And here Bartleby makes his home, sole spectator of a solitude which he has seen all populous- a sort of innocent and transformed Marius brooding among the ruins of Carthage!
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Bartleby is depicted as a solitary figure witnessing a world that was once full of life but is now ruined.
- In plain terms
- Bartleby lives alone watching over a place that used to be busy.
- What can you take from it?
- Solitude can be a form of witness to past life.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What does it mean to witness a ruined world?
- How do we relate to the past?
Another view
Solitude is not always a noble state; it can be a prison.
More from Herman Melville
Ah, happiness courts the light, so we deem the world is gay, but misery hides aloof, so we deem that misery there is none.
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