A Christmas Carol Stave 4 Revisited
in which Scrooge is another man
Welcome to Reading Revisited, a place for friends to enjoy some good old-fashioned book chat while revisiting the truth, beauty, and goodness we’ve found in our favorite books.
Happy Advent, readers!
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of lots of lovely food and company. Perhaps you, like me, were also blessed with some extra time to sit down under a blanket with a hot drink and a book!
I’ll admit to feeling bittersweet as we approach the end of this delightful story. For many of us, revisiting this book is an advent or Christmas tradition, and it seems to be the nature of such traditions that the anticipation and excitement with which we begin them fades to a sort of melancholy as they come to a close. Our traditions mark time for us, and coming back to them year after year invites us to live, like Scrooge, in the Past, Present, and Future and is an important part of the Feasting of the season.
Now, to the story!
Here are a few things I noticed in this section:
Continuing in the vein of approaching each visiting ghost as the personification of the “time” they represent, it is fitting that the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, symbolic of the Future, would be shrouded in mystery. This is the first of the spirits to be referred to as a “phantom”, and it is said that his form:
“filled [Scrooge] with a solemn dread” (p. 83)
While the Past and Present have a clearer form, the Future, as yet unknown to us, often fills us with more questions, cares, and anxieties, and this phantom is an apt representation of that.
Note that the two businessmen discussing his death refer to Scrooge as “Old Scratch” - a nickname for the devil.
The scene at the “Rag and Bottle” shop is a memorable one (the setting is reminiscent of Mr. Krook’s shop in Our Mutual Friend).
The language used to describe the place and its neighborhood is poignant and a great example of Dickensian prose at its finest:
“The ways were foul and narrow; the shops and houses wretched; the people half-naked, drunken, slipshod, ugly. Alleys and archways, like so many cesspools, disgorged their offenses of smell, and dirt, and life, upon the straggling streets; and the whole quarter reeked with crime, with filth, and misery.” (p. 87)
Scrooge spent his life building wealth and making himself more and more invulnerable as he shut himself off from any possibility of friendship. Now the irony is that as his life has drawn to a close, because of his very self-isolation, he finds himself utterly vulnerable and defenseless in death. One of the women-thieves in the shop points this out herself:
“If he wanted to keep ‘em after he was dead, a wicked old screw, why wasn’t he natural in his lifetime? If he had been, he’d have had somebody to look after him when he was struck with Death, instead of lying gasping out his last there, alone by himself.” (p. 89)
The fact that these thieves are profiting by Scrooge’s death - even to the point of taking the bedclothes and the very shirt off his back - is a vivid image of Scrooge’s own money-hungry, profit-first philosophy.
“This is the end of it, you see! He frightened every one away from him when he was alive, to profit us when he was dead!” (p. 92)
Transported to his own cold, bare rooms, Scrooge sees the dead man laying upon the bed and wrestles with the idea of mortality. As the Phantom points to the covered head, Scrooge finds that he cannot remove the cover. The inner voice Scrooge hears is grappling with the dominion of death and whether it can ultimately corrupt and destroy a good, virtuous man:
“But of the loved, revered, and honoured head, thou canst not turn one hair to thy dread purposes, or make one feature odious.” (p. 93)
Note this line:
“A pale light…fell straight upon the bed; and on it, plundered and bereft, unwatched, unwept, uncared for, was the body of this man.” (p. 92)
It is reminiscent of some lines from a poem by Sir Walter Scott (who was major influence on Dickens) called “The Lay of the Last Minstrel”:
“The wretch, concentred all in self,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust, from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonored, and unsung.”
The small plotline showing the young family relieved at the news of Scrooge’s death is very Dickensian - we see a concern with usury in many of his stories. In several of his novels (Little Dorrit, Our Mutual Friend, etc.) we see families who live as victims under the shadow of a corrupt creditor.
Finally we find ourselves, with Scrooge, back in the home of the Cratchits. The scene is a sad one in the wake of Tiny Tim’s quite recent death, yet there remains hope.
First, we see Mrs. Cratchit busy sewing what is presumably a colorful burial garment for Tiny Tim - the mention of the “colour” in this scene shouldn’t be missed. Tiny Tim will not be buried in black mourning clothes, rather his colorful garments will represent the hope of life to come.
Tiny Tim is to be buried on Sunday - the day of the Resurrection. His burial place is lovely and green:
“I wish you could have gone. it would have done you good to see how green a place it is.” (p. 97)
We see in a further contrast to the death of Scrooge, the Cratchit family encouraged already by the legacy of Tiny Tim:
“I know, my dears, that when we recollect how patient and how mild he was; although he was a little, little child; we shall not quarrel easily among ourselves, and forget poor Tiny Tim doing it.” (p. 99)
By the time Scrooge arrives at the churchyard, he has begun to accept the reality that the lonely, dead man was himself. He begs to know whether his future can be changed:
“Are these the shadows of things that Will be, or are they shadows of things that May be, only?” (p. 101)
Note that the hand of the Phantom is called “kind”, and Scrooge considers the spirit, despite appearances, to be benevolent:
“Your nature intercedes for me, and pities me.” (p. 102)
And finally, after this final ghostly visit, Scrooge is a changed man. He resolves:
“I will honor 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.” (p. 102)
Themes to keep an eye on:
Scrooge’s identity: Dickens picks up the thread, here, again of Scrooge’s identity. He says to the spirit:
“I hope to live to be another man from what I was” (p. 83)
and after seeing his own gravestone:
“Spirit! hear me! I am not the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse.” (p. 102)
More on childlikeness/leisure: there’s an easy-to-miss line between the two businessmen of Scrooge’s acquaintance who are chatting about Scrooge’s death:
“Cold, isn’t it?”
“Seasonable for Christmas time. You’re not a skater, I suppose?”
“No. No, Something else to think of. Good morning!” (p. 85)
These men, like their recently deceased acquaintance, do not allow themselves the leisure to think of such things as ice skating.
The possibility of change: Scrooge’s continued inquiry to the Spirit as to whether the future course is “changeable” is an interesting one that, I think, reflects a broader theme of whether human character itself is capable of change. The answer to both of these questions offered by Dickens through the character of Scrooge seems to be a resounding YES.
In next week’s post, I’ll finish up the read-along guide for the final chapter, and share a few discussion questions to go through. If you’ve read along with us and are not yet in an in-person reading community, we’d love to have you join us at our virtual zoom book club on Tuesday, December 17 at 8:00pm EST. Contact us for more info!
Until next time, keep revisiting the good books that enrich your life and nourish your soul.
In Case You Missed It:
What We’re Reading Now:
December
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
January
Othello by William Shakespeare
February
Out of the Silent Planet AND Perelandra by C.S. Lewis
A Few Reminders:
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Love your thoughts here as always, Hannah!