- description
- # Narrator's resolve to remove Bartleby and attempts to persuade him
## Overview
This segment, titled "Narrator's resolve to remove Bartleby and attempts to persuade him," is a portion of the short story "Bartleby, The Scrivener." It spans lines 1177 to 1204 of the source text and details the narrator's internal struggle and initial attempts to convince Bartleby to leave his employment.
## Context
This segment is part of the larger work "[Bartleby, The Scrivener](arke:01KG8AJ8SS2R5YVRHT1BCDZZNP)," a short story by Herman Melville. The text was extracted from the file "[bartleby_the_scrivener.txt](arke:01KG89J1CRGPEZ66W67EZPAMPE)" and is included within the "[Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW)" collection. This segment follows the narrator's growing unease and reflections on Bartleby's peculiar behavior, as described in the preceding segment, "[Narrator's reflections and Bartleby's peculiar behavior causing concern](arke:01KG8AJNQ5WS76RCCAYRFW6GVS)."
## Contents
In this segment, the narrator grapples with the moral and practical implications of Bartleby's continued presence. After three days of meditation, Bartleby reiterates his desire to remain, prompting the narrator to question his ethical obligations. The narrator considers various harsh measures, such as forcibly removing Bartleby or having him arrested, but ultimately rejects them due to Bartleby's passive and seemingly helpless nature. The narrator concludes that conventional methods of persuasion and even bribery have failed, highlighting Bartleby's persistent refusal to leave. This internal conflict sets the stage for the narrator's subsequent decision to move offices, as detailed in the following segment, "[Narrator's decision to move offices and Bartleby's continued presence](arke:01KG8AJNQ5Y3265KJS4SD0SD97)."
- description_generated_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:08.340Z
- description_model
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- description_title
- Narrator's resolve to remove Bartleby and attempts to persuade him
- end_line
- 1204
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:47:37.562Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 1177
- text
- Ere revolving any complicated project, however, adapted to this end, I
first simply suggested to Bartleby the propriety of his permanent
departure. In a calm and serious tone, I commended the idea to his
careful and mature consideration. But having taken three days to
meditate upon it, he apprised me that his original determination
remained the same; in short, that he still preferred to abide with me.
What shall I do? I now said to myself, buttoning up my coat to the last
button. What shall I do? what ought I to do? what does conscience say I
_should_ do with this man, or rather ghost. Rid myself of him, I must;
go, he shall. But how? You will not thrust him, the poor, pale, passive
mortal,—you will not thrust such a helpless creature out of your door?
you will not dishonor yourself by such cruelty? No, I will not, I
cannot do that. Rather would I let him live and die here, and then
mason up his remains in the wall. What then will you do? For all your
coaxing, he will not budge. Bribes he leaves under your own paperweight
on your table; in short, it is quite plain that he prefers to cling to
you.
Then something severe, something unusual must be done. What! surely you
will not have him collared by a constable, and commit his innocent
pallor to the common jail? And upon what ground could you procure such
a thing to be done?—a vagrant, is he? What! he a vagrant, a wanderer,
who refuses to budge? It is because he will _not_ be a vagrant, then,
that you seek to count him _as_ a vagrant. That is too absurd. No
visible means of support: there I have him. Wrong again: for
indubitably he _does_ support himself, and that is the only
unanswerable proof that any man can show of his possessing the means so
- title
- Narrator's resolve to remove Bartleby and attempts to persuade him