The Enduring Message of A Christmas Carol
- adrienne490
- Dec 1, 2017
- 6 min read
One of Charles Dickens’ best-known works “A Christmas Carol In Prose: Being A Ghost Story of Christmas” was published in 1843, a time when Christmas was not widely celebrated in England or America, certainly not in the way that it is today.
It is almost inconceivable in today's world to think of Christmas as a "minor" holiday as it was prior to the mid 19th century. Back during the earliest history of the United States, the Pilgrims and earliest settlers did not even acknowledge it, viewing the celebration of Christmas as an immoral "pagan" tradition.
It was the beginning of the Victorian era in England and much of this change in attitude and the new importance placed upon Christmas time was due to Queen Victoria herself and the Germanic traditions of her husband, Prince Albert, that she embraced. One of the most notable traditions was the lighting and decorating of Christmas trees, a conifer tree, or Tannenbaum, cut down and brought into the home.
Much like today, the public copied the habits of the royals and so the Victorians’ beloved Christmas traditions of decorated trees and holiday lights, lavish feasts, the singing of carols, and the exchanging of cards and gifts have continued to this day.
Much credit also belongs with Dickens and his tale of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, a bitter, solitary man obsessed with the obtainment of wealth and possessing little care or concern for anyone or anything in the world around him, published shortly before Christmas in 1843.
In the new holiday film "The Man Who Invented Christmas," the story of DIckens' struggle to write this work and save himself and his family from financial ruin comes to life in a most enjoyable way. To say the idea of a Christmas ghost story was greeted with mockery and disdain would be an understatement. The film brings to life the world that Dickens' created this masterpiece within, one filled with great suffering and economic disparities. Dickens' himself was struggling with his writing career. His long-time publisher refused to fund his supernatural Christmas tale, in part due to its harsh social critique, so the author was forced to self-publish the novella himself.
Dickens took inspiration from his own difficult childhood and conflicted relationship with his father when writing his Christmas ghost tale. Young Dickens was forced to leave school and take work at a factory while his father was imprisoned for a short time, yet his family never fully recovered from the hardship. Dickens had great sympathy for the poor, especially that of children. He observed through the boom years of the Industrial Revolution how workers, child workers in particular, were abused and exploited, and it affected him deeply.
At the waning of his writing career, Dickens originally planned to write a pamphlet regarding his opinions on the subject of the poor and of workers’ rights but feared the public would reject it. Instead, he integrated his message of compassion, generosity, and forgiveness into “A Christmas Carol” and it was very well received, becoming an instant critical and commercial success. Yet ironically, due to the high cost of the production of the printing, including a luxurious hardcover binding and full-color illustrations by magazine caricaturist John Leech, the publication brought him little profit.
The characters are all still so vibrant and relative today - Jacob Marley, Scrooge’s long-deceased business partner in life and the first of the ghostly apparitions to visit him that Christmas Eve night, warning his friend not to repeat his fate; Fan, Scrooge’s sweet sister and mother of his nephew, Fred; Mr. Fezziwig, his boisterous and generous employer as a young clerk, who cared for the young Ebenezer like a son; Bob Cratchit, Scrooge’s own long-suffering clerk and his young, crippled son, Tiny Tim.
Then, of course, there are the ghosts. Three in all, representing Scrooge’s Christmases of past, present, and future. Few of those memories or foreshadowings are happy or gay. Indeed there is much sorrow and disappointed. How does one not allow such pain to ruin one’s life forever? That is what the ghosts are there to teach old Ebenezer.
Many film versions have been made of Dickens’ novella, but my absolute favorite is the 1951 version starring Alistair Sim along with an outstanding cast of other well-regarded British actors. My mother was obsessed with the movie and it became a holiday staple for me as well. While most families might equate It’s a Wonderful Life (an equally wonderful story) with Christmas, in my mind I must watch my beloved Christmas Carol or it’s just not the same.
I might add that another favorite version is A Muppet Christmas Carol. Silly, I know, but it really keeps true to the original story as well as its deeper message of the importance of kindness and caring for others in a way that can be appreciated and understood by both children and adults alike. Michael Caine does a wonderful turn as nasty ol’ Scrooge, as well.
There is a scene in the story, just as the Ghost of Christmas Present is ending his time with Scrooge, that the old man notices two starving children crouched beneath the ghost’s robes. Scrooge asks who they are. He responds that the girl is Want and the Boy is Ignorance. “Beware of both of them, but most especially Ignorance.” The spirit goes on to say:
“There are some upon this earth of yours 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 kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us.”
Christian themes of charity and redemption are strong throughout the tale. While the Victorian era was one of peace and prosperity for England, in large part due to the Industrial Revolution, it was that very revolution that displaced and pushed into poverty millions of workers, now rendered obsolete. Dickens felt strongly that those who became wealthy from these innovations had a moral obligation to assist those who were now suffering as it was the just and humane thing to do.
Last Christmas season, my son and I attended a one-man presentation of A Christmas Carol staged by master storyteller Jonathan Kruk, in nearby Tarrytown, NY. Kruk is a well-known figure in New York’s Hudson Valley, being deeply versed in the legends and lore of the area. He performs for everyone from schoolchildren to adults and for years now, has played the role of narrator in his retelling of Washington Irving’s classic “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” performed, most fittingly, in the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow, adjacent to the burial ground of Washington Irving and some of the actual characters of that very story.
Jonathan Kruk performing as Ebenezer Scrooge.
As in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” Kruk performs all of the roles in “A Christmas Carol,” bringing to life each character with such clarity and inspiration. It was a spell-binding show, the hour seemingly passing in the blink of an eye. Kruk brings an incredible humanity to his performances, whether playing villain or hero, and he is a joy to witness.
Period costumes aside, Kruk’s retelling of “A Christmas Carol” makes it clear that this is not a musty Victorian-era tale to be pulled off the shelf once a year, but a timeless story of humanity that is just as vital and as relevant today as it was when first written. I am so glad that he is helping to keep this wonderful story alive for generations to come. I encourage you to see him perform whenever possible. (Follow him on fb and twitter @jonatales )
I often get melancholy this time of year, feeling guilty that so much emphasis is placed upon shopping, parties, food, and drinking when so many are suffering and in desperate circumstances. One only has to watch the news to see the humanitarian tragedies occurring around the world at this moment. It makes one feel incredibly powerless and frustrated by civilization’s seeming lack of progress on so many issues. Yet if we don’t allow ourselves to be paralyzed by fear or grief, we can easily do much to help those around us, or even those far away, with donations of money, supplies, or simply our time.
Many wonderful changes came about from the publication of “A Christmas Carol” those many years ago. There was a great upsurge in philanthropic giving and attention to the poor and issues of social justice, both in England and America where the story became equally popular. A greater importance was placed on family gatherings and celebration to mark the holiday. This was a radical change from the puritanical 17th-century view of Christmas when it was socially discouraged to emulate any sort of pagan Yuletide celebration.
Upon news of Dickens’ death in 1870, a young girl is said to have cried, “Dickens dead? Then will Father Christmas die, too?” so intertwined with modern day Christmas had he become. Let his spirit continue on through the words of Tiny Tim who said, “God bless us, everyone.”
You can find a beautiful hardcover edition of the book, including reproductions of all the original illustrations, here: http://amzn.to/2ibsEhg
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