ophically justified. Ironically, on the day his pity turns to repulsion, the narrator was on his way to Church. The narrator never does make it to Church that day, and the symbolism is obvious. Now, one Sunday morning I happened to go to Trinity Church, to hear a celebrated preacher Though he was on his way to see a celebrated preacher, religion's highest ideals do not win a place in the narrator's heart. Also, he says that he is going to see the celebrated preacher as though there was no other reason to go. Melville, it seems, is taking a small jab at religion and its inability to change men meaningfully for the better in the face of this pitiless world that had been created. The narrator will try to help Bartleby return home, but we will see that there are limits to what he feels he can do.The story progresses to show more of Bartlebys affirmations that he would prefer to do nothing. The narrator's offer to have Bartleby stay at his own home seems initially generous, but this belated offer of hospitality comes from a fear of scandal: a lawyer has threatened to publish the case in the papers. Yet one of the accomplishments of the story is that our narrator has become, basically, a decent man. When Bartleby chooses to stop copying altogether, the narrator feels that he has no choice but to move offices to get rid of the scrivener. His abandonment of Bartleby is in no way exceptional, nor are we meant to see the narrator as more cruel or uncaring than the rest of humanity. If he fails Bartleby, we also must concede that most of us would fail him as well. The prudent choice here would be to go to the authorities and, except for the possible scandal, have them take care of Bartleby. The narrators personality has at least become more compassionate if not wholeheartedly. What we notice here, therefore, is a series of rather significant changes not in our main character (ostensibly the main character is Bartleby) but in our narrator....
