José-Luis Munuera’s Anti-Capitalist Graphic Novel as a Creative Response to Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener”

Melville’s Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street (1853) is a short story that offers a multiplicity of readings not only because of the complexity of its main characters but also because of Melville’s imaginary of Wall Street. This paper examines how José-Luis Munuera represents these narr...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Daniela Jose Cid Opazo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Karadeniz Technical University 2024-10-01
Series:Nalans
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Online Access:https://nalans.com/index.php/nalans/article/view/651
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Summary:Melville’s Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street (1853) is a short story that offers a multiplicity of readings not only because of the complexity of its main characters but also because of Melville’s imaginary of Wall Street. This paper examines how José-Luis Munuera represents these narrative elements in his graphic novel adaptation Bartleby, der Schreiber (2022). I argue that Munuera’s adaptation has its own textual identity and can be read as a creative, graphic response to Melville’s criticism of nineteenth-century Wall Street. Even though set in a similar period to the 1850s original version, Munuera’s authorial choices invite the reader to reflect on contemporary conceptions of work, duty, and agency in a capitalist present.
ISSN:2148-4066