A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol 

A course by Professor Dwight Lindley, Hillsdale College.

My Notes:

Lesson 1 

Introduction: A “Ghost Story” of Christmas 

A Christmas Carol

The Framework 

Charles Dickens was born 1813                                                                                                          

He wrote this “ghostly little book”  in 1843, during the height of the Industrial Revolution: 

Where new technologies for agriculture, production and shipping are leading to more and more rural laborers moving to the cities - where they inevitably end up living in slum-like conditions: makeshift shantytowns. These places appear all over Dickens’s novels.

Child Labor: 

Children coming from the rural areas, now no longer able to work with their families, are sent to work in the factories. 

The Children’s Employment Commission reported that children were working in factories and mines, from as young as four years of age. Such was the dark underbelly of the Industrial Revolution. They (The Children’s Employment Commission) wanted to make the general public aware of what was happening.                                                                                                                               

Charles Dickens can relate to this personally: Coming from a lower middle class family and being the oldest child, he was sent off to work in a factory at the age of twelve, following his parents being sent to debtors prison.                                                                  

Dickens knows poverty personally and could greatly empathize with the poor he saw around him, even after he had been able to pull himself out of it.                                                          

During his time of poverty, he lived in Camden Town (where he will also place his fictional family, the Cratchits). So when he writes this novella, he writes from authentic experience.

Dickens had read the shocking report from the Children’s Employment Commission, and wanted to respond to it personally, in the form of a non-fictional tract. But then he got to thinking: Maybe a work of fiction would be more effective. People have a much greater tendency to let down their guards and open up their hearts, when reading a novel, then they would to a political piece of writing. This, he asserts, will hit like a sledge hammer - with “twenty thousand times the force” of his first idea.

Dickens walks for miles and miles around London - especially in the most impoverished parts - while writing this novel: He is trying to immerse himself in the reality of the work of  “fiction” he is writing; experiencing firsthand “the black streets of London…when all the sober folks had gone to bed.” 

“He writes a work of fiction through an immersion of reality*”: This is what makes this story so powerful.

Although Dickens is in need of money, with a wife, 4 children, another on the way and various family members also in want of his support (namely his father, who seems somewhat akin to Walter Bray, in Nicholas Nickleby) he still tries to make this book as nice as possible: gold embossed letters and end papers, beautiful bright colors: a gift to all people, while at the same time, making sure it was as affordable as possible (5 shillings to be exact). This means it will be much harder and take much longer to make any kind of profit from it. Dickens is generous: He never got rich from his writing - and this fact will refract back into his novel.

Its title is “A Christmas Carol” and it is therefore written as you would write music: We have staves instead of chapters.                                            

It is set, like the story and carols of Christmas, at night, implying elements of mystery…of light in darkness, where light will once again break into darkness. (Isaiah 9:2)

The Narratives:

A ghost story:

In the preface, Dickens writes of a desire to “haunt the house of the reader pleasantly”: Through the character of Scrooge, Dickens wants to shake the reader - to awaken them as to the plight of the poor - and especially children - on their own doorstep; that the message of this book would haunt its reader (in a “pleasant” way) just as the spirits haunted Scrooge. This will be brought out more in stave one, through the reverberating words of Fred to his Uncle Scrooge. 

  

A conversion narrative:                                                                 It is also a story of conversion: written during times of great spiritual awakening and religious conversion: This would have been familiar territory, to at least some of Dickens’s readers.

It is a dream vision: All of it happening in the middle of the night (“when the sober people had gone to bed”, as Dickens describes it.) Until the final stave, when the dawn finally breaks - and it is over. 

Another example of this genre is “Dante’s Divine Comedy” - where likewise, a conversion takes place, because of a dream vision. 

A Christmas Carol is all of these genres and more: There is an element of realism - which had  been one of Dickens’s primary goals from the outset.

Stave 1 

Lesson 2 Marley’s Ghost “Bah Humbug!”

“Marley was dead.”

We can hear Scrooge thinking on this; trying to rationalize what is happening (from a perspective that we, the reader, will catch up with, later in this stave).

“…To begin with.” - Now the narrator cuts in - in a somewhat humorous manner. You could almost put this comment in (parentheses).

Then back to Scrooge: All the evidence was there - and signed for: the undertaker…even the chief  mourner: Basically everyone that should have signed, did sign. Scrooge had seen it with his own eyes!

And most importantly: Scrooge had signed it - and his name - his signature -  was good upon the Stock Exchange (in Scrooge’s mind, the highest authority in the Land) - therefore there could be no doubt: “Marley was dead…he was dead.”  Scrooge is steadying…fortifying his nerves with these facts.

In Scrooge’s world of facts, figures and finance, he is in control. However, circumstances are about to arise that are not only out of his control, but beyond his reasoning.

Marley

“Scrooge was his soul executor, his soul administrator, his soul assign, his soul residuary legatee, his soul friend and his soul mourner.”

Scrooge and Marley were as alone and as isolated as each other; business and money changing, seeming to be the only reason that any kind of relationship existed between them at all.

But something wonderful is going to come from it: Here the narrator talks to us, the readers: This lesson is not for Scrooge alone but for everyone: That this book…this story would continue to “haunt” us; in the most wonderful way.

Just as Hamlet’s father appeared to him as a ghost, this reference to Hamlet is also preparing the reader, for “an impingement of the supernatural into the natural*” - for a ghost.

Scrooge 

Now the veil is removed and we are fully introduced to the protagonist - in all his unapproachable lovelesness. He is utterly self-contained; his character stunted and shrunken because of the tight cold space into which he has squeezed himself: 

Where the center of Scrooge’s world is Scrooge; where he is safely insulted; and need never concern himself with carrying the “burdens” of love, care and sacrifice; and where, through his repulsion of life, even the slightest spark of the warmth of fellowship is snuffed out, by Scrooge’s icy cold compulsion “to be left alone”. 

This in itself, could be likened to Dante’s sub-zero description of hell in Dante’s Inferno: Where Satan is stuck…wedged into the ice, as Scrooge is wedged into his own icy world.

But this colorful description of Scrooge, is actually - and deliberately - fun to say; and turns this, from a potential horror story, to a story of redemption. (We know there is a happy ending: all of this coldness…lovelessness…is going to be redeemed).

It is hard to completely hate Scrooge; the text doesn’t allow us to (“Bah humbug”). 

It would be easier to paint Scrooge as entirely evil, if he said less - but he doesn’t: He expresses himself, at times, very eloquently - as we read later, in his conversation with his nephew. Such passionate language as this, tells us that deep down in Scrooge’s pit, not everything is frozen; there is still a flow of sorts; all be it going in the wrong direction. Which brings us back to the theme and purpose of the story.

 

“Once upon a time” tells us first, that we are in a fairytale…second, that we are outside of time: Timeless; and that this novella is for anyone - at any time: hence the reason that we are reading it now!

Because it is centered in and around time - the redeeming of time!

“…he could hear the people in the court outside, go wheezing up and down, beating their hands upon their breasts and stamping their feet upon the pavement stones to warm them.”

Even though it’s pretty dead in Scrooge’s world; outside - in spite of the freezing cold - there is life! One could argue that it is actually warmer outside, amidst the hustle bustle of people going about their everyday business, then it is inside Scrooge’s cold and lonely money-changing cell, where he keeps both himself and his poor, shivering clerk prisoner.

 

Scrooge’s Nephew:

The one spark of life and warmth that - no matter how hard he tries - Scrooge is simply unable to snuff out, suddenly and without ceremony, bursts onto the scene.

Here is a strange phenomenon: Scrooge doesn’t exactly welcome Fred; but he doesn’t seem to overtly reject him either. In spite of his unmerciful attitude towards humanity in general, Scrooge’s reluctant tolerance of his nephew, shows that possibly, somewhere deep inside, lies a smoldering, overlooked spark of warmth and affection: Fred jokes with him, teases him and throws his own remarks back at him. To which Scrooge’s response is at first, a simple “Bah Humbug”; then he finds time enough to have something of a conversation with his nephew - a heated conversation - but a conversation non the less. 

“Every idiot who goes about with “Merry Christmas” on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a stake of holy through his heart.”  

This allusion by Scrooge, to “murder” using the same methods by which, the traditional Christmas pudding is made, almost makes the reader want to break into laughter: There seems to be an element of enjoyment for Scrooge in this. Again, if he had said less, I believe it would have made him less likable.

(Scrooge’s uncharacteristic tolerance towards his nephew becomes clearer for the reader in Stave 2.)

Fred’s  world makes no sense to Scrooge: Giving out, giving away - basically losing.

As opposed to Scrooge’s world: hoarding, saving - winning: Or is it?

Matthew 6:19-21, 16:25

 He does not even realize that his shut up wealth is turning to rust and corrosion in his heart. Just as pure water keeps on pouring out - but stagnant water doesn’t.

In complete contrast, Fred’s home, his possessions, his entire world, is as wide open and alive as his heart.

“Where men and women seem by one consent, to open their shut-up hearts freely. And to think of people below them as fellow travelers to the grave and not some other race of people bound on other journeys.”  What Fred says here, is a major key to the lesson Scrooge is about to learn - his words seeming to reverberate, through each stave of this novel.

Scrooge seems to know, that in his nephew, he has met his match: Fred is as warm as Scrooge is cold.

“I’ll see you in …..” To which Fred replies: “God bless you!” They stand at the two most opposite extremes of the room:

Fred is warm, “ruddy” and affirming 

Scrooge is cold, hard and negating 

Fred honors “the Sacred name of Christmas” (which is Christ)

Scrooge honors nothing that doesn’t “add up”.

Fred’s happiness rises far above and beyond balancing the books. 

But in Scrooge’s world, if one cannot balance the books, what reason is there to be happy?

Fred’s relationship with Scrooge is a fine example of what it means to love extravagantly…gratuitously…like Christ.

“He (Fred) stopped at the outer door, to bestow the greetings of the season on the clerk, who, cold as he was, was warmer than Scrooge; for he returned them cordially.”

Here is an important lesson that Scrooge is later to learn: how to give - and to receive - love.

Two Benevolent Gentlemen 

“If they would rather die, they had better do it and decrease the surplus population”: 

This infamous statement made by Scrooge, did not necessarily materialize from Dickens’s own wellspring of imagination: The Economist, Thomas Malthus (1766-1834), believed that there would inevitably come a time when world’s resources would run out: ie the population would become too great for the resources available to sustain them: Society would then revert to something like a natural selection, “survival of the fittest” way of thinking - of living; with those less “fit” and able to “survive” - like the poor and the weak - becoming the “surplus”.

 

Marley’s Face

“It is a fact…that Scrooge had as little as what could be called fancy about him as any man in London…that Scrooge had not bestowed one thought on Marley since his last mention of his seven-year partner that afternoon.”

The narrator is sending us a clear message here: Whatever happens from this point onwards, remember Scrooge is a man of facts - not fancy!

 

“And then let any man explain to me, if he can, how it happened that Scrooge, having his key in the lock of the door, saw in the knocker, without its undergoing any intermediate process of change - not a knocker, but Marley’s face.”

“Marley’s face” - we can hear Scrooge’s voice - as if trying to steady himself.

Whereas Scrooge’s expressiveness, seems to make him almost likable, Marley’s inexpressive gazing - not speaking…utterly motionless - appart from the strange, supernatural “stirring of the hair” - really does make him “horrible”.

The face really represents the soul of a person: Now Marley’s soul - Marley’s face  - is literally up in Scrooge’s: 

Scrooge’s privacy…his isolation…his space…is being invaded - by a dead person…

Scrooge is being forced to accept something that in his world does not…cannot…exist: And, as if to drive this “fact” home, the face reverts back to a doorknob, not when Scrooge is turned away, but right before Scrooge’s eyes…while he is still “fixedly” gazing at it!

Can Scrooge dare to doubt his own senses?

“Darkness is cheap and Scrooge liked it.” 

We can hear Scrooge trying to rationalize…to reassure himself, as he makes his way up the dimly lit staircase: “You like the darkness…it helps to balance the books.”

Scrooge tries to visibly gather his wits together, but he finds himself now displaying abnormal, almost childish behavior; as he checks everything around his chambers; scanning dark rooms and  doing a quick inventory…checking under beds…searching “suspicious” looking items of clothing: He is unnerved…shaken; But Dickens doesn’t tell us that: Through Scrooge’s uncharacteristic behavior, he shows us! 

 

The bells: 

“Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” - John Donne. 

Bells were only rung at abnormal times, to signify a funeral - in other words: death. These bells are an ominous sign for Scrooge - more so because they are ringing in a supposedly empty building, from a deserted area (the top).

And yet, the first sign we are given of the arrival of, what we know to be Marley’s ghost, comes - not from the top of the house - but from the cellar - the bottom.

Marley’s ghost: 

That same face…that same mystifying and horrifying inexpressiveness…glides effortlessly through Scrooge’s locked door.

Dickens uses no verbs in Marley’s description: It is all nouns; signifying hard, cold facts: the type of which, Scrooge is not as yet, willing to accept;

Again, it is all nouns: There is no motion - as if everything is frozen - including Scrooge.

Marley’s chain:

“I wear the chain I forged in life; I made it link by link and yard by yard.” 

This chain is almost an almanac of Marley’s life: Every moment…every second that ticked by, as Marley lived for himself and shut out the voices of the lives outside, he made another link…another yard…a longer, heavier and more “ponderous chain”. And from Marley’s words here, we see that Scrooge’s condition…Scrooge’s chain…is still more ponderous - seven years more “ponderous”, to be exact.

We can liken this to Dante’s Inferno; where people are in like manner, punished and oppressed, according to the way they lived their lives:

Incredulous!

“There’s more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are.” 

This seems almost to be a form of self defense: Scrooge will not admit that there is anything beyond that which he judges as fact - even saying that his own senses are being affected by something merely physical. Thus, he attempts to turn Marley’s ghost also into something merely physical.

 

“Mark me!-In life my spirit never roved beyond the narrow limits of our money-changing hole; and weary journeys lie before me.”

Marley is echoing the sentiments of Fred: Opening up one’s heart and life to his fellow humans: Because Marley did not wander outside of his counting house to do this in life, he is condemned to wander abroad in death - with no rest and powerless to interact with anyone for the good.

“But you were always a good man of business…”

Scrooge is trying to defend, not so much Marley, but himself; as if to say: “Surely that is all that matters…”

“Charity, mercy, forbearance and benevolence were, all, my business.”                                        Marley now proceeds to reframe the word “business” to Scrooge. “Looking after my fellow man - this should have been my “business” 

A chance and hope, for Scrooge                               “You will be haunted…by three spirits…”

So far, we have seen Scrooge being visited first by his nephew, then by two benevolent gentlemen: Scrooge had listened to the appeals of neither of these parties: Clearly more drastic measures are required. And, at Marley’s “procuring”, they are coming.

 

Stave 2

Lesson 3: Christmas Past: “His Poor Forgotten Self”

“The bed curtains were drawn…”

Marley, the first ghost, has introduced us to the other three:

Scrooge knows that at the stroke of one, the first ghost will appear, so he listens in suspense to the chimes.

He hears the clock strike twelve…

but he went to bed at two! Did he go back two hours? Scrooge is still incredulous, even when he realizes he is not in control of time: Time is operating independently of him.

“The bed curtains were drawn.”  - this same fraise is repeated verbatim - as if this is being told from Scrooge’s point of view: “This is what I’m seeing - I don’t believe it - but I’m seeing it!” The ghost is not mentioned yet; because Scrooge hasn’t seen it yet! His suspense also becomes ours!

Dickens now seeks to draw us, as completely into this novella, as if we were Scrooge.

The Ghost of Christmas Past

It appears, both young and old…both near and far…and everywhere in between. 

Its attire shows a span of winter to summer (in other words: an entire and complete history; all year round)

Its muscular arms symbolize its strong reach - the necessity to remember! - Yet its grip is gentle: These memories are to help and to heal - not destroy. It seems to change in accordance with the continual process of change through time.

Its fluctuating could possibly symbolize our ability to remember one thing at one time…and another at the next. Within the darkness, are possibly memories; that although, maybe forgotten or out of mind, are not gone completely. Its distortion may be symbolic of how our memories can be distorted over time. “As we move on in time, we reframe our past according to our changing perceptions and experiences.*”

This is not just “the past” however: This is frighteningly personal: This is the ghost of Scrooge’s past!

Its purpose: Scrooge’s “reclamation” 

An extremely strong emotive word, implying that Scrooge has somehow been stolen…kidnapped… “claimed” by evil - and must now be “reclaimed” - brought back to the side of good: back to his “right” mind.

“Rise and walk with me.” 

See John 5:8; Acts 3:6-7

Dickens had once stated, that within all his books he had/would, somewhere along the line, insert something from the Bible. Here is a perfect example of this.

The School 

They walk “a path of memory*”; where sights, sounds, smells - people - come back to Scrooge, that he has long ago forgotten. These are now, quite literally, being forced back into his memory; to begin to prize open his shut up heart and soul. Scrooge experiences a joy at being able to reconnect with them - and he doesn’t understand why. He is being surprised by his own joy (C.S. Lewis)

Below the surface of his consciousness, these affections are still there and are being awakened. He is being taken back to a time where he was not the person he is now - and he cannot help, but to revert.

Seeing his former “lonely” self, in the long, “lonely” room; in the run-down, “lonely” school, Scrooge, for the first time, feels compassion - deep compassion. As if a wall of his heart comes down - and he weeps.

It is a time of reconciliation - back to a time in Scrooge’s life; when being “left alone” was not as palatable to him, as it seems to be now. Scrooge has to learn to recognize himself again - and to receive what he recognizes: If this doesn’t happen within him, he will never be able to open himself up to others: to receive and be received. Maybe more than anything else, Scrooge needs to see: “It is not good for man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18)

“Why, it’s Ali Baba!” Scrooge exclaimed in ecstasy. “It’s dear old honest Ali Baba!”

Now Scrooge’s inner thoughts and imaginations are no longer hidden but brought to life! He sees characters from the Arabian Nights. This shows that there was a time when Scrooge wasn’t all facts and figures; there was a time when Scrooge was after all, given to fancy - fancy that brought him to “ecstasy”. Here is a different Scrooge…one with an imagination - and a great ability to escape into it! The older Scrooge needs to remember this! Why? Because it takes him out of himself and causes him to think…to feel…for others.

He needs to learn first to love…to accept… to empathize with himself: Until he learns and experiences this, he will not be ready for the encounters he is about to have with others on this supernatural journey.

“Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:17-18)

Fezziwig

“Bless his heart”: Here, we hear a sudden, spontaneous and genuine burst of affection from Scrooge, towards this individual (his former employer); and pleasure at seeing him again. Even his very name “Fezziwig” seems to imply a warm eccentricity and extravagance - an extravagance that apparently Scrooge had “once upon a time” enjoyed. This is clearly a happy time of his life; and yet, a time that Scrooge seems to have entirely forgotten. Again, Scrooge is drawn out of himself, towards another person.

Then, we see Dick Wilkins, his fellow apprentice - we see and hear the same warmth…the same pleasure. 

Now he is surrounded by a motley bunch of notably poorer people: The very types of people that Scrooge, in his present life, seems to revile, he had “once upon a time”, and (of all days) on Christmas, danced, ate and made merry with.

The strange things…details…we remember when we’re young - like Fezziwig’s unpredictable calves! Because little things, that don’t matter to the practical, cynical mind, can create epoch moments in our younger years (especially it seems, at Christmas). And Scrooge was, most definitely not immune from this: The reader can see it, Scrooge can all of a sudden see it: He is being drawn outside of his present hardened cynical self; and back to this time, when even the sight of someone’s gleaming calves, caused him great anticipation and excitement. This is opening Scrooge up to see the beauty…the gift…of simple, small everyday matters of life…things which, to a childlike mind, somehow seem to become even more alive - even more full of excitement, joy and hope - at Christmas.

During this time, Scrooge has indeed been drawn completely outside of himself: “out of his wits”meaning unrecognizable from the man he usually was. He is able to look fully upon and engage fully with his younger self, as well as with the others present; remembering - and responding to those memories: We should not be surprised, when in the next sentence, Dickens describes the ghost as looking fully upon him, with its light also shining fully upon him: 

“A small matter,” said the ghost, “to make these silly folks so full of gratitude”… “He has spent but a few pounds of your mortal money.”

Scrooge is no longer hiding within, but has become so utterly entwined with the shadow of his former self, that in this moment in “time” he has become a different man…like his former self. His response to this remark is astounding: “Small!”…“The happiness he gives is so great as if it cost a fortune.”  This is already a monumental change in him. He is realizing that happiness is immaterial: It cannot be balanced, weighed or measured. And it doesn’t always add up.

It is immediately after this, that, for the first time, Scrooge’s thoughts turn towards his own employee; with, it seems, an element of remorse and shame: What would his life be, had he given Bob Cratchit even a drop of the goodness he received from his employer, Fezziwig…

Bell

The ghost of Christmas past, illuminates things…some good…some bad; some pleasant…some sad, wherever it goes. This is why, at the end, Scrooge will try and hide this light. His mistakes will become too painful for him to relive: But he must relive, in order to process, reconcile and finally, let go. Scrooge has become greedy because he fears poverty. In his desire to build a “safe” for his wealth, he will shut himself in with it, and shut out everything and everyone else - including a woman he once loved. This is the beginning of the internalization of Scrooge.

A future life with Bell?

Now Scrooge is being made to see what he could have had: Again the “senseless” happiness his nephew spoke about - brought about through the sharing of love and fellowship. Scrooge is being forced to see this life - this family he could have had with Bell. He is experiencing loss - and it breaks him. He wrestles with the spirit - to try and stop the vision - to hide the light. But he needs to see it - to look fully at it. This can be compared to Jacob wrestling with the Angel: He will get away, but not without the Angel leaving its mark. Scrooge will also be “released” of this spirit: but like Jacob, he has been marked…changed forever.

“His past literally walked into his present and forced him to re-establish relationship with it.*” He has been forced to admit that he is not anonymous - he is a figure in history…and, as history changed…so did he…

But: He can do so again…and this time, for the better.

Scrooge Stave 3

Lesson 4: “An Odious, Stingy, Hard, Unfeeling Man”

The Ghost of Christmas Present:

Scrooge, this time tries to maintain control by pulling back all his curtains; but this next spirit is way ahead of him - even if its arrival is late - and it is in this very fact - and also that Scrooge has to go looking for it, that the spirit again catches him unawares.

“He was so he thought, prepared for anything; but that did not include being prepared for nothing.”

Christmas Past was right on time;

Christmas Present is apparently late.

There is light - but no ghost. In a sense, Scrooge is being kept “in the dark” - he is being kept in suspense.

The light is as if, calling to him - to pursue; which he does.

The spirit bids Scrooge to enter into its space, rather then the ghost invading Scrooge’s, as happened with the last visitation: This requires that Scrooge make the effort; that Scrooge make the first move: Again, all of this is a part of bringing him out of his dead self and back into the real, living world.

“This entire story is really a series of calls, that Scrooge has to respond to.*”

For the first time Scrooge is called by his own name - again a part of forming relationship: “Come in and know me better!” It is about knowing - and being known. We can already see how Scrooge has changed, since the first visitation.

Scrooge’s room:

In the middle of Scrooge’s room, the ghost sits on a throne of the very things…the very lifestyle…that Scrooge reviled. Again, showing Scrooge that he is not in control here. Yet, this transformation of Scrooge’s room, speaks of the transformation that Scrooge himself is about to undergo: The room speaks of lavish indulgence; it radiates light, joy and life: The spirit is, as if, giving him a foreshadowing: “As we have done to your dark, dingy, shut up rooms…we will, before this night is over, do the same to you…”

“Girded around its middle was an antique scabbard; But no sword was in it and the ancient sheath was eaten up with rust.”

This antiquated scabbard and rusted sheath are  sending out a clear message to Scrooge: “your war against Christmas…peace on Earth…goodwill to all men…is outdated and defunct.” This again brings us back to the poignant words of his nephew in Stave 1.

The lesson:

Although still a little testy, Scrooge is also now submissive: he has changed. He no longer needs to be compelled. He is ready to be taught.

“Touch my robe.” 

Just like the first instruction of the Ghost of Christmas Past, the first instruction of this ghost is also connected to a Scripture: again, a healing of Jesus - Luke 8:43-48.

In the Marketplace 

Now Scrooge’s senses are bombarded with the excitement and beauty of everyday things, which are made to look extraordinary in the spirit of Christmas: vibrant colors, sights and smells, which in themselves, are triggering memories. Inanimate objects, being brought to life and reaching out, like people - giving themselves. “Take us home!” say the apples: “Eat us after dinner!” In this Christmas season, everything (just like everyone) is “reaching out to give itself”. To draw one out from within themselves, to “know us better.” It is time for Scrooge to “Come in and know Christmas better.”

Again we see the words of Scrooge’s nephew brought to life: People are not passing each other like ships in the night, but are mingling, greeting one another, giving more of themselves than usual and refusing to quarrel. The joy and anticipation is contagious. This is the spirit of Christmas; that eventually Scrooge will learn to keep all year round. Because life is a gift - that gives itself at all times (but Christmas is when we stop to realize it - and say “Thank you!”)

The Cratchits

Scrooge now finds himself in a highly sacred and greatly privileged position; as the spirit leads him into the home and lives of the very normal and very poor family of his own clerk: And what does he find?

A “microcosm” of the Christmas spirit Scrooge has just seen outside: Chestnuts dancing merrily on the fire; the potatoes in the pot, bursting to get out: as if crying “It’s Christmas! Please eat me!”

Again: normal inanimate objects become quite abnormal and extraordinary at Christmas. The food, although lesser and simpler than the scene before, again expresses and elicits the same joy…the same excitement…the same open and unbridled warmth, as the Cratchits themselves: Their joy turns three little cups of “hot stuff” into an array of gold goblets: They are all completely present and open to one another (again, I remember the words of Scrooge’s nephew.) 

Normal family relations, however, are not normal - and likely even unnerving to Scrooge. He has shut himself out of the reach of loving and giving - or so he thinks. But he is slowly being drawn back in; he is slowly learning. 

And now, we hear those famous words from Tiny Tim; “May God bless us, everyone!” A child, so weak…so poor…is pouring himself out: Proclaiming God’s blessings - first on his family - then on EVERYONE! 

Returning thanks for what we don’t deserve: Here is the unifying spirit of Christmas; Again, we hear the words of Scrooge’s nephew Fred.

That they (the Cratchits) have so little - and yet the revelry and vibrancy; the Love in that house, seems to rival and reflect everything Scrooge saw in the market place: In fact, everywhere Scrooge will go: miners, two men in a lighthouse, men a ship, men far from home (dark, hard places), he will see the same spark of light…the same unity and solidarity of mankind, as if everyone (young and old, rich and poor) is gathering together around the same huge Christmas tree: brought together in love, joy and peace; around this one day when we celebrate God coming to dwell among all of us - that is Christmas. 

Tiny Tim

“I see a vacant seat…in the poor chimney-corner, and a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved.”

Tiny Tim’s (possible) death; causes Scrooge to suddenly and spontaneously reach out: “No, no!” Because without realizing it; he had been drawn in; as if, now he is connected to them - now the Cratchit family have become his family.

The Spirit knows this - and immediately brings Scrooge’s own words of before, up to bear: “He’d better do it and decrease the surplus population.” Now Scrooge is made to eat these words - and truly taste their poison. And poison it is, when the spirit points out that Tiny Tim - and others like him - are the “surplus population”. Yet in Scrooge’s world, is not everything - every spark of life - a surplus? Food…parties…Christmas…the Cratchits? Everything and everyone that does not balance Scrooge’s books, according to Scrooge’s satisfaction…is this not all surplus? And yet these are real people, whose lives, Scrooge has unknowingly, unwittingly been drawn into. He is no longer shut away…he is no longer ignorant and in the dark. At this realization, Scrooge is confronted with the vileness of his own heart- and for the first time we hear the word “penitent”.

On, to Fred’s

Now we are back with Fred: His spontaneous joy…his contagious laugh. Fred is not rich. What he has…what he gives…is his warmth and his joy. And this he does, liberally and lavishly. Here, Scrooge is reacquainted with his niece and introduced- for the first time, it must be surmised - to some of Fred’s friends. As his niece plays a tune on the harp, Scrooge is reminded of Fred’s mother - his beloved and devoted younger sister, for this is a tune that she had used to sing. He is brought back into the past - as if that spirit of before, is still there, tugging at his heart strings: Again, relationships severed and buried by Scrooge are slowly resurfacing and beginning to reattach themselves to him. This music is attached to the past - specially his sister - and elicits love and tenderness in him: something he now wishes that he had taken the “time” to stop and nurture. He shows regret and remorse here. (But this story is about redeeming time.)

Then, the party play children’s games - and Scrooge inevitably finds himself joining in - and enjoying it: “For it is good (and biblical) to be a child sometimes” - and what time better than at Christmas; where the Lord God himself, came to Earth, not first as a man - but as a child - a baby. Children are important to God - and the experiences we have and lessons we learn as children, are important to us.

Scrooge himself, has been so opened up and already so much healing seems to have taken place, that he doesn’t care at all, even when his name becomes the object of jest.

When Fred toasts his  “Uncle Scrooge” he again is getting what he doesn’t deserve… (ie “surplus”). But Fred - but Love - will give people what they do not deserve - and require nothing in return. This is as close a symbolism to Jesus Christ, as we have seen.

The opening up and the drawing out - and drawing in of Scrooge, has now created such a radical change in his heart, that he automatically wants to toast in return. Not only has he, for the first time, been able to receive from Fred, but he now wants to give back in return. As if Scrooge has entered the “school of love*” with each encounter of each event preparing him for the next:

He is taken through hospitals, prisons, poor houses and refuges, to men on foreign soil, far from home - significantly, everywhere that the ghost of Christmas present was given access to, Scrooge was taken: And everywhere, he was seeing the same spark of unity, around this one spirit of Christmas. 

Even time itself, seems to get lost in eternity, as they are given access to a children’s twelve night party (in other words, Scrooge has not just participated in Christmas Day, but all twelve days of Christmas - and all apparently in one night!) 

“Spirit, are they yours?..”

The report on child labor by the Children’s Employment Commission (see introduction) is likely Dickens’s inspiration behind these two allegorical children - Ignorance and Want: Again, Scrooge’s own words - his own view of life - has come right back, to literally haunt him, through these two children. 

“Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?” 

And this is how he is left - with this solemn warning. “You helped to create these: If things continue as they are, these (children) Ignorance and Want, will grow to adulthood!” This boy, “Ignorance”, is the very thing that Dickens, through Scrooge, is attempting to awaken the reader to: (That they would not bury their heads in the sand, concerning the plight of fellow humans - and children - that he is highlighting.) And it is on the heels of this solemn warning - this unnerving picture of the future, that the ghost of Christmas future - Scrooge’s future - comes on the scene.

{“Are spirits’ lives so short?”

The ghost of Christmas Present: Here one moment and gone the next: We can’t reach back and grab the past…we can’t reach forward to steer the future, All we have is the Present - a gift - to do with as we will. It must be grasped, like the helm of a ship - and steered in the Way of good; because so quickly, it will slip through our fingers, to become the past.}

Stave 4

Lesson 5: “I Hope to Live to Be Another Man”

The ghost of Christmas yet to come:

The past was on time…and the present slightly late:

But -  The future is early: I think because time is running out for Scrooge - and the appearance of this final phantom, gives us a hint to this: Its presence instills great fear in Scrooge; appearing like that of “the grim reaper” - death. There are no other characteristics; because this is (for the moment) Scrooge’s entire future. It says nothing, because in Scrooge’s future, there is nothing left to say. Unlike the other spirits, this spirit blends into the darkness, where Scrooge had, up until now, so doggedly chosen to dwell. The only thing we see, is one hand, that continually seems to guide Scrooge - towards this inevitable end. Scrooge will now be confronted with the consequences of a life that (until this point in “time”) has been lived in cold, hardened exile; closed off to the beating heart of the world around him. This is the ghost of Christmas Future - Scrooge’s future. Again, it has nothing to say; but Scrooge no longer needs this level of guidance. Now he is able and willing to simply follow. He recognizes that time - which he had once measured, only by the opening and closing of his counting house - is now very precious to him, for a very different reason. He has changed - and even though he seems to be standing in the presence of impending death, he still has hope; his altered life shows us: There is still hope.

The Stock Exchange: Scrooge’s familiar place

From the beginning of this final journey, everyone encountered by Scrooge, seems to be talking -somewhat flippantly and jovially - about a dead man: It is obvious to the reader that this dead person is Scrooge - but Scrooge remains mysteriously in the dark about this, and attempts - as he has now learned - to once again reach outside of himself, to find out who this dead person might be. This may explain why he is “kept in the dark” here - so that up until the very end, he will not stop reaching out, enquiring, learning (which is implied as he looks for the “shadow of his future self” in this familiar place.) 

Again, for the final time, we have a reference to the Bible; not from the spirit (as with the other two occasions); but this time, from Scrooge himself - as he, like Mary, resolves to “treasure up every word in his heart” - that he may LEARN from them. (Luke 2:19) Such a transformation we are already seeing in him! He is much richer within himself now; and is already imagining, planning, thinking of what his new, transformed self would be like - and expecting to see it here! This tells us something: That in Scrooge’s heart, he already is an altered man: he is not looking into the future for the old Scrooge; he’s looking into the future for the new!

However, when he senses the spirit looking at him, he shudders: Because, for the moment, this spirit represents the future of Scrooge’s old self - death: therefore, something more…one thing more from Scrooge, is needed.

The beetling shop

That this “night vision” is the future of Scrooge’s old self becomes apparent, when we see people - without any pang of conscience - selling his worldly possessions - the charwoman, even taking the shirt off his dead corpse! Here we could think about the Roman soldiers, who coldly and carelessly divided Jesus’s garments - and gambled for his tunic: John 18:23 - He really did take it all for us…

With all of this going on: Scrooge’s clothes…Scrooge’s curtains; he still doesn’t realize, that the dead person is him: Because he isn’t looking for a dead person…he has forgotten about the “dead person” he used to be; he isn’t looking for the old Scrooge: He is looking for the new - why? Because, in his heart, he has become the new!

Which explains why he listens to what is being said, in horror! How could they treat a dead person this way? Again, Scrooge is overtly concerned for another - even a dead person: He sees human dignity - even in one who is dead; and ironically he doesn’t realize yet: That dead person is him.

The bed

Slowly the veil begins to lift; gradually Scrooge begins to connect the death of this “poor individual”, to himself. He now stands very close to his own dead body; and even if he still can’t quite believe it, the body itself seems to “speak” to him; just as, even the rocks and stones, described in Luke 19:40, will cry out “Hosanna!”, if all else is silent: Scrooge will not be able to escape this; not for much longer. In the course of one night, he has been awakened to the concept of life; and he is now, about to be awakened to the finality of death…His cold and empty death: for, this is exactly what it will be, if Scrooge does not learn to take life by the horns and embrace every piece of it. A life lived for self, will lead to a cold empty death. But a life lived for, with, and among others, makes its death a satisfactory end; and even though life inhabits the body no more, the residue left by the soul, will transcend time and space. Marley never left his counting house. Scrooge must not make the same mistake!

Back to the Cratchits 

“Show me some tenderness (some honor) connected with death”

This plea of Scrooge’s to the spirit, takes him back to the Crachits - where it is quiet…soberly and reverentially quiet: a complete and stark contrast to that warm, vibrant Christmas, when Scrooge had seen them last:

One single verse from the Bible is read: “And he took a little child (Tiny Tim) and sat him among them.” Mark 9:36 is a passage which Scrooge seems to recognize, and he finds himself lingering to hear more. (In this early Victorian era, still deep in the throes of Protestantism, most people would have known, to some degree, the Bible). Scrooge wants to hear more…which prompts us, the readers to also want to hear: What comes next? vs.37: “Whoever shall receive one such as these in my name, shall receive me…” In other words: This is no longer just about Tiny Tim…about receiving Tiny Tim: This is about receiving Jesus Christ himself: To receive the likes of Tiny Tim is to receive Jesus; but to reject him - as part of the  “surplus population”…

So, has the Lord himself now become Scrooge’s surplus population? Yes, it appears so: Because all life comes from God…all are created in his image…all are precious to him: To treat human life as surplus and expendable, is to treat God himself as such. In turning his face from humanity - especially the weakest and smallest - Scrooge has turned his face from God: And here, is the fundamental; and the final lesson - which he must come to grips with…because here, is the beginning of Salvation. His next stop must be death: to his old self. His next and final stop must be repentance.

Once again, this verse from Mark 9:36-37 unhinges everything that Scrooge previously believed; and takes apart the hideous atheistic reasoning behind balancing the books and “decreasing the surplus population.”

A paradox: Tim’s father walked faster when carrying the “burden” of Tiny Tim, than he does, now that Tim has gone: Because the burden of love is light: “My yolk is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) When we don’t have that “burden of love”, there is a much heavier burden to carry - as both Marley’s death and Scrooge’s life, have shown us.

“Come to me you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” For the Cratchits, that rest came in the form of Tiny Tim. “And he (Jesus ) took a little child (Tiny Tim) and set him among them. (The Cratchits)” 

“Whoever shall receive one such as these (Tim) in my name, shall receive me (Jesus Christ). It is as if the Cratchits have been loving, caring for and receiving Jesus Christ himself.

“Take my yolk upon you and Learn from me…” Learn what? What is this lesson the Lord wants to teach us? It is The lesson of servitude…of sacrifice…of love.

The End

Now in the cemetery, towards the final moments, Scrooge begins a plea…an intercession, that sounds almost like the one from Abraham’s lips in Genesis ch.18. But this is not for a family member, a city or a place: This is for an altered life…Scrooge’s altered life - and he knows it is altered; he knows he is different - now he begs for the chance to SHOW he is different- for the opportunity to live out his life, in the altered soul he has been allowed to discover; to walk the talk. “Why show me this (why take me through all of this) if I am past all hope?” Once again he wrestles with this spirit: Not the way he did before: Not because he wants to shut out the light- and shut out the lessons it teaches: It is now the exact opposite: He is begging for an opportunity to live in the light; to walk in the lessons of the past, present and future. Just like Jacob, wrestling with the angel, this has been an all night struggle; Just like Jacob, Scrooge will be marked for life by this encounter…I mean literally marked - not for death - but for Life!

Finally - and crucially - he quits struggling - and prays to God: mercy, forgiveness, repentance: 

And there, at that final prayer, it is finished.

And we see the ghost of Christmas yet to come, collapse…to become a bedpost.

Stave 5

Lesson 6: The End of It: “God Bless Us, Every One!”

But, the bedpost was his own…the room was his own: The time was his own! A chance in time, to make things right: Right now; the present.

This has been all about time, with the birth of Christ at the center, as it should be: After all, this event altered the way we - our entire society - measures time.

For a “time” the spirits took control of Scrooge’s “time” to teach him how to use it - to treasure it. Now, by pure grace, he has received it back; as a gift! And Scrooge has now learned: How to receive gifts - and how to give them (as with Fred’s toast to “Uncle Scrooge” in Stave 3) What will he do with this gift of time?

He will take the lessons of all three spirits - past, present and future - and truly treasure them up in his heart: “They will strive within me.” In other words: They will keep him always in the narrow way - every day: The narrow way of good. All three of these spirits- and the lessons of life they taught him - will be present with him in the present, so he can make his present count - and change the future - for the better: Not death, but Life!

“I say this on my knees Jacob Marley…on my knees!”

He is on his knees: He is truly humble…He is truly penitent…He is truly grateful: For life and its author.

Lesson: He has learned to fill his time with love. He has also learned the beauty of reciprocity: That how we live, should be a response of gratitude, for the fact that we have been given a life to live: It is a gift; and Scrooge has learned now, how to both receive - and to give!

He has been utterly broken (especially in his wrestling with this last spirit) - we could say his “safe” has been smashed…his wall has been broken down and now he is free -  to give and receive of the life he has been given, and of which, he now sees himself a part of.

“They (the bed curtains) are here! I am here!” He is taking nothing for granted; but noticing…receiving, the littlest things, with gratitude.

So great is this gratitude, that he is unable to undergo even the simplest things, such as shaving: It is after all, difficult to shave while one is dancing..!

And getting dressed: Here Dickens compares him humorously to the statue of  Laocoon; who appears all tangled up with serpents around his ankles - Scrooge appears, in a similar manner, to be all tangled up in his stockings. He then moves on, to have equally copious amounts of fun, with the rest of his clothes: “Making them parties to every kind of extravagance.”  Is this not one of the lessons Scrooge was taught, by the ghost of Christmas Present? That life - even in its most simplest of everyday mundane facets - is an extravagance - undeserved - to be embraced and absorbed gratefully: It seems that Scrooge is taking this lesson to heart; beginning with the putting on of his own clothes:

 “I don’t know what to do!” What does a person do who has just been rescued from the grave?

He is filled with joy - because of Christmas.

What a repentance …what a transformation - from Scrooge’s first state of “Christmas, bah humbug!”

What Day is This?

It is now, finally, Christmas DAY (This has been a long night for Scrooge)

It is, as if he has truly been born again, to a new life, with a fresh clean slate…where he literally doesn’t even know what day of the year it is:

He has become as a child; ready to embrace the world as if, for the first time. “Rejuvenated through the mystery of incarnation.*” Realizing through his “darkest night of the soul”, that incarnation truly is a gift - a wonderful, beautiful, “extravagant” mystery.

Through “encountering the Divine*”, Scrooge has become as a child - remember Mark 9:36-37. And as a result, he is ready to receive a little child, in Christ’s name - Tiny Tim…and as many more as Christ will bring to him.

He laughs - “The father of a long, long line of brilliant laughs” In other words, there are many more - just as “brilliant” - to come.

The “Onomatopoeia” of the Bells:

“Clash, clang, hammer, ding, dong, bell.”  (Then, as if the bells themselves, wish to play with time, for just a few seconds)

“Bell, dong, ding, hammer, clang, clash. 

Oh glorious, glorious!”

It is not, this time, those ominous, foreboding bells of the night before, signifying impending doom - and the visitation of yet another spirit to haunt Scrooge - but these were bells ringing in the day - Christmas Day!

Scrooge can open his eyes to see real day light; he can take a deep breath - and realize he is truly alive! And all because of the spirits - the lessons -  of this day: Christmas Day! 

Everything he will do from this moment on, will be as a child: unbridled, uninhibited, extravagant!

“It’s Christmas Day! “I haven’t missed it!

Everything (Scrooge’s entire life) has been compressed into Christmas: “The spirits did it all in one night!”; just as the ghost of Christmas Present, compressed all twelve days of Christmas into one hour.

The Prize Turkey 

Now he is joyous, humorous and expressing unthinking generosity, especially towards the Cratchits. Never mind the cost - only the biggest and the best for this family…a family that has now become Scrooge’s own; and who are about to become some of the first recipients of Scrooge’s new-found extravagant love! 

The time truly is his own:

Now he recognizes time as a gift; to do the right thing!

The Benevolent gentleman again.

“I hope you succeeded yesterday…A merry Christmas to you Sir!”

How amazing that Scrooge makes the first move here, “Will you come and see me?” Just like the ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge bids this benevolent gentleman to “Come in - to my space - and know me better.” Scrooge has made a friend. Then he thanks the gentleman - fifty times! - as if  he is doing Scrooge a great favor by being his friend; because this is how Scrooge now sees it! He knows he is getting what he doesn’t deserve: That he has even lived to see this day, is an extravagant gift, that he knows he doesn’t deserve.

Embracing the Day

He is now transformed to be entirely open to human interaction, going to church, blessing, giving…fully and unabashedly enveloping himself in the lives of others…in life.

He is now noticing, just as he did with Christmas Present, the little things: He is looking down into kitchens; up at windows, patting children on the heads, questioning beggars, smiling at anything that moves - interacting with society, it seems on numerous levels (something which in Victorian England, could be done only at Christmas; where everyone from everywhere, would “open their shut up hears” and spill out onto the streets. Fred explains this so beautifully and eloquently in Stave 1 of this novel.)

The very acts of extravagant love that Scrooge had so much despised and been so fearful of before, he is now fully and extravagantly engaging in.

He is now giving at every turn, after years of hoarding, as if afraid that whatever he holds on to will become as mold and mildew in his hands.

To Fred’s House for Christmas

This could almost be likened to the prodigal son in Luke 15; receiving what he knows he doesn’t deserve - and being all the more grateful and transformed for it.

Scrooge had the advantage here, because he had seen Fred’s Christmas gathering in advance and he must have already felt like he knew these people. (How ironic that the ghost of Christmas Present should have prepared him for this “future” event.) Now he is fully here in this present moment - and everything is “wonderful”.

On the first day of Christmas…Back at Scrooge’s counting house 

He now interacts with Bob Cratchet, in a similar manner to how Fred had interacted with him, two days before: joking, teasing, and with a physicality that would have been utterly unbelievable of Scrooge in Stave 1. Now, just like his nephew, Scrooge’s intention is to give of himself lavishly; And this he does, reaching out in warmth, love and friendship, removing the huge burden that he himself had help to place, from off Bob Cratchit’s shoulders - and in doing so, also removing his own. 

The End of it.

“Scrooge was better than his word”: 

In his agonizing struggle with the ghost of Christmas yet to come, he knew he was different - and he had begged for the chance to SHOW he was different - to walk the talk: 

He has given “his word”; but actions speak louder than words; and Scrooge has been given the precious gift of time, to demonstrate this:

“He did it all…infinitely more”: Scrooge has seen his “finite” life from start to finish: And now, he will pour it out lavishly…as if, to the source of his life, there is an infinite supply.

“To Tiny Tim he was a second father”: This is another lavish gift (Mark 9:36-37) that Scrooge knows he does not deserve.

Scrooge had been drawn in to the Cratchit family and especially Tiny Tim’s sacred life, in Stave 3: and again, more so, in Stave 4. And now Scrooge with his eyes and heart wide open, to love and be loved, will receive again, what he had pushed away, concerning Bell, in Stave 2: A family. 

“He became as good a friend, as good a master and as good a man, as the good old city knew…”

He became “good” - as good as he now, was able to see the people and the world around him. 

It is as if, his heart was right with God; he was at peace and it didn’t matter if others laughed at him or mocked him.-

“It was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.”

He “kept” Christmas - he held on to it - he treasured it. Its past, present and future…its meaning, its lessons, its life - for all times…every day of the year.

“Once upon a time - of all the good days of the year - on Christmas Eve.” (See Stave 1)

Because Christmas is when we celebrate the most extravagant…the most undeserved …of all gifts given to man; a gift given by God himself: The Christ Child - who “came in the fullness of time to give meaning to all times.*” Scrooge will carry this meaning for - and into - the rest of his life.

This whole story has been about the importance of time.

“Once upon a time” - It is timeless…unhindered by any constraints of time: Because it is relevant to anyone at any time; to each and every person, all the time.

This is why Dickens wanted this novella to “haunt” us: that we too would keep Christmas - not just on Christmas Day - but every day.

Again, we find ourselves thinking back on Fred’s eloquent speech to his Uncle Scrooge, that Christmas Eve before:

“Where men and women seem by one consent, to open their shut-up hearts freely. And to think of people below them as fellow travelers to the grave and not some other race of people bound on other journeys.”  

Imagine if Fred’s idea of Christmas became our way of life? 

The unity…the solidarity…the good will…the compassion..the love: that is Christmas. Imagine if we (like Scrooge) “kept Christmas” all year round. Can this be done? Only through the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ…through the love of God the Father…and through the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

“May that be truly said of us and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, everyone!”

Many thanks to Dr. Lindley for this fabulous course!

Footnotes:

* Quotes directly from Dr. Lindley 

Other thoughts:

Possibly the gateway to all novels Dickens will write after this.

Core themes which will recur in future novels:

1.Possibility of change and conversion; new birth - a second chance.

2. Encountering the divine in the smallest simplest things - and people. The poorest of the poor (see Matthew 25:31-46)

3. The potency of memory.