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“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. And thus, in a manner, privacy and society were conjoined.”
This moment, which occurs towards the start of the text, describes the moment in which the Lawyer sets up a desk for Bartleby inside his own office. The Lawyer and Bartleby may physically share the space but the Lawyer constructs a folding screen around Bartleby’s desk so that they cannot see each other. It is a highly symbolic moment because Bartleby’s screened-in desk represents the barrier between Bartleby and the rest of humanity.
“But he seemed alone, absolutely alone in the universe.”
The above line is short, only a mere nine words long, but it perfectly encapsulates the themes of isolation and disconnection that purvey “Bartleby the Scrivener.” The quote is literally an observation about Bartleby which the Lawyer thinks to himself after he allows Bartleby to stay in his office even after he has stopped working. However, the sentiment could be applied to every character in the story because none of them know how to effectively communicate and/or connect with the other people in their lives.
