Annotations

Stave One: Marley’s Ghost

stave

“Stave” is an archaic form of the word “staff,” which is a stanza of a song or poem. The title of the work refers to itself as being a Christmas carol (song) in prose form, so the labeling of the acts is appropriately musical.

Jacob Marley

Several of the names used in A Christmas Carol are meaningful. A Jacobus was an English gold coin from the reign of James I (1567-1625). “Marley” comes from a word meaning “soil” or “sleet.”

Ebenezer Scrooge

“Ebenezer” is a Biblical name which means “stone of help.” Scrooge is noted as a being “hard and sharp as steel,” but by the end of the story he does indeed help the Cratchit family.

The term “Ebenezer” was also used to mean “dissenter.” It was used to refer to churches (mostly Methodist or Baptist) which were not part of the Church of England, originally from the name of one such church.

A “scrooge” was a tight, squeezing crowd. Scrooge is mentioned in the text as a “squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner.” Today, of course, thanks to this story, a miser is referred to as a “scrooge.” It is unfortunate that his name is now irrevocably associated with cold-heartedness and avarice, as the beauty of the story is in his redemption.

…Scrooge’s name was good upon ’Change…

“’Change” refers to the Royal Exchange, where Scrooge is shown to have business. At the time that A Christmas Carol was published, the Exchange had burned down almost six years previously. Queen Victoria opened the new Exchange the following year.

It is interesting to observe that, whatever his other faults, Scrooge is noted here for his trustworthiness. If Scrooge gives his word, one can rely on it. This makes his later commitment to change his ways more meaningful; otherwise, it could be seen as an empty promise, made in a moment of desperation.

as dead as a door-nail

Dickens didn’t invent this phrase; it originates from at least the thirteenth century, and Shakespeare popularized it in Henry IV and Henry VI. Its usage here was inspired by a dream Dickens had, in which one of his good friends had died, and someone in the dream referred to them as being dead “as a door-nail.”

residuary legatee

A person who receives all of a person’s estate which is not otherwise assigned in their will.

…and solemnised it with an undoubted bargain.

Marley had no family, and no friends other than Scrooge, so Scrooge was the executor of Marley’s estate. Scrooge is such a miser that the comfort he receives from Marley’s funeral is principally from how inexpensive it was.

Saint Paul’s Churchyard

Saint Paul’s is an Anglican cathedral in London, not far from Cornhill. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and completely rebuilt by 1697.

Hamlet

In Hamlet, act I, scene 4, Hamlet meets the ghost of his late father on the ramparts of the castle Elsinore. Dickens compares Marley’s visit to Scrooge with the visit Hamlet receives from his father, saying that neither encounter would have been remarkable had Marley and King Hamlet still been alive.

Scrooge and Marley

In his youth, Dickens lived near a tradesman’s business with a sign that read “Goodge and Marney,” which may have influenced the names of Scrooge and Marley.

We aren’t told exactly where Scrooge’s place of business is located. It is almost certainly in Cornhill, as it was considered the center of finance in London and is where the Royal Exchange is found, which Scrooge is noted to have visited regularly for business. Cratchit is also mentioned to have gone to slide down its namesake hill after work on Christmas Eve. Another clue is the mention of a church belltower with gothic windows, which is visible from the office. Finally, the court where his business was found was noted to be extremely narrow. These clues have lead some to suggest Newman’s Court as a likely candidate, as it is very narrow and is directly across from St. Michael’s Church in Cornhill, which has a belltower with gothic windows. Today, just a few steps down the street is a hotel and pub called, appropriately enough, The Counting House.

rime

Ice crystals formed from water vapor that has frozen onto cold surfaces. Here, it refers to Scrooge’s white hair, eyebrows, and beard.

dog-days

The hottest part of the summer. Sirius, also known as the “dog star,” appears in the night sky during this period and is the source of the name.

came down

Dickens indulges in a pun here: to “come down” means to give money. One of Scrooge’s most notable characteristics is his miserliness. Scrooge may have been partially inspired by John Elwes, a member of parliament who was so notorious for being a skinflint that he was commonly known as “John the Miser”.

nuts

Pleasant or delightful.

the weather

The descriptions that Dickens provides of the weather throughout the book reflects the mood in that particular section of the work. Through most of the book, the weather is repeatedly described as oppressively cold and foggy. This type of weather emphasizes dreariness and isolation: people avoid going out in such weather, and when they do, the fog obscures vision and isolates the traveler. This reflects Scrooge’s own disposition: hard, lonely, and bitter. In the happier parts, the fog clears and the cold is described as invigorating rather than oppressive.

withal

As well

palpable brown air

“Palpable” means “touchable;” the smog was so thick that you could almost feel it. Today we might say that “you could cut it with a knife.” Back then, people burned coal in their homes to heat them and cook food, and the emissions from the dense population made the air visibly brown from the coal smoke.

