“I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book to raise the Ghost of an Idea which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their house pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it. Their faithful Friend and Servant, C. D. December, 1843.” — Charles Dickens | A Christmas Carol
Greetings, today we begin reading and exploring the world of Charles Dickens’ immortal A Christmas Carol, a story about a miserly old scrooge who learns a thing or two about the meaning of Christmas, and the importance of humanity’s fellowship.
Continuing this week, we are going to analyze the world of A Christmas Carol to get a better hang of the language and the time. Let us not tarry!
Stave One Summary
In the opening stave of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, readers are introduced to the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, a wealthy but cold-hearted and tight-fisted man. Dickens describes him as such, stating, “Oh! but he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!”
The description of Scrooge is set against the backdrop of a cold, wintry Christmas Eve, the narrative highlights Scrooge’s disdain for the festive season, as he dismisses the goodwill and merriment associated with Christmas as a “humbug.” His solitary and frugal lifestyle is presented through his reluctance to spend money on warmth or charity.
Dickens continues with his description: “Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.”
As Scrooge returns home, he is confronted by the ghostly figure of his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley, who warns him of the dire consequences of his miserly ways and foretells a similar fate for Scrooge if he does not change his behavior.
Marley tells Scrooge: “‘It is required of every man,’ the Ghost returned, ‘that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide; and, if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. It is doomed to wander through the world—oh, woe is me!—and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared on earth, and turned to happiness!’” In other words, Scrooge must change his ways and embrace humanity or be forever shackled to his sins.
As Scrooge witnesses, Marley and a variety of other haunted spirits disappear out his window and into the city. “Whether these creatures faded into mist,” Dickens writes, “or mist enshrouded them, he could not tell. But they and their spirit voices faded together; and the night became as it had been when he walked home.”
Analysis
In Stave One, Scrooge is depicted as a horrible person: greedy, violent–a truly dark soul. He has left behind the spirit of Christmas in the service of money and solitude. His treatment of others, including his clerk Bob Cratchit and his nephew Fred, reflects his lack of compassion and empathy. We will come to find Scrooge has been hurt throughout his life, and often by his own hand, which has caused him to live by himself and alone in an old, cold house.
However, as the scene turns, we find Marley’s, Scrooge’s deceased business partner, appearance to be one of redemption. Marley appears burdened by heavy chains forged from a lifetime of selfishness and greed. This serves as a warning to Scrooge about the consequences of his own actions. He is there to convince Scrooge to change his ways, lest he be trapped in the afterlife like himself. Scrooge dismisses him–calling him, “an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato.” Marley reacts badly and promises Scrooge the visitation of three ghosts: past, present, and future.
The supernatural elements in this stave–the doorknob, the ghostly visitations–create a sense of foreboding and establish the fantastical nature of the story. Dickens uses these elements to convey moral lessons about the impact of one’s choices on both the individual and society.
Works Cited
Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol. Project Gutenberg, 2008, www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/24022/pg24022-images.html.
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