“Bartleby the Scrivener” and “A Sorrowful Woman” reflect each other in a lot of ways. They have very similar plots and both thematically show that ‘untreated mental illness can lead to death as is the fate of both characters at the end of their individual stories. “Bartleby the Scrivener” by Herman Melville is a story that depicts the journey of a man withdrawn from society and refusing to adhere to societal norms. He does not crack despite numerous attempts to breach his seemingly tough armor. Although by a different author and of different circumstances, the woman in “A Sorrowful Woman” by Gail Godwin also rejects societal norms. She is fed up with the roles that society that society has imposed on her and is at breaking point, unable to adhere to societal specifications for the ideal mother and wife anymore. Analogous to the woman in the story by Gail Godwin, Bartleby is also unable to meet the criteria for societal acceptance.

In the story, “Bartleby the Scrivener”, Bartleby is marginalized by societal norms in that he is first of all defined by his outward appearance. Even before having any contact with Bartleby, his employer describes him as “pallidly neat, pitiably respectable, and incredibly forlorn”. All these traits are inferred simply from his looks, and as the saying goes, ‘First impressions matter the most’, so if his employer had already pegged him as wan, depressed, and melancholy even before having any interaction with him, it is no surprise that their relationship turned out the way it did. Bartleby was withdrawn and preferred to detach himself from society which unfortunately for him was unacceptable by society which made no effort to hide it. Similarly, in “The Sorrowful Woman”, the woman in the story suffers the same fate as Bartleby. In the era she existed, skills and ability are mainly dependent on sex, and so she is supposed to be a perfect