…lived hard by, and was brewing on a large scale.

“Hard by” means “nearby.” The process of brewing involves very hot liquids, producing much steam. Dickens says here that the fog was so thick that you might think that large-scale brewing activity was happening nearby.

heat and cold

The office is barely warmed at all due to the pitiful fire, which Scrooge’s miserliness ensures will remain tiny. The fire in Scrooge’s own home is later described as being equally tiny, so much so that “He was obliged to sit close to it, and brood over it.” In contrast, Scrooge’s nephew and even the struggling Cratchits are shown to have welcoming fires. This is a reflection of their own hearts: cold and solitary versus warm and open. Imagery of heat and cold are repeatedly used in this way throughout the story.

Scrooge kept the coal-box in his own room

The fact that Scrooge prevents Cratchit from getting more coal is often looked at as an indication of his greediness. However, it is later noted that Scrooge spends little money on his own comfort, so it seems inconsistent that Scrooge is hoarding the coal to keep it for himself. What this may indicate is that Scrooge thinks Cratchit to be irresponsible with his resources, as Scrooge considers comfort to be of little value. This may be how Scrooge justifies to himself his clerk’s low salary: why increase his pay if he would only waste it?

Why is Scrooge’s fire larger than Cratchit’s, then? Cratchit works in a “tank,” indicating that the area in which he works is smaller than Scrooge’s, and therefore logically should not require as large a fire to heat. Scrooge doesn’t care about Cratchit’s comfort nor his own; the office is heated at all only because frozen fingers cannot write.

comforter

A long, wide scarf, wrapped around the body to help keep warm.

Humbug!

A “humbug” is a hoax or fraud. Here, as an exclamation, it is used in a roughly equivalent manner to “Nonsense!” Scrooge utters the word six times in the text (not counting one instance where he stops after the first syllable), all of them before or during Marley’s visitation. Given what we learn about Scrooge from his time with the Ghost of Christmas Past, it is perhaps understandable that he would feel that Christmas is a sham. To the modern ear, “humbug” seems to have lost its original meaning entirely; it is now forever known as Scrooge’s catchphrase and carries a connotation of grumpiness.

What right [or]… reason have you to be merry? You’re poor enough.

Scrooge equates wealth with happiness, and therefore finds no reason why Fred should be happy because he is not wealthy. Fred immediately points out that Scrooge is wealthy yet not happy. Clearly this inconsistency had not occurred to Scrooge, as he is unable to rebut his nephew’s argument.

Out upon…

“Shame on” or “curses upon.”

…buried with a stake of holly through his heart.

Historically, murderers or suicides were deemed unworthy of a regular Christian burial. Instead, they were buried at a crossroads with no religious ceremony and with a stake through the heart to prevent their tortured souls from troubling the living. In the ancient Celtic religion from which many Christmas traditions sprang, holly offered protection from evil spirits. Ironically in this case, it was also a symbol of eternal life and fertility.

…losing your situation.

One’s situation is their employment. Scrooge is threatening to fire his clerk.

Scrooge said that he would see him—yes, indeed he did. He went the whole length of the expression, and said that he would see him in that extremity first.

Dickens euphemistically states that Scrooge said to his nephew that he’d see him in Hell before he’d come to dinner.

Nay, uncle, but you never came to see me before that happened. Why give it as a reason for not coming now?

