The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids

"The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids" is a short story written by American writer Herman Melville. It first appeared in the April 1855 edition of Harper's Magazine.^[1] A combination of two sketches, one set in the center of London's legal industry and the other in a New England paper factory, this story can be read as an early comment on globalization.

"The Paradise of Bachelors and The Tartarus of Maids"
Short story by Herman Melville
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Short story
Publication
Publisher	Harper's Magazine
Media type	Print
Publication date	April 1855

Plot summary

In the first sketch, the London bachelors, all lawyers, scholars, or writers, enjoy a sumptuous meal in a cozy apartment near the Temple Bar. In the second sketch, the New England "maids" are young women working in a paper factory.

Composition

The Room over Temple Bar, 1876, Frederick Wentworth after WPH

Crane and Company Old Stone Mill Rag Room in 1988.^[2]

Melville was inspired to write "The Paradise of Bachelors" by a trip to the Inns of Court in December 1849. "The Tartarus of Maids" was inspired by his visit to Carson's Old Red Paper Mill in Dalton, Massachusetts, in January 1851.^[3]