Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

When we think of Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol, we immediately picture grumpy Scrooge, the Christmas spirits, and the magic of the holiday season. Published on December 19 hundred and eighty-two years ago, A Christmas Carol was instant hit. Novella was published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. The story follows Scrooge, a greedy and selfish man visited by three Christmas spirits.

Character development

Every Christmas, Scrooge mourns the loss of his friend and business partner, Jacob Marley. This loss makes him sorrowful, and his morose demeanor shows how strongly it affects him. However, death of a friend wasn’t the reason for Scrooge’s greed. The first memory shows that Scrooge wasn’t always greedy: as poor boy, he enjoyed reading. He was so devoted to the world emerging from books that he imagined the characters he read about as living beings. Yet, despite his passion for reading, Scrooge was left alone in a bleak school building, without friends. The harsh school environment and his strict teacher made young Scrooge unhappy. Reading appears to have been his gateway to another world.

Another memory presents a different picture: Scrooge as an apprentice, happily dancing on Christmas Eve. He was grateful for good years spent under Fezziwig’s guidance, which shaped a more joyful and generous side of his character.

Furthermore, through the memory of his fiancée, we learn that Scrooge’s obsession with money developed over time. Young Scrooge content with a modest life, finding happiness in small pleasures shared with his fiancée, who remembered him as someone satisfied with simplicity. It seems that, as a grown man, he forgot his former self. Therefore, the argument that prolonged sadness can make people bitter and morose can be applied here. The root of his greed lies in the painful memory of the poverty he once experienced. That early life of hardship became the reason for his growing obsession with financial gain, which eventually led to greed.

After the visits from the spirits, Scrooge changes his greedy nature into one of generosity, which, realistically, seems somewhat unrealistic. As the saying goes, a wolf may change its coat, but not its nature (vulpes pilum mutat, non mores). However, Dickens introduces this sudden change intentionally to deliver his message.

A Critique of Society

A Christmas Carol is not just a story about the Christmas spirit. Dickens also criticizes Victorian England. Scrooge represents capitalism and the exploitation of workers, while Bob Cratchit represents the exploited working class. Scrooge’s capitalist mindset is clearly shown in scene in which he barely allows Bob a day off for Christmas. The same applies to Bob’s eldest daughter, who works as an apprentice. Both are granted a day off only because it is a holiday.

Some very important scenes that are easy to miss are those in which the Spirit of Present Christmas takes Scrooge on a journey. The Spirit shows him the lives of coal miners, lighthouse keepers and sailors. Unlike Bob and his daughter, they don’t have day off at Christmas. They are far from their families, earning hard for living. The Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come further relieves the misery of many lives destroyed by poverty.

Moreover, in the first scene of third chapter, there is a discussion among wealthy businessmen about Scrooge’s death. Dickens describes them wearing gold watches and smoking tobacco, portraying their relationships as shallow and insincere. One of the businessmen says that he would attend Scrooge’s funeral only if there were something to eat. That alone illustrates the capitalistic mindset Dickens criticizes.

Dickens’ Message to Us

Dickens sends meaningful message through the example of Cratchit’s family. The Cratchits are poor but happy, showing that happiness doesn’t depend on wealth. The children running around the table and their mother, dressed in a worn-out dress, preparing a meal illustrate that a positive outlook matters more than material possessions. On the other hand, we have rich but unhappy Scrooge, miserable in his greed. This crucial message is clearly expressed in the conversation between Scrooge and his nephew Fred:

“Christmas… is the one time of the year when people open their closed hearts and think of those below them as fellow passengers on the same journey to the grave. And though it has brought me not a scrap of gold or silver, I believe it has done me good and will continue to do me good; and I say, God bless it!”

Here, Dickens emphasizes the importance of kindness and generosity; a message that goes beyond formal religion and reminds us that Christmas is about being better to one another. This idea that Dickens moves beyond formal religion is most striking in the dialogue between Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present:

“There are some upon this earth… who lay claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name, who are as strange to us and all our kin as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us.”

When Scrooge replies, “It has been done in your name,” Dickens reminds us of the modern tendency to justify immoral actions in the name of religion. Another sign that Dickens goes beyond Christianity lies in a deliberate choice he makes. He uses Christmas spirits instead of Christ to make the message universal: it is about human goodness rather than religious rules.

Atmosphere

The novella has very picturesque descriptions. It is almost as if you can feel the cold on your face and sense the smell of turkey on a snowy street. The depiction of Scrooge’s early memories is so vivid that, while reading these descriptions, images immediately appear in the reader’s mind. To my mind, those images resemble rural nineteenth-century paintings of winter landscapes.

Conclusion

A Christmas Carol is not just a children’s story about the wonder of Christmas. It is a story about social justice, compassion, and the importance of human relationships. Dickens reminds us that true value lies not in money, but in how we treat others. In this sense, he reminds us of what is truly worth remembering, which is: the real magic of Christmas lies in good deeds, empathy, and selflessness.

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Croatian translation: Dickens, Charles, Božićna priča, Zagreb: Večernji list, 2004