Section Archetype of Le magazine littéraire October an article entitled Bartleby, I leave now with my translation.
Bartleby
The recalcitrant type imagined by Melville
has quickly become a allegory of all refusals.
by Philippe Delerm
This could have borne I and my chimney, a story in which the humor is a delight, close to the quarantine, disappointed by the moderate success of Moby Dick and the utter failure of Pierre or the Ambiguities , Melville then retires to the countryside and not only writes what he sees as food stories for magazines. But I and my chimney is written in first person, and, rightly or wrongly, much the narrator assimilates himself Melville, what takes you away from a possible universality. As the fireplace, exegetes have recognized in him a symbol as ambiguous, and yet transparent, which is difficult to get a symbol ... retirement.
Bartleby is therefore who has taken everything. What is it? Well, all that we give every year a hundred and fifty years. It seems that most who else has won. Apparently, the literary rather give to the poor. Why run out to pursue white whale? With respect to Herman Melville, is nowhere where it has found everything. It is enough to say that Bartleby, the eponymous main character's story is an anti-hero. Is first of all poor, forced to sleep on the sly in the office, which is dependent on the scriptures. Enter, then, as now called the French title of the text, but for a long time this title was Bartleby the writer, which is not innocent in the emerging mythology. Poor, but mostly solo, including autism, neglecting (or afraid) all relations with their colleagues. Solo, but mostly repulsive. Must see greed with which all writers, but actors through editing, to set the single name of Bartleby, throw in the now highly cultured eco unique character sentence. Some know it in English: "I woud prefer Not to." Others propose one of two French translations. The oldest: "Je ne pas le faire préférerais" 1 , or the latest: "Je préférerais country." 2 What it is rejected? Not much. The Bartleby the realtà simply refuses to escape any task no matter how small copy job that has been allocated in principle. But this rejection is recurring, emanates from a very strange and distant, which is on course to become the expression of all refusals.
English writer Enrique Vila-Matas occupies a special place in the myth of Bartleby. His book Bartleby and Co. intelligence is at once slightly specious and seductive. The vague relationship maintained by the character of Melville with the work of writing possibly lost or not lets you do a symbol of all the writers who have given up writing an essay, or are interrupted in their progress. We found here that the authors consider to be achieved (a Chamfort, for example, or Melville himself) are in their own eyes Bartlebys, which moreover do not bode at all the image you see of them for posterity.
In France, the fascination of Daniel Pennac by Bartleby is now well known, since he made the previous year, show a gifted reading. Begin to know Bartleby Award unfinished novel created by Frederic Royer. As Marie Darrieusecq, she says: "The Princess of Cleves would rather not." Maliciously know aversion held by our president on the novel by Madame de La Fayette. Is the 'bartlebysmo "an anti-sarkozysme? Without a doubt my character in lui Quelque chose Bartleby 3 opposes all that is bling-bling. In all of this at least one form of resistance, so much nicer to deploy since it wants to resolutely passive opposition to the appreciation of the obsessive action, whether professional or sports. But I think the myth of Bartleby, even if it rests comfortably in this context, it surpasses by far. As simple as it is resolutely literary. Is refusing to create a style as it is created. It is in solitude and melancholy which actually exist. There are many scattered ideas a little walk in our heads, and Bartleby is crystallizing.
1. Identical to the translation into English: "I'd rather not."
2. And English.
3. Something in him of Bartleby.
