Introduction
In the short story, Bartleby, The Scrivener: The Story of Wall Street, Herman Melville (1853) offers a glimpse into the life of one of the scriveners, Bartleby. Even after decades since its publication, the narrative is still widely debated among literary critics and scholars analyzing the unique nature of the main character, Bartleby. This character’s uniqueness is based on his extraordinary life and unpredictable and seemingly incomprehensible behavior. Bartleby goes into a downward spiral of life-based on his traumatic job experience and the environment in his new occupation, resulting in the depression he manifested in his actions and words.
Signs of Depression
The eventual point to which Bartleby reaches is his death caused by his improper eating habits. However, his unwillingness can be considered part of the behavior that broadly indicates his suffering from depression or schizophrenia. Specifically, his passive-aggressive behavior reveals his utter carelessness towards the world surrounding him, including his words, “I would prefer not to.” (Melville para. 20). He does not aspire to live as an ordinary person. Not only does he not eat properly, consuming only ginger nuts, but he also does not go out, lives in the office, and does not seek out any sources of happiness (Melville para 32, 46). He stops working simply because he “decided upon no more writing” (Melville para. 53). Hence, his seemingly outrageous behavior indicates that he had no will to live; he did not see any purpose in any activity, which is the common symptom of clinical depression. Therefore, Bartleby’s suffering with depression caused by his unwillingness to live is the first source of his downward spiral.
Previous Traumatic Job Experience
A more profound source of Bartleby’s attitude toward life might be based on his previous job. At the end of the story, the author presents the information that Bartleby previously worked at the Dead Letters Office until it was closed for administrative reasons (Melville para. 101). His responsibility at this job was to burn the letters sent to dead or vanished people. Such occupation might have profoundly affected Bartleby’s perception of life and death. He might have occasionally read these letters and became more sensitive or senseless to the conception of life and death. In other words, he might have lost meaning of life due to being systematically exposed to the evidence that indicated the ultimate end of human existence – death. Thus, such a previous traumatic job can be a primary reason for Bartleby’s descent towards depression.
New Job Environment
Bartleby’s new job as a scrivener at the law firm of the narrator might also have contributed to the escalation of his mental illness. The narrator’s description of the environment in which Bartleby worked, the people who worked there, and the job Bartleby ought to do hint that they might have further driven him into a downward spiral. Firstly, the narrator describes the physical environment in which Bartleby works as “deficient in what landscape painters call ‘life’” (Melville para. 5). The placement of Bartleby’s desk was next to the window without any view but some light (Melville para. 16). Such physical surroundings deprived of any signs of life might have contributed to Bartleby’s ennui and despair. Secondly, the job he did was absent of joy and curiosity since the narrator described it as “dull, wearisome, and lethargic” (Melville para. 18). Thus, although it would be mistaken to say that his new job is the cause of his mental condition, it might have contributed to the escalation of his pre-existing state of depression.
Conclusion
To conclude, Herman Melville’s story gives insight into the life of the seemingly ordinary person, who has no turning back due to clinical depression, previous traumatic job, and new job environment. The last job that intensely exposed him to the conception of death has caused his mental condition. Meanwhile, his new career further exacerbated the situation that he could not turn back to a better, meaningful life. As a result of his profound unwillingness to live by refusing to eat, he eventually died of hunger.
Work Cited
Melville, Herman. “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street.” Columbia University – Eben Moglen, 1856, Web.