Bartleby, the Scrivener

Money and sums of money appear frequently throughout “Bartleby.” These numbers would have been easily understood by Melville’s contemporary readers, but inflation has decontextualized them. Ginger Nut is paid $1 a week, which is approximately $37 in 2022 (8). Ginger nut cakes cost a penny for “six or eight,” which is equivalent to about 38 cents today. Scriveners in the law office are paid the “usual rate of four cents” per 100 words copied (15), or about $1.50 today. The workers in the office spend their money on cheap snacks while working, and these ginger nut cakes seem to be all Bartleby eats. What little money Bartleby makes he prefers to save instead of buying more expensive foods.

The scriveners make very little pay for work that can damage their eyesight. In Melville’s time, labor movements were very active seeking better pay and working conditions (most famously in factories). Melville also held jobs like clerk or cashier, similar to Bartleby’s. These jobs, biographers contend, made Melville sympathetic to the lower classes but pessimistic about improving their conditions.