First published 2004
In a cluttered Manhattan law office, a mysterious copyist named Bartleby arrives as a new scrivener. Initially diligent, he soon begins responding to every request with his now-infamous phrase: "I would prefer not to." His quiet defiance bewilders his employer, gradually paralyzing the entire workplace's normal functions. As Bartleby's passive resistance escalates, the narrator—a lawyer who hired him—becomes increasingly obsessed with understanding this inexplicable employee. Trapped between professional obligation and human curiosity, he witnesses Bartleby's radical rejection of societal work expectations. Something fundamental about labor, agency, and human dignity emerges in this compact, revolutionary standoff between an individual and institutional systems.
Genres: fiction, classic-literature, american-fiction, 19th-century
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: passive-resistance, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Whaling Ship
Period: 19th-Century
64 pages · Paperback · Melville House