Bartleby Gender Analysis

“Bartleby the Scrivener,” by Herman Melville, and “Hills Like White Elephants,” by Ernest Hemingway, both present us with the theme of expressing one’s emotions to others and expectations placed upon us by societal gender roles. Bartleby is thought of as strange man by his peers, because he shows his emotions while working in the dog-eat-dog world of Wall Street. In comparison, Jig is also shown as an emotional character, due to the fact she expresses her concern with the decision of her abortion. However, Jig must suppress her emotions in order to please her significant other, because her male counterpart is unaware of how to acknowledge her emotions. These representations show that sex does not play a role when it comes to being an emotional

Throughout his tale, Bartleby spends time in the office of his workplace for an unrelenting amount of time grinding away as a scribe. However, whenever asked to help with an additional task, his only response is, “I would prefer not.” His boss and coworkers consider this response strange, because his fellow employees would never think to express their true feelings to their superiors. They believe that they must do what they are told with no questions asked. In addition to this, Bartleby’s work place is predominantly male. The only female mentioned within the story is the housekeeper, who “weekly scrubbed and daily swept and dusted [the office].” This shows how traits that are considered feminine by societal gender roles are not favored in Bartleby’s occupation, and when Bartleby expresses his

Jig asks her lover if he will worry about the procedure, and he responds by saying he considers the treatment simplistic. In response Jig states, “Then I’ll do it. Because I don’t care about me.” This statement further asserts that Jig is just looking to appease her male counterpart and put her own feelings aside in order to remain with her lover. Jig doesn’t want to lose her current relationship, and in order to do this, she is attempting to withhold her true emotions and avoid seeming hysterical. Additionally, Jig is continually pressured to not worry by her overbearing lover, because all their problems will be solved after the operation. The man states early on in the story that, “[they’ll] be fine afterwards. Just like [they] were before,” and claims that the only problem that exists between them is this decision about whether or not Jig should have an abortion. At this point, Jig does not want to face the decision to either not receive the treatment, which could destroy her romantic relationship, or to go through with the operation. Due to the societal gender roles telling Jig she is a sentimental woman, Jig agreeably states, “I’ll do it,” in order to end the conversation and keep her true feelings deep within herself. She even goes on to argue that she “feels fine,” although it is