# The Narrator (Bartleby) — Short Fiction character guide

> The Narrator (Bartleby) in Short Fiction by Herman Melville.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Unknown, the man, this man

**First appearance:** 0000-bartleby

## Snapshot

A prudent Wall Street lawyer who prizes comfort and method above all, until a pale young scrivener's quiet refusals begin to dismantle his well-ordered peace.

## Who they are

He is an elderly, unambitious attorney who has spent thirty years among rich men's bonds and mortgages, cultivating the easiest way of life and a reputation as an eminently safe man. When he hires Bartleby, he expects another silent copyist; instead he gets a presence that will not be managed, and his own mild, self-satisfied charity is slowly forced into confrontation with something it cannot name. His baffled, increasingly personal attempts to reason with Bartleby are the engine of the story, turning a comic office anecdote into a meditation on what one man owes another.

## Relationships

### [Bartleby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/characters/bartleby)

_professional_

The narrator employs Bartleby as a scrivener, but their relationship becomes strained by Bartleby's passive resistance and the narrator's growing obsession.

### [Oberlus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/characters/oberlus)

_psychological_

Oberlus, a misanthropic hermit, serves as a dark mirror to the Bartleby narrator's own tendencies toward withdrawal and alienation.

### [Turkey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/characters/turkey)

_professional_

Turkey is one of the narrator's scriveners, whose erratic behavior (productive in the morning, sloppy in the afternoon) tests the narrator's patience.

### [The Lightning-Rod Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/characters/the_lightning_rod_man)

_rivalry_

The Lightning-Rod Man aggressively tries to sell his wares to the narrator, creating a tense and adversarial encounter.

### [Hautboy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/characters/hautboy)

_social_

Hautboy is a cheerful, contented acquaintance of the narrator, representing a contrast to the narrator's own melancholy.

### [Jimmy Rose](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/characters/jimmy_rose)

_friendship_

Jimmy Rose is a former wealthy friend who falls into poverty, and the narrator visits him with a mixture of pity and nostalgia.

### [The Stranger](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/characters/the_stranger)

_social_

The Stranger is an enigmatic figure who interacts with the narrator, often prompting reflections on isolation and human connection.

### [Blandmour](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/characters/blandmour)

_social_

Blandmour is a naive optimist who insists on the goodness of nature and humanity, contrasting with the narrator's darker views.

### [Merrymusk](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/characters/merrymusk)

_social_

Merrymusk is a poor but cheerful sailor and father whose resilience impresses the narrator, despite his tragic circumstances.

### [Bartleby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/characters/bartleby)

_professional_

The narrator employs Bartleby as a scrivener, but their relationship becomes strained by Bartleby's passive resistance and the narrator's growing obsession.

### [Turkey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/characters/turkey)

_professional_

Turkey is one of the narrator's scriveners, whose erratic behavior (productive in the morning, sloppy in the afternoon) tests the narrator's patience.

### [Hautboy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/characters/hautboy)

_social_

Hautboy is a cheerful, contented acquaintance of the narrator, representing a contrast to the narrator's own melancholy.

## In the story

### [Bartleby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/bartleby)

The elderly lawyer who employs Bartleby and narrates the story.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/characters/the_narrator_bartleby
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/characters