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A Christmas Carol
By Charles Dickens
A
Christmas Carol is a
novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman
& Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer
Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the
supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past,
Present, and Yet to Come. The novella met with instant success and critical
acclaim.
The book was
written and published in early Victorian
era Britain when it was experiencing a nostalgic interest in its forgotten
Christmas traditions, and at the time when new customs such as the Christmas
tree and greeting cards were being introduced. Dickens' sources for the
tale appear to be many and varied but are principally the humiliating
experiences of his childhood, his sympathy for the poor, and various Christmas
stories and fairy tales.
The tale has
been viewed as an indictment of nineteenth century industrial capitalism and
was adapted several times to the stage, and has been credited with restoring
the holiday to one of merriment and festivity in Britain and America after a
period of sobriety and sombreness. A Christmas Carol remains popular, has
never been out of print, and has been adapted to film, opera, and other media.
Plot
Dickens divides the
book into five chapters, which he labels "staves", that is,
"(song) stanzas" in keeping with the title of the book (he uses a
similar device in his next two Christmas books, titling the four divisions of The
Chimes, "quarters", after the quarter-hour tolling of clock
chimes, and naming the parts of The Cricket on the Hearth
"chirps").
The tale begins
on Christmas Eve in the 1840's,
exactly seven years after the death of Ebenezer
Scrooge's business partner, Jacob
Marley.
Scrooge is established
within the first stave as a greedy and stingy businessman, who has no place in his life
for kindness,
compassion, charity or benevolence. After being warned by Marley's ghost to change his ways (so
that he may avoid a miserable afterlife like him), Scrooge is visited by three additional ghosts; each in its turn,
and each visit detailed in a separate stave, who accompany him to various
scenes with the hope of achieving his transformation.
The first of the
spirits, the Ghost of Christmas Past, takes Scrooge to the scenes of his boyhood
and youth, which stir the old miser's gentle and tender side by reminding him of a time when he was
more innocent.
The second
spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present, takes Scrooge to several radically differing
scenes (a joy-filled market of people buying the makings of Christmas
dinner, the family feast of Scrooge's
near-impoverished clerk Bob Cratchit, a miner's cottage, and
a lighthouse,
among other sites) in order to evince from the miser a sense of responsibility
for his fellow man.
The third
spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, harrows Scrooge
with dire visions of the future if he does not learn and act upon what he has
witnessed. Scrooge's own neglected
and untended grave is revealed, prompting the miser to aver that he will change
his ways in hopes of changing these "shadows
of what may be".
In the fifth and
final stave, Scrooge awakens
Christmas morning with joy and love in his heart, then
spends the day with his nephew's family after anonymously sending a prize
turkey to the Cratchit
home for Christmas dinner. Scrooge
has become a different man overnight, and now treats his fellow men with kindness,
generosity and compassion, gaining a reputation as a man who
embodies the
spirit of Christmas.
The story closes
with the narrator confirming the validity, completeness and permanence of Scrooge's transformation.
To read the
story, click here
Michael on the move:::..
26/11/11
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