Abstract: This thesis centers upon the discussion on the protagonist of Bartleby, the Scrivener, Bartleby, and endeavors to uncover Bartleby’s persistent quest of his ego through analysis of a series of strange behaviors of him. Applying to Jacques Lacan’s Mirror Stage theory, this paper succeeds in attesting to the effect of “Mirror” in Bartleby’s gradual identification as well as growth of self-recognition, the psychological interpretation of whose pure inner world provides a better understanding of the theme of this novel. In order to analyze the significant meaning of the special and perfect mirror that Bartleby utilizes to scan the human virtuousness and social beauty, the current author develops her argument based on two logical reasoning: the mirror of others and the mirror of the wall respectively. It is the intention of this thesis to achieve a comprehensive interpretation of Bartleby’s personality so as to reveal his seemingly complicated inner world. It is also the author’s bold try to provide a possible perspective to look at Bartleby’s mechanic response, “I would prefer not to”, for the future studies of the peculiar and interesting character. |