When Scrooge’s nephew asks him why he won’t come to dinner, Scrooge responds that it is because he got married. Fred points out that he never came even before he was married, so there must be some other reason. Scrooge chooses not to respond to this argument. Later, we learn that Fred is a painful reminder to Scrooge of his sister, Fan. He refuses the invitation because he prefers to leave that memory buried, but he won’t admit this to Fred.

fifteen shillings a-week

Below is a description of the denominations of money used in A Christmas Carol, from smallest to largest:

4 farthings = 1 penny
12 pence (pennies) = 1 shilling
5 shillings = 1 crown
4 crowns = 1 pound

Bob Cratchit has come to be representative of the poor and destitute worker abused by a cruel employer. But how accurate is that, really?

On the one hand, as an educated, skilled worker, Cratchit was definitely paid better than London’s typical laborers, who would have received around half of what he made. Fifteen shillings per week would easily have been a livable wage for him had he been a bachelor.

On the other hand, he would certainly find it difficult to provide for a wife and six children, never mind obtain proper care for the seriously ill Tiny Tim. Indeed, the vision of the Ghost of Christmas Present shows us that Martha also works to bring income for the family, and that Peter would shortly begin working, as well. Additionally, Cratchit likely worked ten hours a day, six days a week, and did not receive benefits, paid sick leave, etc. Dickens makes sure to mention that Cratchit walks to and from work. If we presume that Scrooge’s office was near the Royal Exchange (as he had business there), it was around an hour each way from Camden Town. We know from the last stave that Cratchit was expected to be at work by 9:00 a.m., therefore he had to leave home by 8:00 a.m. and wouldn’t get home before 8:00 p.m.

Some have attempted to translate Cratchit’s salary into modern terms, but there are a variety of ways to attempt this that result in wildly different answers. It’s also hard to say just how unfair Cratchit’s salary was, due to the uncertainty about his exact duties as Scrooge’s clerk. Some have pointed out that Cratchit was most likely acting as a mere bookkeeper rather than a full-fledged accountant, since otherwise he would be so underpaid that it would seem unreasonable for him to be grateful to Scrooge, or to not seek another employer.

Ultimately, it may be best to set aside these questions, as focusing on how unfair Cratchit’s salary might have been or how it might compare to a modern minimum wage is missing the point of the story. Remember that Scrooge was noted for his honesty; while he was not generous, he paid what he committed to pay and did not cheat his employee. But honesty without charity wasn’t enough to spare him from Marley’s fate. Dickens suggests that as his employer, Scrooge bears some responsibility for Cratchit’s family’s welfare. By shutting everyone out of his life, he not only neglects that responsibility, but his own soul as well.

…and a wife and family,…

The clerk’s circumstances reflect Dickens’s own at the time this was written. As previously mentioned, Dickens was in the midst of a personal financial downturn, and his wife was pregnant with their fifth child.

I’ll retire to Bedlam.

Bethlem Royal Hospital, colloquially called Bedlam, was a lunatic asylum in London. Scrooge is saying that he feels that he is surrounded by crazy people. This reference is why Dickens refers to Cratchit as a lunatic in the next sentence. The term “bedlam” has come to mean “chaotic uproar.” Today Bethlem Royal Hospital is a modern psychiatric facility.

He died seven years ago, this very night.

His business partner and friend dying on Christmas Eve is one of several events we learn about in Scrooge’s past that sour him on the holiday.

Are there no prisons?

Scrooge’s response to the gentleman is a reflection of a sarcastic question posed by Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle in his pamphlet Chartism: “Are there not treadmills, gibbets; even hospitals, poor-rates, New Poor-Law?” The Ghost of Christmas Present later reminds Scrooge of these words when he is confronted with the embodiments of Ignorance and Want.

Union workhouses

Union workhouses were places where those who were in debt or convicted of minor offenses were sent, where they would engage in hard menial labor for their room and board. Being sent there was pretty much the lowest you could go in the societal ladder outside of prison, and the living conditions were abysmal.

the Treadmill

The treadmill was invented for the purpose of harnessing human walking power to perform useful work. (Thus the name: “tread” meaning “to step” and “mill” meaning “to grind grain into flour.”) English civil engineer Sir William Cubitt had treadmills installed in prisons to extract labor from prisoners. The prisoners would climb steps mounted on a large wheel while holding a handrail for stability. The long, eight-hour shifts on the treadmill also kept them occupied and tired, and thus less likely to cause trouble. As you can see from the illustration, catastrophe awaited the unfortunate soul who was unable to keep up.

the Poor Law

The Poor Law was the government framework ostensibly for helping the poor and needy, though in practice, it tended to keep them poor instead. In that respect, it was not unlike modern government welfare. A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist both portray the Poor Law negatively, and both were a source of embarrassment to those in government responsible for it.

