The term romanticism is “a literary, artistic, and philosophical movement originating in the 18th century, characterized chiefly by a reaction against neoclassicism and an emphasis on the imagination and emotions, and marked especially in English literature by sensibility and the use of autobiographical material, an exaltation of the primitive and the common man, an appreciation of external nature, an interest in the remote, a predilection for melancholy, and the use in poetry of older verse forms” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). The characteristics of romanticism literature include spontaneity, emphasis on individualism, leading a solitary life than societal life, and being free from rules. This literature was devoted to beauty, nature worship and the common belief in this literature was that imagination superseded reason in terms of superiority. In Herman Melville’s novella “Bartleby, the Scrivener,” the narrator is a lawyer of advanced age whose business is helping wealthy clients deal with bonds, title deeds and mortgages. The narrator tells the story of Bartleby, a new member of his staff. Bartleby’s story theorizes the term romanticism in a completely new way. The new meaning of the term romanticism that this novella brings forth is resisting passively to prevalent ideologies.
“Bartleby, the Scrivener” (1853) tells the story of passive resistance (Desmarais 25). Bartleby constantly ignores the demands of his employer. Instead, he uses his personal individual rule in all his work. He declines to do what his employer asks him to do provided it is not copying documents, which is his basic task he has been employed to do. By adhering to his personal rule in all his work, Bartleby challenges corporatist and capitalist ideologies that his employer espouses.
Moreover, by refusing to act on undemanding and simple requests, Bartleby exercises immense power albeit passively (Desmarais 25). He verbally obstructs capitalist and corporatist ideologies by constantly using the statement “I would prefer not” as the answer to all the requests of his employer. As the story nears the end, Bartleby is discovered to be have made the office his residence during weekends, and this time he is compelled to turn physical in order obstruct these ideologies.
The term “prefer not” is recurrent in the whole story. Bartleby repeatedly uses it to passively resist acting on undemanding and simple requests his employer throws his way. The passive resistance to act on these requests makes his colleagues to be furious. The verb “prefer” and the five word phrase “I would prefer not to” are a show of politeness but they carry immense significance in this novella.
The passive resistance of Bartleby began on the third day after he had secured a job in the narrator’s legal office on Wall Street. The narrator, who is his boss, called him to come over to his desk and examine a paper with him but Bartleby declined to participate in this task. Bartley did not move his seat to come over but instead replied “I would prefer not to,” (Melville, p. 12). This indicates that Bartleby was a man who was not ready to take any more tasks that were above what he had been employed to do. His refusal to examine a paper with his boss was laden with immense politeness that the narrator felt that either Bartleby had misunderstood him or his ears had not heard right what he had uttered.
This passive resistance is exceedingly powerful that does it not cause any harm to his boss. The boss is unable to fault Bartleby’s genteel reply choosing instead to go back to his desk. The narrator examines Bartleby steadfastly but he finds out that that Bartleby was not angered, uneasy, impertinent, or impatient as he made his reply.
Moreover, he was not agitated but composed and calm. There was nothing to show that he was uncomfortable with this request and this made the narrator not to dismiss him from the premises but he chose to return to his desk. This shows that Bartleby’s verbal obstruction to request does not disarm his boss but instead humbles him, making him to carry the paper back to his desk.
With this simple statement, Bartleby manages to challenge corporatist ideology that bosses can freely load their employees with all kinds of tasks that are even beyond what they were hired to specifically do. According to Bartleby, the best way to do this is to resist passively, and this was a different element of romanticism literature.
Bartleby is an exceedingly reluctant person who does not open up to others. He refuses to cave in to take part in a paper examining exercise despite the other employees answering to their boss’s call. When the narrator asks him why he refuses to assist in examining the papers. He does not provide any concrete reason but simply states that “I would prefer not to,” (Melville 13). The words do not cause the narrator to go into a fit of rage but instead he feels disarmed, disconcerted, and touched by Bartleby. Because of this he decides to reason with this strange man in an effort to find out what is behind his constant refusal to take part in any task beyond copying documents. He is not bothered to give an alternative answer even after the narrator has talked to him about the expectations in this legal office.
The narrator says “You are decided, then, not to comply with my request-a request made according to common usage and common sense?” (Melville 13). To him, these requests are outright well intentioned when in reality they somehow amount to exploitation of employees. Bartleby does not give in to do tasks he deems to be pure exploitation and instead he passively declines to these requests.
Moreover, Bartleby’s passively resists change and he does not engage in any. He says “at present I would prefer not to make any change” (Melville 37). He prefers to stay in the same position and he attests to this by saying “Not at all. It does not strike me that there is anything definite about that. I like to be stationary” (Millville 36).
Essentially, he is a man who passively resists change through his daily life. He does not go far way from the legal office. He prefers to work, eat, and sleep in this same legal office. He lost his appetite and daily he consumes ginger nuts.
He is a person stuck in his private life and he is not ready to publicize the several aspects about himself. The only job he does is to copy documents but he is reluctant to take part in comparing them because this will deny him his neurotic privacy since it will make him work with other people. His passive resistance to take on new tasks and lifestyles shows that he dislikes change.
As the story comes to the end, Bartleby is locked up in prison and he persistently refuses to take in any food. He staunchly says “I prefer not to dine today. It would disagree with me; I am unused to diners” (Melville 39). He then turned way and he positioned himself in front of the dead wall. The dead wall symbolizes his life that is about to fizzle out because his reluctance to take in food. By declining food he is essentially giving up life. His acts are a passive resistance to live since his life has been empty all through. In his life he has constantly interfered with uncreative and repetitive processes. Therefore, this novella theorizes romanticism to mean passive resistance especially to corporatist and capitalist ideologies.
Bartleby is neurotically reluctant to accept any requests imposed on him and his pursuit is to make his life to be the opposite of the mainstream ideal. All through, he refuses to engage in what most people were doing. He uses the words “I would prefer not to” to show that he resisting albeit passively without ruffling any feathers. This phrase shapes his life and it makes him live by his own rules. He prefers “not to” because he doesn’t want to lose his autonomy, divulge information about his family and background, or engage in tasks that are beyond what he beliefs is what he is employed for. Because of this he says little, works on few tasks and generally occupies a small role. Passive resistance is what makes him get along with others.
Works Cited
Desmarais, Jane. "Preferring not to: The Paradox of Passive Resistance in Herman Melville’s “Bartleby”." Journal of the Short Story in English. Les Cahiers de la nouvelle 36 (2001): 25-39.
Melville, Herman. Bartleby, the scrivener. Bartleby Library, 1999.
"Romanticism | Definition of Romanticism by Merriam-Webster." Dictionary and Thesaurus | Merriam-Webster. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/romanticism>.
