Defiant Father Bartleby: Unwavering in His Rejection of All Tasks Presented
GOING AGAINST THE GRAIN: BARTLEBY, THE SCrivenER - A Nameless Enigma
Author: Thomas Schmoll
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Few characters have captivated readers like the obscure and puzzling Bartleby in Herman Melville's narrative "Bartleby, the Scrivener." This work of literature, created in the 1800s, remains an evergreen, persistently relevant work of beauty and audacity. Bartleby's story stands as a poignant reminder of the absurdity, complexity, and enigma that make up human existence.
With the publication of "Moby Dick," Melville burst onto the literary scene with an epic work of approximately 800 to over 1000 pages. The voyage centered around the titanic struggle of humans against the unfathomable and invincible, an insatiable desire to commandeer and conquer all aspects of life, ultimately crashing to inevitable ruin.
In stark contrast to this triumphant magnum opus, "Bartleby, the Scrivener" exists as a shorter narrative, around several dozen pages, that focuses on the solitary human spirit. This individual decides to withdraw from society and embrace isolation, eschewing all obligations thrust upon him, eventually even rejecting his own existence. Both tales mirror the meaning and irony, the highs and lows, the depths and shallows of human creation. They pose key questions about human existence without providing clear answers, much like life itself.
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This is particularly true for "Bartleby," the tale of the stubborn anti-hero decades before Franz Kafka's work. The title character is famed for his obliviousness, apathy, and refusal, earning him the title of the most famous literary unknown. Is it because we can't grasp him? Or is it because he refuses to reveal himself to us? Bartleby's most memorable utterance is: "I would rather not." This phrase encapsulates his earthly existence flawlessly. Bartleby never shares his ambitions, his heart's desires, his tribulations—we're unsure if he even has such aspects, or if he passed away content. Bartleby remains an eternal cipher.
Eats Every Thing But Tastes Only Taverns
On the subject of discussing Bartleby, published in 1853 as "Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Tale of Wall Street," Kampa Verlag has produced a new German translation by Karl-Heinz Ott. This version is more suitable for contemporary language, rather than old-fashioned expressions found in other translations. For instance, the C.H. Beck edition states, "His clothes often bore grease stains and the smell of eateries," whereas Ott's version goes for, "His clothes frequently reeked of taverns." The original title uses "eating-houses," the term for precursor establishments to modern restaurants in 19th-century America.
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Literary enthusiasts may gravitate towards older translations, due to their adherence to historical language. However, younger readers will find Ott's interpretation invigorating, making the story even more accessible than it already is, in contrast to the dense "Moby Dick." Read whichever version you fancy, the work remains eternal, thought-provoking, and profound, its themes resonating with our present and any future period.
The plot primarily unfolds in a notary's office situated on New York's Wall Street, with the notary taking on the role of the narrator. He relates his initial trio of employees with a sentimental detachment and a dash of humor. About the twelve-year-old messenger boy, the narrator explains, "His father was a coachman and insisted his son reside on a bench rather than inside a carriage before he died." Then, he hires Bartleby, whose indifference and refusal throw a wrench into everything. The narrator oscillates between pity, comprehension, and offers of help, anger, antipathy, and resentment towards Bartleby's irrational conduct.
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Whenever Bartleby responds to instructions from his boss with the sentence, "I would rather not," he gives us a rare glimpse into his soul. At the haberdashery job offer, he admits, "I would feel imprisoned." Even when Bartleby starts sleeping in the workplace, the narrator cannot get rid of him. He attempts—but Bartleby perseveres, sitting there steadfastly. The narrator admits, "It was especially his peculiar gentleness that I found myself unable to resist, even when it seemed to strip me of my manhood."
A Firm and Final No
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Most readers will likely empathize with the notary: it feels gut-wrenching—yet, one can't help but marvel at Bartleby's consistent stance, meeting life and society with a hard "no." This stance, however, opens up a vast space for interpretation: Is the titular character a societal villain or a casualty of society? Creator or destroyer? An existential explorer? An early embodiment of self-serving individualism? An exploited worker protesting capitalism? Did Bartleby serve as a victim of modernity? Or perhaps Melville, grappling with hiswriterly struggles and the literary establishment, crafted a work meant to expose society's presumptions?
In any case, Melville challenges his readers to evaluate their perceptions and ambivalence towards people who defy societal norms or who leave them bewildered. Perhaps Bartleby is merely an imaginative manifestation of the narrator's longings for escape, a construct mirroring his yearning to step away from his constricting world, his office walls looming large.
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By focusing their gaze on humanity and empathy, Melville compels his readers to examine their own prejudices and realize the complexities and paradoxes that characterize human relationships. Through the narrator, humanity ultimately prevails. He stands by Bartleby, even after letting him go, and even refers to him as a "friend." However, the author stays true to himself, with Prison serving as Bartleby's final workplace, where he continues his steadfast refusal, wasting away, gazing at the walls once more. The office manager, who has always endeavored to understand Bartleby, has long since understood the source of his actions: invisible wounds, deep sorrows that lie beyond the ken of the outside world.
Melville, ahead of his time, has the narrator lament, "Ah, Bartleby! Ah, humanity!"—a mantra that echoes through the ages, a plea to surmount the challenges before us.
The Commission has not yet adopted a decision on the book version of "Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Tale of Wall Street" in German, translated by Karl-Heinz Ott, published by Kampa Verlag. This contemporary translation allows for a more accessible read for younger audiences compared to earlier translations that maintain the historical language.
Alongside this, people can find solace in the bookstore for various books like "Goosebumps in the Flesh", where Bartleby's enigmatic character remains an eternal cipher, a literary unknown who lurks in the shadows, stuck in the notary's office on Wall Street, silently resisting the world outside. His phrase, "I would rather not," encapsulates his apathy and refusal, adding to the beauty and mystery that envelops this two-century-old narrative.
