Bartleby

[Paul Mackin]

Wonder if Otto's British-style retranslation back to English "I prefer 
not to DO" would appear to Deleuze any less agrammatical and incomplete 
than the American author's mere "I prefer not to."

To my American ear the "do" always sounds overdetermined and redundant.

Perhps D. had a completely different thought.

P.




Heikki Raudaskoski wrote:

>
>
>Deleuze has written this essay, "Bartleby; or, The Formula",
>which is included in _Essays Critical and Clinical_. (U of
>Minnesota Press 1997.) Deleuze sees that the agrammatically
>incomplete "formula" of "I prefer not to" opens a rip in the
>fabric of the social, confronting the social with something
>it does not know how to react to, stymieing [sp?] all speech
>acts....or something.
>
>Am 100% sure that the essay has been translated not only into
>English but also German and other major European languages, as
>it exists in Finnish...
>
>One could almost swear that Melville was familiar with Gogol.
>
>
>
>Heikki
>
>
>On Sun, 12 May 2002 KXX4493553 at aol.com wrote:
>
>>Just read Melville's "Bartleby" in a German translation about the man who
>>would "prefer not to do". Never laughed so loudly: indeed a grotesque, in
>>spite of the tragic ending. A-and it reminds me on a "real existing"
>>person:-))))) (but not on the list - I assure you). My question: are there
>>any commentaries or interpretations about this short story available?
>>
>>
>>
>>kwp
>>
>
>