Herman Melville Bio

Herman Melville, hailed as one of "The Great Authors" of all time, writer of the epic story Moby Dick, and a man of numerous sea voyages. He seems to be a "man's man", writing of adventures and whaling treks, but not many people would know that he was truly a quiet hermit without diving into his background. As The Bedford Introduction to Literature states, a biographical investigation of an author and his/her works "...can help readers understand his or her work more fully" (Meyer 2036). Through a look into the life of Melville, we will find some connections between his life and his works and attempt to break those connections down to see how they are significant. We will primarily be looking at his short story, Bartleby: The Scrivner, but there may be some portions of his other works that get tied in as well. We will also be connecting some of his life events to those portrayed in his stories. The best way to begin a book is to look into the author and their background; how they live(d), what they did, what "drove" them. Only then can we connect meaning between reality and fiction.

Born August 1^st, 1819, Herman was already an outcast, the third child of Allan and Maria Melvill (Maria added the 'e' to their last name after Allan died). Raised by parents whom were well connected socially in a big city like New York, he was expected to be a "good, God-fearing, noble, and refined child" (Padilla). Unfortunately for Herman, he was quite the opposite of what his parents were hoping for. Herman's own father is quoted in a letter describing him as "backward in speech and somewhat slow in comprehension...of a docile and amiable disposition" (Padilla). When I came upon this information, I immediately thought of Bartleby. He could fit that exact description. Melville describes Bartleby as "...pallidly neat, pitiably respectable, incurably forlorn! It was Bartleby", roughly translated as bland, easy to feel sorry for, and completely hopeless (Melville).

Melville's father worked as an importer and was often overseas. Growing up without a father figure may have caused some emotional and developmental issues. Herman was also sent away to school to study, first at New York Male School and then eventually at Albany Academy ("Herman Melville"). These two events I see reflected in Bartleby's character as well. When he comes to work for the lawyer, he is put up in the loft alone and separated from the rest of the office by a partition. His solitude and disconnected mannerisms are most likely feelings that Herman went through in the long absences of his father and being shipped off to school. Another bit that deserves attention is Bartleby's defiance to doing some of the work that the lawyer asks him to do, always responding "I would prefer not to" (Melville). Growing up without a father, it would easily build resentment towards him and foster a rebellious nature. While sources claim Herman was a quite boy, he may have bottled these feelings for his father up inside and writing these articles and books could have been a release many years down the road. Continuing on in Melville's life, he breaks off from adolescences and gets his first "real job".

When Melville's family came upon hard times in the mid-1830's, he got a job on board a ship to London called the St. Lawrence as a cabin boy (Padilla). A cabin boy is someone, not always a minor, who waits on passengers and crew of the ship they are serving on, much like room service in a hotel ("Cabin Boy"). This job was his first sea journey and sparked a love for the open ocean. After working as a bank clerk, farm hand, and in the family business of importing, he found his calling on the oceans (Padilla). This love sparked one of the great stories in history, Moby Dick, and many less acclaimed works.

Padilla goes on to detail Melville's next voyage on the Acushnet, a whaling ship, where he worked for some time before presumably jumping ship. This adventure was the influence for his first novel, Typee. It is about some native cannibals in French-Polynesia who take Melville in; as a guest or prisoner, Padilla was not sure.

Melivlle was married in 1847 to Elizabeth Shaw and had four children and moved to Massachusetts ("Herman Melville"). While there, he was introduced to Nathaniel Hawthorne and quickly became close friends and this friendship is often cited as a great catalyst behind Moby Dick ("Herman Melville").

Another aspect that follows Melville from his childhood was his constant rejection. He had his successes, but they were always accompanied by failures. Many of his books did not find a foothold in print and some were turned away before they were published. Later in life, he volunteers for the Navy during the Civil War, but is turned away. Many of these events can also be connected to Bartleby. While Bartleby was very good at getting work done, he had a hard time getting along with those in the office:

At first Bartleby did an extraordinary quantity of writing. As if long famishing for something to copy, he seemed to gorge himself on my documents. There was no pause for digestion. (Melivlle)

These problems in his life, seem to make an appearance in his works and tends to be a common theme among authors, to include issues that take place in their lives.

While Melville is a world renowned author, his lifestyle was not one of fame or glamour. This life is often reflected in aspects of his characters portrayed in his novels, such as Bartleby in Bartleby: The Scrivner. We have discovered that by looking into the author's background, the reader can often discover information, not evident from the story, about some of the characters, settings, or events in the book. Hermit or socialite, rich or poor, haughty or humble, an author would have to try hard to not include their personal lives in their novels because most often, the novel is their life.

Works Cited

"Cabin boy." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 16 Aug 2008,

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"Herman Melville." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 11 Dec

2008, 16:56 UTC. 12 Dec 2008.

Melville, Herman. Bartleby, The Scrivner - A Story of Wall-Street. Project Gutenberg. Bartleby, The Scrivner. 2 Jan. 2004. Project Gutenberg. 11 Dec. 2008.

Meyer, Michael, ed. "Biographical Strategies." The Bedford Introduction To Literature. Ed. Micheal Meyer. 7th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005. 2036-038.

Padilla, David. "Melville, Herman." Herman Melville's Billy Budd. 1 June 2001. University of Virginia. 11 Dec. 2008 .