Bartleby, the Scrivener Melville, Herman | Morris Beja (essay date 1978)
Morris Beja (essay date 1978)
SOURCE: "Bartleby & Schizophrenia," in The Massachusetts Review, Vol XIX, No. 3, Autumn, 1978, pp. 555-68.
History and Development of Symptoms. The patient, a young apprentice in Chartered Accountancy, was admitted to hospital in January 1958, at the age of 23 years. . . . On leaving school at 17 he embarked on a career of his own choosing, that of chartered accountancy with a City firm. For the first five years his performance was beyond reproach. . . .
. . . The initial change was a general slowing up and impairment in efficiency in carrying out all his usual activities, both at work in the office and at home. . . .
. . . When setting out for work. . . he began to stop and stand still at street corners, aimlessly looking about for 5-10 min. A few weeks later, he stopped going to work altogether, and thereafter, for a period of one year, he remained at home and did not leave the house...
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