Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is a novella about a cold and heartless man named Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge goes through a series of events that changes his perception of both Christmas and charity. The ghost of Marley, Scrooges old business partner, visits Scrooge. The Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come also visit Scrooge. Audrey Jaffe writes, “A narrative whose ostensible purpose is the productions of social sympathy, A Christmas Carol resembles those scenes in eighteenth-century fiction that, depicting encounters between charity givers and receivers, model sympathy for readers positioned as witnesses.” (256) This novella brings awareness and sympathy towards those in society who are in poverty. Through Scrooge’s change in A Christmas Carol Dickens bring to light the harsh realities of class structures in the Victorian era, while also encouraging his readers to open their eyes and change, as Scrooge does.
In the beginning of this novella Dickens displays, through Scrooge, how society can be blind to the harsh realities of class structure. Scrooge financially supports different establishments and laws for the lower class. These establishments include prisons, Union Workhouses, and The Treadmill and the Poor Laws. These different establishments and laws were extremely harsh and inhumane towards the people of the lower class. Because Scrooge has blinders on, he believes that he already does his part for society by supporting said establishments. Scrooge does not realize that the same establishments that he supports actually do more harm than good. Dickens also makes it clear how Scrooge feels about the surplus population. Scrooge claims to do his part for the society but displays that he believes that he does not mind if the lower-class citizens die due to their unfortunate situation. In a way Dicken’s lays out a middle-class character for his readers to relate with. Just like Scrooge, most of the people of this era did not realize the horrid treatment of the poor class, especially within the workhouses. The shared ignorance among the people of this era makes Scrooge more relatable, and therefore gives Dicken’s the platform he needs to make a call to action to his readers.
Dicken’s uses the ghost of Marley to displays the consequences of remaining blind to the harshness of the class structure. The ghost of Marley is forced to drag heavy chains during his afterlife. These chains represent the lack of remorse for the poor, and lack of help for the poor during his lifetime. When Scrooge tries to comfort Marely by telling him that he was a good businessman Marely replies, “Business! Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!” (56). Just as Scrooge is, Marley was blind to everything aside from himself and his business. Only after death he realizes that he missed out on the truly important business, which is to help the lower-class and poor during life. Jessica Kilgore writes, “Readers, like Scrooge himself, can be either reasonable or charitable, but not both by ultimately privileging charity at the expense of logic, Dickens’ text places its emphasis on correct feelings toward the poor, rather than more explicitly economic or practical reasons for charity” (145). Although this quotation addresses Scrooge, it seems suitable for Marley as well. During his life he was unable to look at the moral reason for helping the poor, only the expense of it. The ghost of Marely is giving Scrooge a chance at redemption, so that he hopefully will not be cursed to the same fate. This scene is really a call to action to the people of the Victorian era. In a way, Dickens gives his readers the same chance at redemption that the ghost of Marely gives. Dickens shows his readers that they do still have a chance to put some good in the world, and with the Ghost of Marley’s speech of business he gives his readers a clear layout of what they must do to be that change.
The Ghost of Christmas Present opens Scrooge’s eyes to reality. This Ghost brings Scrooge to a workhouse in the mines, Cornwall, which is another ploy to open up the eyes of the readers on the harsh reality of the Victorian class structures. Before the Ghost of Christmas Present leaves Scrooge, he has two children come out from under his robe. Arthur P. Patterson writes about this last scene with the Ghost of Christmas Present,
His last gesture is to introduce Scrooge to a sensate appreciation of the children of his age, a girl called Want and a boy named Ignorance. They are dehumanized by neglect, revealing a ferocious wolfishness that threatens civilization. They are not merely the images of the poverty Scrooge passes by on the street. The prison-houses and labor laws create the downfall of community through the deforming effect of poverty on children. (175)
The image of the two children is meant to be a depiction of children in poverty and who are also part of child labor. Through these two kids Dickens draws a clear picture how the class structures have created a grotesque society in the Victorian era. The Ghost is warning that ignorance is dangerous, and if Scrooge does not open his eyes to see the inhospitable conditions within the class structure, he will end up just like Marley. Dickens made Scrooge relatable to the readers of this era and tells them as well that if they stay ignorant to the lower class’s harsh realities they will suffer. Once again, Dickens creates a call to action, urging the citizens of this era to help change their society, with the first step being to open their eyes so that they can see the reality that the lower-class live in.
Dickens tells his readers what is really important in life through The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. This Ghost shows Scrooge what will happen once he dies. Scrooge sees that nobody that he knew in life cares that he died, in fact, they benefit from his death. His housemaids steal his clothes and bed curtains to sell for money. This act literally strips away his prize possessions and displays that money and possessions are useless good in death. But how one treats others does continue on in death. Scrooge also sees that Tiny Tim dies in the future. Tiny Tim’s death is depicted in a more heart retching manner and reveals the difference in a death of someone who is loved compared to the death of someone who is despised. In showing these two deaths, Dickens makes it clear to his readers that the main focus in life should be to help others, because the materialistic focuses will not follow one in death. As the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come leaves Scrooge begs for his life and swears, he will change, “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!” (117). After Scrooge is visited by the three Spirits, he is no longer blind. Scrooge finds the important things in life and works to better himself and the society around him. Through this change in Scrooge Dickens further pushes his readers to undergo a change as well.
Scrooge is blind when this novella starts but with the help of the Ghosts Scrooge’s eyes open and his heart changes. Through this story Dickens does the same for his readers in both the Victorian society and today’s society alike. Richard Kelly writes, “Scrooge’s great gift, a second change in which to live a good life, Dickens offered to all his readers caught up in selfish pursuits that blinded them to the needs of other people” (19). Dickens uses this novella to bring to light the harshness of class structure and to encourage his readers to change, just as Scrooge changes.
Works Cited
Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol. Edited by Richard Kelly. Broadview, 2003, pp.39-125.
Kelly, Richard. “Introduction”, A Christmas Carol. Edited by Richard Kelly. Broadview, 2003,
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Kilgore, Jessica. “Father Christmas and Thomas Malthus: Charity, Epistemology, and Political
Economy in ‘A Christmas Carol.’” Dickens Studies Annual, vol. 42, 2011, pp. 143
58. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/44371465.
Jaffe, Audrey. “Spectacular Sympathy: Visuality and Ideology in Dickens's A Christmas
Carol.” PMLA, vol. 109, no. 2, 1994, pp. 254–65. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/463120.
Patterson, Arthur P. “Sponging the Stone: Transformation in A Christmas Carol.” Dickens
Quarterly, vol. 11, no. 4, 1994, pp. 172–76. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/45291515.
