Story Summary

After fleeing the scene for several days, the lawyer returns and learns that Bartleby has been arrested for vagrancy and taken to the Tombs. Still driven by a compassionate urge, the lawyer visits Bartleby and finds him free to roam the grassy yard, but confining himself to the study of a wall. On a subsequent visit, the lawyer observes Bartleby’s huddled form lying dead at the base of a wall. Still haunted by the singular peculiarities of his deceased employee, the lawyer ponders rumors that the man was forced out of a job at the Dead Letter Office. In retrospect, the lawyer feels pity for Bartleby and all humankind.