Abstract
Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener” follows Bartleby, an affectively unsound figure that seems to disrupt larger narrative functions, developing these characteristics in response to prior trauma. However, the lawyer narrator is not privy to the extent of Bartleby’s feelings because of his idealistic attachments to him. This paper examines Bartleby as a disruptive character using affect theory, as well as how his disruptions illuminate the effects of repressed trauma in an increasingly capital-driven society.
Recommended Citation
Colandro, Lauren
(2023)
"A Perpetual Sentry In the Corner: Affect and Trauma and “Bartleby, the Scrivener”,"
Locus: The Seton Hall Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 6, Article 5.
Available at:
https://scholarship.shu.edu/locus/vol6/iss1/5