What do you think?
Rate this book
Bartelby The Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street — A Classic Tale of Isolation and Resistance by the Author of Moby-Dick
44 pages, Paperback
Published April 28, 2025
3 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Herman Melville
2,381 books4,516 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. At the time of his death, Melville was no longer well known to the public, but the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a Melville revival. Moby-Dick eventually would be considered one of the great American novels.
Melville was born in New York City, the third child of a prosperous merchant whose death in 1832 left the family in dire financial straits. He took to sea in 1839 as a common sailor on a merchant ship and then on the whaler Acushnet, but he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. Typee, his first book, and its sequel, Omoo (1847), were travel-adventures based on his encounters with the peoples of the islands. Their success gave him the financial security to marry Elizabeth Shaw, the daughter of the Boston jurist Lemuel Shaw. Mardi (1849), a romance-adventure and his first book not based on his own experience, was not well received. Redburn (1849) and White-Jacket (1850), both tales based on his experience as a well-born young man at sea, were given respectable reviews, but did not sell well enough to support his expanding family.
Melville's growing literary ambition showed in Moby-Dick (1851), which took nearly a year and a half to write, but it did not find an audience, and critics scorned his psychological novel Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852). From 1853 to 1856, Melville published short fiction in magazines, including "Benito Cereno" and "Bartleby, the Scrivener". In 1857, he traveled to England, toured the Near East, and published his last work of prose, The Confidence-Man (1857). He moved to New York in 1863, eventually taking a position as a United States customs inspector.
From that point, Melville focused his creative powers on poetry. Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866) was his poetic reflection on the moral questions of the American Civil War. In 1867, his eldest child Malcolm died at home from a self-inflicted gunshot. Melville's metaphysical epic Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land was published in 1876. In 1886, his other son Stanwix died of apparent tuberculosis, and Melville retired. During his last years, he privately published two volumes of poetry, and left one volume unpublished. The novella Billy Budd was left unfinished at his death, but was published posthumously in 1924. Melville died from cardiovascular disease in 1891.
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. At the time of his death, Melville was no longer well known to the public, but the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a Melville revival. Moby-Dick eventually would be considered one of the great American novels.
Melville was born in New York City, the third child of a prosperous merchant whose death in 1832 left the family in dire financial straits. He took to sea in 1839 as a common sailor on a merchant ship and then on the whaler Acushnet, but he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. Typee, his first book, and its sequel, Omoo (1847), were travel-adventures based on his encounters with the peoples of the islands. Their success gave him the financial security to marry Elizabeth Shaw, the daughter of the Boston jurist Lemuel Shaw. Mardi (1849), a romance-adventure and his first book not based on his own experience, was not well received. Redburn (1849) and White-Jacket (1850), both tales based on his experience as a well-born young man at sea, were given respectable reviews, but did not sell well enough to support his expanding family.
Melville's growing literary ambition showed in Moby-Dick (1851), which took nearly a year and a half to write, but it did not find an audience, and critics scorned his psychological novel Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852). From 1853 to 1856, Melville published short fiction in magazines, including "Benito Cereno" and "Bartleby, the Scrivener". In 1857, he traveled to England, toured the Near East, and published his last work of prose, The Confidence-Man (1857). He moved to New York in 1863, eventually taking a position as a United States customs inspector.
From that point, Melville focused his creative powers on poetry. Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866) was his poetic reflection on the moral questions of the American Civil War. In 1867, his eldest child Malcolm died at home from a self-inflicted gunshot. Melville's metaphysical epic Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land was published in 1876. In 1886, his other son Stanwix died of apparent tuberculosis, and Melville retired. During his last years, he privately published two volumes of poetry, and left one volume unpublished. The novella Billy Budd was left unfinished at his death, but was published posthumously in 1924. Melville died from cardiovascular disease in 1891.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 8, 2025
Bartleby, the scrivener: A story of Wall Street, Herman Melville
بارتلبي النساخ : قصة من وول ستريت، هرمان ملفيل
النوع: نوفيلا (أدب أمريكي)
عدد الصفحات : بين 50 و 100 تختلف حسب دور النشر نُشرت لأول مرة سنة 1853
تدور القصة في مكتب محاماة يقع في "وول ستريت" بمدينة نيويورك، حيث يروي محامٍ مسنّ القصة من وجهة نظره. هذا المحامي المعروف ببراعته في تجنب النزاعات، يقرر تعيين ناسخ جديد للوثائق القانونية يُدعى بارتلبي، بعد أن أصبح العمل كثيرًا على باقي الموظفين.
في البداية يظهر بارتلبي كموظف هادئ و مهذب و كفء في عمله. يعمل بصمت ودون شكاوى او كما يصفه المحامي "نظيفاً بشكل شاحب، مهذبا بشكل يرثى له، وبائسا على نحو يتعذر شفاؤه!.." لكن سرعان ما يتغير سلوكه فحين يُطلب منه إنجاز مهام معينة مثل مراجعة نسخ الوثائق يرد بجملة "أفضل ألّا أفعل" ("I'd rather not")، دون تقديم أي تفسير .
