, silently acquiesced” (37). Matthew similarly depicts Jesus’s acceptance with fate. He writes:

“Then they came up, arrested Jesus, and held him tight. One of those who were with Jesus drew his sword and struck at the High Priest’s slave, cutting off his ear. ‘Put your sword back in its place,’ Jesus said to him, ‘All who take the sword will die by the sword. Don’t you know that I could call on my Father for help, and at once he would send me more than twelve armies of angels? But in that case, how could the Scriptures come true which say that this is what must happen?” (Matthew 26:50-54)

Both seem at a loss for action – but there is purpose in their passive acceptance. First, showing that conflict is not a remedy and second, that fate is a strong force. Interestingly enough, the narrator ironically says: “Nothing so aggravates an earnest person as a passive resistance” (15). He, despite what he says, is a disciple of this passive way.

One could say that Bartleby is a nexus to conflict and that wherever he is, a fight breaks out.

“’I would prefer not to.’

‘You will not?’

‘I prefer not’

I staggered to my desk, and sat there in a deep study. My blind inveteracy returned. Was there any other thing in which I could procure myself to be ignominiously repulsed by this lean, penniless wight?—my hired clerk? What added thing is there, perfectly reasonable, that he will be sure to refuse to do?

‘Bartleby!’

No answer.

‘Bartleby,’ in a louder tone.

No answer.

‘Bartleby,’ I roared. (17)

This is true – but it does not mean that Bartleby advocates fighting. He lives a passive resistance – “I would prefer not to” – that is so alien to his neighbors that they break out and attack.

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Both Bartleby and Jesus are rebuked and challenged. “’I think, sir, he’s a little luny,’ replied Ginger Nut, with a grin.” Jesus is met with a similar response:

“When the guards went back, the chief priests and Pharisees ask them, ‘Why did you not bring him?”

The guards answered, ‘Nobody has ever talked the way this man does’

‘Well,’ they answered, ‘are you also from Galilee? Study the Scriptures and you will learn that no prophet ever comes from Galilee” (John 7:45-46, 52)

Ginger Nut mocks Bartleby for his odd behavior. The Pharisees do not belief the words of Christ and see him as a lunatic.

Similarly, if Bartleby can be likened to Christ, then the narrator can also be matched with the apostle Simon Peter. As the narrator gradually sees Bartleby’s messianic qualities, the narrator becomes awed and interested.

“I now recalled all the quiet mysteries which I had noted in the man. I remembered that he never spoke but to answer; that though at intervals he had considerable time to himself, yet I had never seen him reading--no, not even a newspaper; that for long periods he would stand looking out, at his pale window behind the screen, upon the dead brick wall; I was quite sure he never visited any refectory or eating house; while his pale face clearly indicated that he never drank beer like Turkey, or tea and coffee even, like other men; that he never went any where in particular that I could learn; never went out for a walk, unless indeed that was the case at present; that he had declined telling who he was, or whence he came, or whether he had any relatives in the world; that though so thin and pale, he never complained of ill health. And more than all, I remembered a certain unconscious air of pallid--how shall I call it?--of pallid haughtiness, say, or rather an austere reserve about him, which had positively awed me into my tame compliance with his eccentricities, when I had feared to ask him to do the slightest incidental thing for me, even though I might know, from his long-continued motionlessness, that behind his screen he must be standing in one of those dead-wall reveries of his” (21)

The narrator obsesses over Bartleby – he is intrigued by this enigma. Peter, the apostle, is similarly is entranced by Jesus.

“And Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water.’

He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.” (Matthew 14:28-29)

By thinking more and more about Bartleby, the narrator is coming closer to him – like Peter walking to Jesus. It is evident that this pensiveness affects the narrator.

“But when this old Adam of resentment rose in me and tempted me concerning Bartleby, I grappled him and threw him. How? Why, simply by recalling the divine injunction: “A new commandment give I unto you, that ye love one another” Yes, this it was that that saved me” (30)

This commandment is, according to Jesus, one of the most important:

“Jesus answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all you soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and the most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ The whole Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets depend on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40)

The narrator loves Bartleby – in both respects – as a God and as a neighbor. It is evident that Bartleby has rubbed off onto the narrator.

Peter, is not perfect in his faith, however, like any mortal. “But when he noticed the strong wind, he was afraid and started to sink down in the water. ‘Save me, Lord!’ he cried” (Matthew 14:30). As Jesus foretells in Mark 14:30, Peter denies Jesus three times:

“When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked straight at him and said, ‘You, too, were with Jesus of Nazareth.’

