Say Scrivener Six Times Swiftly

Melville's "Bartleby, the Scrivener" exasperated me to near self-flagellation.  Initially entranced by the sensuousness of the word, scrivener, halfway through the text I wanted to scribble on every page whilst screaming senselessly.  At some point in the story, my face took on the "fine florid hue" (par. 6) attributed to Turkey's morning demeanor, and as the inaction progressed, I too began to blaze. 

Still, there is much to adore in Melville's writing, if one disregards the action.  He certainly does.  I laughed out loud at the narrator's description of himself in the opening paragraphs.  He states that he is "filled with a profound conviction that the easiest way of life is the best."  (par. 3)  He does not "indulge in dangerous indignation at wrongs and outrages," (par. 4) but then begs permission to be "rash" for a moment and is subsequently anything but.  In his dealings with Bartleby, the lawyer appears to remain true to his conviction, taking the path of least resistance at each confrontation.  Things don't turn out for the best, though.  In fact, they become progressively worse, so much so that he actually picks up and moves his business to remove himself from the problem of Bartleby.  That would seem to be the antithesis of easy, but is that what Melville would like us to understand as readers?  Are we to view the narrator's failed attempt to go through life unscathed and well remunerated as some sort of indictment of his success?  Is he entitled to such a luxury while another, namely Bartleby, has endured injustice? The narrator's surrender to determinism seems to suggest that success and failure are matters of fate, especially since he does not seem to possess qualities particularly deserving of success on his own merit. 

I think my main problem with this story, is that I am repulsed by the narrator's weak character and would have dealt with the situation pragmatically at the outset.  I would prefer not to endure Bartleby and won't.