- description
- # Bartleby's presence in the office on a Sunday
## Overview - What this is (type, form, dates, scope)
This is a segment extracted from the short story "[Bartleby, The Scrivener](arke:01KG6YFY3GPNBP5AAFESQKDTDR)" by Herman Melville, focusing on a specific scene. The segment, labeled "Bartleby's presence in the office on a Sunday," spans lines 623-630 of the source text file, "[bartleby_the_scrivener.txt](arke:01KG6YDD8YHX9PCQE3NTAG8XF1)". It was extracted on January 30, 2026, by the structure-extraction-lambda.
## Context - Background and provenance from related entities
This segment is part of the complete works of Herman Melville, found within the "[Melville](arke:01KG6YCG626JN4FCG8QK17CQCF)" collection. The text describes a pivotal moment in the story where the narrator, a lawyer, unexpectedly finds Bartleby, his scrivener, in the office on a Sunday morning. This follows Bartleby's increasing isolation, as described in the preceding segment, "[Bartleby's increasing isolation and refusal to leave](arke:01KG6YGBMBWNTXCJASG7F58WAK)". The scene sets the stage for the discovery of Bartleby's living situation, which is detailed in the subsequent segment, "[Bartleby's Refusal and Discovery of His Living Situation](arke:01KG6YGBMBRYHQFB8EB1ZQ8PZR)".
## Contents - What it contains, key subjects and details
The segment details the narrator's surprise upon finding Bartleby in his office on a Sunday. The narrator, returning from church, finds the door locked from the inside. Upon entering, he is confronted by Bartleby in his shirt sleeves. Bartleby states he is "deeply engaged" and prefers not to admit the narrator at the moment.
- description_generated_at
- 2026-01-30T07:57:51.773Z
- description_model
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- description_title
- Bartleby's presence in the office on a Sunday
- end_line
- 630
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T07:57:25.130Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 623
- text
- Now, one Sunday morning I happened to go to Trinity Church, to hear a
celebrated preacher, and finding myself rather early on the ground, I
thought I would walk around to my chambers for a while. Luckily I had
my key with me; but upon applying it to the lock, I found it resisted
by something inserted from the inside. Quite surprised, I called out;
when to my consternation a key was turned from within; and thrusting
his lean visage at me, and holding the door ajar, the apparition of
Bartleby appeared, in his shirt sleeves, and otherwise in a strangely
- title
- Bartleby's presence in the office on a Sunday