If they would rather die,… they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.

Scrooge’s views here may have been influenced by English economist Thomas Malthus, who held that population growth was the cause of a variety of social ills. Interestingly, both Dickens and Malthus were opposed to the Poor Law, though the latter’s opposition was due to its effect on inflation rather than on people.

During Scrooge’s encounter with the Ghost of Christmas Present, as he is confronted with the future death of Tiny Tim, the spirit reminds him of these words.

It’s enough for a man to understand his own business, and not to interfere with other people’s.

Scrooge here plainly admits that he is willfully ignorant of the plight of the poor. Later, Jacob Marley explains that he also had this character flaw, and it is that which has doomed him to his fate, and threatens to doom Scrooge as well.

flaring links

A link is a torch. The fog was so thick that horses had difficulty seeing through the haze, requiring someone to go before them with a light.

water-plug

A fire hydrant.

holly

Holly was part of Celtic tradition before Christianity; the druids wore holly in their hair, believing that holly leaves protected against evil spirits, and were a symbol of eternal life and fertility. Holly was used in European heraldry as a symbol of truth.

Holly became part of Christian tradition in part due to its symbolism: The leaves come to sharp points, reminding one of the crown of thorns worn by Christ during his crucifixion. The red berries were symbolic of drops of Christ’s blood. The bark of the holly plant is bitter, like the gall offered to Christ on the cross. The fact that the plant is evergreen is representative of life after death. The lyrics of the Christmas carol “The Holly and the Ivy” discuss the Christian symbolism of the holly, and also mention ivy as being representative of the Virgin Mary.

garret

An attic room, usually a small, uncomfortable one

Saint Dunstan

This is in reference to a story in which Saint Dunstan, the archbishop of Canterbury, attacked the devil, who was disguised as a woman:

St Dunstan, as the story goes,
Once pull’d the devil by the nose
With red-hot tongs, which made him roar,
That he was heard three miles or more.

stop half-a-crown

A crown was equal to five shillings. As Cratchit was paid 15 shillings (or three crowns) a week and worked six days a week, half a crown (or two shillings and sixpence) would constitute one day’s pay. Withholding that half-crown, then, would be to refuse to pay Cratchit for that day in which he did not work.

Note that Cratchit having Sundays off was a practical consideration for Scrooge: other businesses would be closed, and it would be unprofitable for Scrooge to keep his open when no business could be conducted.

I’ll be bound

An old-fashioned way of saying “I’m certain.” A person who says they’ll be bound means that they are so sure of it that they will stick with those words as if they were bound to them with ropes, and not take them back. Today we express the same sentiment by saying, “You can hold me to that.”

for he boasted no great-coat

Cratchit’s comforter is inadequate for true protection from the winter cold, but he was too poor to afford a winter coat.

Cornhill

Cornhill is a hill located in the London’s financial district. (The Royal Exchange, also mentioned in the story, is located nearby.)

Camden Town

As previously mentioned, Camden Town is about an hour’s walk from Cornhill. At the time, it was considered a rather unfashionable part of London. Some adaptions show Tiny Tim waiting to meet his father when he gets out of work, since they are later shown to return home together.

blindman’s-buff

A parlour game in which a blindfolded player attempts to catch another player and identify them. The game is featured more prominently in the story at Fred’s Christmas party witnessed by Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present.

fancying

Imagining. The next paragraph talks about Scrooge having “little of what is called fancy about him,” meaning he is not very imaginative.

let

Rented.

Scrooge’s home

Scrooge lives in a place that is reflective of his own self: cold, isolated, and dreary. Just as Scrooge permits no one else into his home to keep him company, he lets nobody into his life to cheer him.

fain

Obliged, compelled.

Genius of the Weather

To the ancient Romans, a “genius” was a sprite or spirit.

…the corporation, aldermen, and livery.

The Corporation of London was (and still is, under the name “City of London Corporation”) the governing body of the City of London. (What we call London is actually a larger entity that grew to enclose the original City of London.) The Court of Aldermen is an elected body within that corporation with certain administrative responsibilities. The livery companies are trade associations and guilds, which heavily influence the government of the City of London. They evolved from medieval guilds and were made corporations under royal charter. In describing Scrooge’s lack of fancy, Dickens is also taking a jab at the dull and unimaginative politicians of his day.