مع الوقت يتوقف بارتلبي عن العمل نهائيًا و يبدأ في قضاء أيامه واقفًا أو جالسًا بلا حراك داخل المكتب رافضًا أي عمل أو حتى مغادرة المكان. صار يعيش داخل المكتب نفسه، دون منزل خارجي. يتعامل المحامي معه في البداية بالتسامح ثم بالحيرة وأخيرًا بالعجز.
حين لا يجد المحامي طريقة للتعامل معه، يقرر نقل مكتبه إلى مكان آخر، تاركًا بارتلبي خلفه. في النهاية، يتم القبض على بارتلبي و يُزج به في السجن، حيث يموت جوعًا بعد أن رفض الأكل، متمسكًا بعبارته الشهيرة تاركا المحامي و القارئء على حد السواء في حيرة و تساؤل عن مرد هذا الرفض الذي يكشفه المحامي مع نهاية النص صائحا
"Oh Bartleby ! Oh Humanity!"
تنتمي هذه القصة الى التيار الرمزي فبارتلبي رمز للاغتراب الوجودي و لرفض الإنسان أن يتحول إلى آلة داخل نظام رأسمالي لا يرحم.
كما تُثير القصة تساؤلات حول الرحمة و المسؤولية و اللامبالاة الاجتماعية.
أما العبارة المتكررة "أفضل ألا أفعل" فقد أصبحت رمزًا للرفض السلبي الهادئ.
"بارتلبي النساخ" قصة قصيرة عميقة في بساطتها، تسرد تحوّل إنسان من موظف نشيط إلى كائن منسحب من الحياة، وسط مجتمع لا يملك أدوات لفهم من يرفض الانخراط في "النظام". تتناول الصراع بين الفرد و البيروقراطية و تجعل القارئ يتأمل في معنى الإنسانية.
بارتلبي النساخ : قصة من وول ستريت، هرمان ملفيل
النوع: نوفيلا (أدب أمريكي)
عدد الصفحات : بين 50 و 100 تختلف حسب دور النشر نُشرت لأول مرة سنة 1853
تدور القصة في مكتب محاماة يقع في "وول ستريت" بمدينة نيويورك، حيث يروي محامٍ مسنّ القصة من وجهة نظره. هذا المحامي المعروف ببراعته في تجنب النزاعات، يقرر تعيين ناسخ جديد للوثائق القانونية يُدعى بارتلبي، بعد أن أصبح العمل كثيرًا على باقي الموظفين.
في البداية يظهر بارتلبي كموظف هادئ و مهذب و كفء في عمله. يعمل بصمت ودون شكاوى او كما يصفه المحامي "نظيفاً بشكل شاحب، مهذبا بشكل يرثى له، وبائسا على نحو يتعذر شفاؤه!.." لكن سرعان ما يتغير سلوكه فحين يُطلب منه إنجاز مهام معينة مثل مراجعة نسخ الوثائق يرد بجملة "أفضل ألّا أفعل" ("I'd rather not")، دون تقديم أي تفسير .
مع الوقت يتوقف بارتلبي عن العمل نهائيًا و يبدأ في قضاء أيامه واقفًا أو جالسًا بلا حراك داخل المكتب رافضًا أي عمل أو حتى مغادرة المكان. صار يعيش داخل المكتب نفسه، دون منزل خارجي. يتعامل المحامي معه في البداية بالتسامح ثم بالحيرة وأخيرًا بالعجز.
حين لا يجد المحامي طريقة للتعامل معه، يقرر نقل مكتبه إلى مكان آخر، تاركًا بارتلبي خلفه. في النهاية، يتم القبض على بارتلبي و يُزج به في السجن، حيث يموت جوعًا بعد أن رفض الأكل، متمسكًا بعبارته الشهيرة تاركا المحامي و القارئء على حد السواء في حيرة و تساؤل عن مرد هذا الرفض الذي يكشفه المحامي مع نهاية النص صائحا
"Oh Bartleby ! Oh Humanity!"
تنتمي هذه القصة الى التيار الرمزي فبارتلبي رمز للاغتراب الوجودي و لرفض الإنسان أن يتحول إلى آلة داخل نظام رأسمالي لا يرحم.
كما تُثير القصة تساؤلات حول الرحمة و المسؤولية و اللامبالاة الاجتماعية.
أما العبارة المتكررة "أفضل ألا أفعل" فقد أصبحت رمزًا للرفض السلبي الهادئ.
"بارتلبي النساخ" قصة قصيرة عميقة في بساطتها، تسرد تحوّل إنسان من موظف نشيط إلى كائن منسحب من الحياة، وسط مجتمع لا يملك أدوات لفهم من يرفض الانخراط في "النظام". تتناول الصراع بين الفرد و البيروقراطية و تجعل القارئ يتأمل في معنى الإنسانية.
November 4, 2025
3.5 stars. I really like Melville’s writing and I have been thinking about this story a lot since I finished it. But it always bothers me a little when a story is super popular even though no one really knows what it’s about.
October 27, 2025
First time reading Melville, his writing reminds me a lot of Dickens. “I would prefer not to” is about to become a brain worm for me…
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews