In normal light-hearted Christmas tales, Father Christmas and characters like magical elves or snowmen lend a feeling of happiness and festivity to the reader. Scrooge’s cold-hearted demeanour however leaves the reader thoughtful, and in a way, brings a more serious side to Christmas with some of the deeds he executes.
‘The owner of one young scant nose, gnawed and mumbled by the hungry cold as bones are gnawed by dogs, stooped down at Scrooge’s keyhole to regale him with a Christmas carol: but t the first sound of --
“ God bless you, merry gentleman! May nothing you dismay!”
Scrooge seized the ruler with such energy of action, that the singer fled in terror, leaving the keyhole to the fog and even more congenial frost.’
Even the backdrop of the story is in a gloomy, dark, cold and unwelcoming place, unlike most Christmas fables.
‘The fog and the frost so hung about the black old gateway of the house, that it seemed as if the genius of the weather sat in mournful meditation on the threshold.’
When the ghost of Marley finally reveals himself, he has a ‘chain clasped about his middle’ which is made out ‘of cash-boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses wrought in steel.’ This represents darkness and greed, and is uncommon to this type of story.
To have spirits in a festive story is not abnormal, and is poignant and thought provoking for a story of this nature and size.
Marley’s guilt-ridden ghost says ‘I cannot linger anywhere. My spirit never walked beyond our counting-house, mark me! In life my spirit never roved beyond the narrow limits of our money-changing hole; and weary journeys lie before me!’ This emphasises that if one is not charitable in their lifetime, they have to pay for their wrongdoings in their afterlife. This, although taken to its deepest meaning, is still mature, and is different to the normal content of Christmas stories.
The three spirits of Christmas all have a profound effect on the readers, as they introduce us to the emotional side of humanity, again, different.
The Ghost of Christmas past reminds Scrooge of his past childhood. This is the first time in the story we really see any of the characters show emotion. This is also the beginning of the change Scrooge undertakes.
The first place the spirit takes him is his old road where he used to live. During the visit a tear runs down Scrooge’s cheek, which reveals his more emotional side and begins to show the change occurring in Scrooge very early on in the story. This is very different to how Scrooge would usually behave and with the change coming so early on in the story; one knows that this will somehow be a happy ending. This is common to most Christmas stories, but the added emotion adds pathos.
Mr. Fezziwig’s Christmas party is also important. Mr. Fezziwig is a businessman like Scrooge, but his personality clashes in almost every way. He is kind-hearted, caring, understanding and is shown to want to get along with his employees. He says words like “Hilli-ho!” as phrases of fun, and promotes Christmas by giving his employees days off, “ No more work tonight. Christmas eve, Dick, Christmas, Ebenezer.” His figure is there to show Scrooge what he could be like if he wanted. This comparison of attitudes is helpful in understanding why Scrooge changes and links the story together nicely. In my opinion, much more intelligent than most Christmas tales.
When Scrooge examines the room further, he notices, ‘Heaped upon the floor…were turkeys, geese, game poultry, brawn, great joints of meat, sucking-pigs, long wreaths of sausages, mince pies, plum-puddings, barrels of oysters, red hot chestnuts, cherry cheeked apples, juicy oranges, luscious pears, immense twelfth-cakes and seething bowls of punch, that made the chamber dim with their delicious steam.’ This is to show to Scrooge that there are better things in life to utilise money upon and maybe the vast amounts of food are shown to indicate to him an incentive to share and use his money to bring happiness. Again, the hidden meanings are shown to be very deep, all which give the story variety.
On first sight, this ghost seems to be kind and gentle. He never intimidates Scrooge and never interferes with Scrooge’s reactions, but simply shows and answers Scrooge’s questions. Unlike most Christmas characters, which are bubbly and speak a lot, this seems out of the ordinary. The ‘tear in his eye’ near the end of the visit, again adds pathos and makes you feel cheerless, and is successful in bringing across the point of it.
The third spirit is the spirit of Christmas yet to come. Unlike most Christmas stories, that have a moral to them, Dickens gives more of a warning than a moral through the 3rd spirit. Also unlike most Christmas stories, Dickens incorporates dramatic irony to great effect near the end of the story, and shows the dislike people have for Scrooge.
Mrs Dilber, the laundress says ‘I wish it was a little heavier judgement’. This hatred shown by such an insignificant-to-the-story person is atypical of tales of this nature, but emphasises the overall message to the reader and backs the moral/warning at the end of the story.
When Scrooge finds out that the dead person being referred to is in fact himself, he is horrified and begs the spirit to take him back home. ‘Spirit, this is a fearful place. In leaving it I shall not leave its lessons, trust me.’
The tragedy that Bob Cratchet undergoes in the future, with Tiny Tim dying, shows that the extent of his past wrongdoings have led to something so horrific, as the death of a child. This is a very extreme way to show his wronged past, and is dark and very morbid. This again, is very different to the normal light-hearted Christmas story.
Dickens, unlike most stories that just finish off with a moral, has given his character another chance to live his life and make amends for his cold-heartedness and harsh tongue. In the end, Scrooge does indeed incorporate the spirit of Christmas, in his everyday life and all year round, and so, although the story does twist in and out of darker material, the ending is a happy one, and so ends like a festive tale, which it is.
