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Summary
The Lawyer has now become fascinated by Bartleby and watches him closely. He never sees Bartleby enter or leave the office; he seems to always be there. He never leaves for lunch or tea, but simply has Ginger Nut deliver him snacks all day. Though the Lawyer admits that “nothing so aggravates an earnest person as a passive resistance,” he eventually comes to pity Bartleby, believing that he “intends no mischief” and his “eccentricities are involuntary.” The Lawyer decides to keep Bartleby on his staff as something like a charity case. If Bartleby were to be employed by someone else, the Lawyer is certain he would be ill-treated.
The Lawyer, once again, asks Bartleby to examine his papers and Bartleby, once again, prefers not to do so. The Lawyer shares this interaction with the other scriveners and Turkey becomes enraged, threatening to beat up his reluctant fellow scrivener. The Lawyer then comically acknowledges that he is unsurprised by Turkey’s volatile response given that it is the afternoon. True to schedule, Nippers is more sympathetic. The Lawyer then tries another tactic, asking Bartleby to complete simple tasks for him such as retrieving Nippers from the other room or running down to the post office for him but Bartleby would prefer not to do either task. The result is that Bartleby continues on at the chambers for some time doing nothing but copying, while the Lawyer pays Nippers and Turkey to examine his work.
One Sunday morning, the Lawyer stops by his chambers on a whim. To his surprise, he discovers his key will not fit in the lock. Eventually, the door is opened by Bartleby in his shirtsleeves. Bartleby asks the Lawyer to return in a few minutes and the Lawyer finds himself compelled to obey. He returns to find Bartleby gone, but from signs around the office he realizes that Bartleby has been living there. This sad truth makes the Lawyer feel even more pity for Bartleby. The next day, the Lawyer tries to find out more information from Bartleby, about his life or his work, but Bartleby prefers not to tell the Lawyer anything about himself. Turkey and Nippers again threaten Bartleby, but the man ignores them.
A few days later, Bartleby comes to the Lawyer and tells him he will do no more writing. He merely sits in his cubby, staring out the window. The Lawyer suspects that Bartleby's vision has become impaired and so he assents; but Bartleby replies that he will do no more writing, even if he regains his vision. The Lawyer therefore tells Bartleby that he must leave, but the scrivener does not do so. The Lawyer asks him: “What earthly right have you to stay here? Do you pay any rent? Do you pay any taxes? Or is this property yours?” Bartleby makes no response, and the Lawyer becomes resigned to the idea that Bartleby will simply haunt his office, doing nothing.
The Lawyer believes he is doing a good, Christian thing by allowing Bartleby to continue existing in his office because he believes that Bartleby is truly “alone in the universe.”
Analysis
If Bartleby’s behavior is intended to be a critique of American materialism, it seems to be an extremely subtle theme, since the Lawyer never really contemplates Bartleby's refusal to be a working member of society. He is simply amazed by Bartleby's refusal to do anything, even eat, it seems, or find a place to live. Throughout the story, Bartleby simply exists; he does do some writing, but eventually he even gives that up in favor of staring at the wall.
Ultimately, there is little agreement among critics as to how “Bartleby” should be interpreted. The story was extraordinarily ahead of its time, dealing with issues such as the rise of middle-class job dissatisfaction and depression, as well as realizing the future significance of Wall Street to American life. Yet it is also a deeply symbolic work; there are few, if any, real-life Bartlebys, telling their employers they would "prefer not" to do something, yet remaining at that place of business.
One popular strategy has been to approach the story from a biographical standpoint. When he published "Bartleby" in 1853, Melville had just come off the dismal failure of Moby Dick in the marketplace (the book wouldn't become a "classic" until it was rediscovered by critics nearly half a century after its publication, and years after Melville's death). Melville had had enormous success with his earliest books, such as Typee and Omoo—books that dealt with his experiences on the high seas and on various islands. These books were not nearly as contemplative or stylistic as Moby Dick. Melville knew such stories would sell, but he "preferred" to write stories more similar to Moby Dick. Under this interpretation, the Lawyer represents the ordinary reader, who desires that Melville continue "copying" his earlier works, while Melville, pained by the failure of Moby Dick, replies that he would "prefer not to," and finally stops writing entirely. The "dead letters," therefore, are Melville's shunned novels. This is a very brief version of the biographical interpretation of "Bartleby," and it is by no means the "right" interpretation—there is probably no such thing as a "right" interpretation—but it does give some insight into the themes of "Bartleby."