But he denied it. ‘I don’t know…I don’t understand what you are talking about,’ he answered, and went out into the passageway. Just then a rooster crowed.

The servant woman saw him there and began to repeat to the bystanders, ‘He is one of them!’ But Peter denied again.

A little while later the bystanders accused Peter again, ‘You can’t deny that you are one of them, because you, too, are from Galilee.’

Then Peter said, ‘I swear that I am telling the truth! May God punish me if I am not! I do not know the man you are talking about!” (Mark 14:66-71)

Likewise, the narrator denies Bartleby. He confesses: “Since he will not quit me, I must quit him” (33). His first denial:

“’Then sir,’ said the stranger, who proved a lawyer, ‘you are responsible for the man you left there. He refuses to do any copying; he refuses to do any thing; he says he prefers not to; and he refuses to quit the premises.’

"I am very sorry, sir," said I, with assumed tranquility, but an inward tremor, "but, really, the man you allude to is nothing to me--he is no relation or apprentice of mine, that you should hold me responsible for him" (34)

His second denial:

"In mercy's name, who is he?"

"I certainly cannot inform you. I know nothing about him. Formerly I employed him as a copyist; but he has done nothing for me now for some time past” (34)

His third denial:

“In vain I persisted that Bartleby was nothing to me--no more than to any one else. In vain:--I was the last person known to have any thing to do with him, and they held me to the terrible account. Fearful then of being exposed in the papers (as one person present obscurely threatened) I considered the matter, and at length said, that if the lawyer would give me a confidential interview with the scrivener, in his (the lawyer's) own room, I would that afternoon strive my best to rid them of the nuisance they complained of” (35)

His actions parallel those of Peter.

In addition, while in the Tomb’s, the narrator regrets his renunciations:

"’Bartleby,’ said I, in the kindest tone I could assume under such exciting circumstances, "will you go home with me now--not to my office, but my dwelling--and remain there till we can conclude upon some convenient arrangement for you at our leisure? Come, let us start now, right away” (36)

This action, possibly made in good intention, is a lot like Judas’s repentance before the Sanhedrin – the Jewish supreme court.

“When Judas, the traitor, learned that Jesus had been condemned, he repented and took back the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders.

‘I have sinned by betraying an innocent man to death!’ he said.

‘What do we care about that?” they answered. ‘That is your business!’

Judas threw the coins down in the Temple and left; then he went off and hanged himself” (Matthew 27:3-5)

Both acts are not enough, however, as both Jesus and Bartleby experience similar treks to their respective Golgotha’s – sights of death – in some way or another. Jesus is beaten and mocked. Matthew writes:

“Then Pilate’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s palace, and the whole company gathered around him. They stripped off his clothes and put a scarlet robe on him” (Matthew 27:27-28)

This scene is further described by Luke:

“The soldiers led Jesus away, and as they were going, they met a man from Cyrene named Simon who was coming into the city from the country. They seized him, put the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus.

A large crowd of people followed him; among them were some women who were weeping and wailing for him.” (Luke 23:26-27)

Melville similarly writes:

“As I afterwards learned, the poor scrivener, when told that he must be conducted to the Tombs, offered not the slightest obstacle, but in his pale unmoving way, silently acquiesced.

Some of the compassionate and curious bystanders joined the party; and headed by one of the constables arm in arm with Bartleby, the silent procession filed its way through all the noise, and heat, and joy of the roaring thoroughfares at noon.

The same day I received the note I went to the Tombs, or to speak more properly, the Halls of Justice” (37-38)

Both Jesus and Bartleby are led on morbid processions to their deaths. In addition, in both processions there are crowds that follow the two convicts.

Overall, one cannot argue against Christian symbolism in Bartleby for it is evident that it appears throughout the text and accurately corresponds with religious excerpts from the Bible. It is possible that Bartleby is not a clone of Christ for the messages they communicate are different, but it is definitely evident that Bartleby, like Christ, is a martyr. The cause he dies for, indeed morbid, spawns “drop-outs, slackards, and a kind of dignity, a quaint contagious way to refuse” according to Stephen Dunn in his poem, Update. It is true that this disciples are not the most ideal.

In the end, it is unknown as to whether the narrator is a worthy disciple of Bartleby like Jesus’s Peter. Jesus states, “And so I tell you, Peter: you are a rock, and on this rock foundation I will build my church, and not even death will ever be able to overcome it” (Matthew 16:18). The narrator ends in ambiguity – “Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity!” (41) – and whether or not the narrator is a disciple, it is blatant that Bartleby has changed him forever.