…like a bad lobster in a dark cellar.

Lobsters contain bacteria that, if not destroyed by cooking, will glow faintly as they decompose it.

coach-and-six

A coach drawn by six horses.

…through a bad young Act of Parliament…

Acts of Parliament were notorious for having gaping loopholes, such that you could figuratively drive the aforementioned coach-and-six through one.

splinter-bar

A bar at the front of a carriage that connects it to the springs.

balustrades

A railing held up by a series of short pillars; in this case, as a support for climbing the stairs and a barrier to prevent falling off of them.

locomotive hearse

The term “locomotive” is modernly associated with trains, but in fact just means that it moves under its own power; i.e., not drawn by horses. So what Scrooge believed he saw was a hearse moving up the stairs by supernatural means.

dip

A dip was a type of inexpensive candle. It was made by melting tallow, then dipping the wick into it.

lumber-room

A room for storing furniture not used in other parts of the house.

gruel

An inexpensive, thin oatmeal. It is interesting to note that despite being wealthy, he does not enjoy the comforts that his wealth can bring him, as Fred later notes during Scrooge’s encounter with the Ghost of Christmas Present. He has become so focused on the accumulation of wealth that it has become an end unto itself: he makes money just to make money, not to actually benefit anyone with it, even himself.

hob

A shelf at the back of the hearth, used to keep food warm.

fish-basket

A large, typically shallow basket, usually made of wicker. They were so called because they were often used for carrying fish, but in homes might hold other things such as linens.

washing-stand

A small table which holds a basin of water, used for washing one’s hands and face.

cravat

A band or scarf worn around the neck.

butter-boat

A dish used for holding butter, so named because its shape resembles a boat. Here, the comparison is reversed: the images on the tiles are said to show the apostles in boats that resemble the dish.

…came like the ancient Prophet’s rod, and swallowed up the whole.

In chapter 7 of Exodus, the Lord through Moses turned Aaron’s rod into a serpent as a sign to Pharaoh. Pharaoh’s sorcerers did the same, but Aaron’s rod swallowed theirs.

servant bells

In larger Victorian homes, in order to call someone from another part of the house, a room would be fitted with a bell pull that connected to a bell located elsewhere. Usually, multiple rooms in a house would have bell pulls which connected to bells mounted on a board in the servant wing, so that the residents of the home could easily summon a servant to wherever they happened to be in the house. However, this bell is located in Scrooge’s room. It’s possible that it used to be a servant’s room, as much of the house is used as offices.

chained ghosts

Ghosts were thought to be clothed in whatever they were wearing when they died. Therefore, it stood to reason that the spirit of someone who died in prison would wear the chains they were shackled with in life, and thus continue their penance in the afterlife. We soon learn that Marley’s chains come not from what he was physically wearing at his death, but from the desires of his heart in life.

Pliny the Younger relates a ghost story in one of his letters. In the story, Athenodorus the philosopher stays in a home said to be haunted, and is visited by a ghost. It leads him to a spot where its corpse is found, still wearing its chains. The bones were collected and given a proper burial, and the haunting of the house ceased. In the story, the ghost’s chains are mentioned casually, as if it was not a novel idea even then. Thus, in chaining Marley, Dickens is relying on an old trope that was as well-known to his audience then as it is to us today.

Marley’s chains

In March 1842, Dickens visited the Western Penitentiary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Seeing chained prisoners there affected him deeply, and this experience may have influenced Marley’s appearance.

The chains with which Marley is weighed down reflect the desires of his heart in life, and that our actions (or inactions) have consequences. Marley’s entire life was focused on the goal of profit, and now in the afterlife he is cumbered with the chain he himself created.

In Dante’s Divine Comedy, the fourth circle of Hell is populated by those who committed the sin of Greed. Those who inhabit this circle are compelled to push great weights. Marley takes the role of Virgil to Scrooge’s Dante, but his chains indicate that he is also condemned for his greed. There are multiple parallels between A Christmas Carol and the Divine Comedy, but this is one of the clearest.

…Marley had no bowels…

This is a reference to 1 John 3:17: “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” At the time, the bowels, like the heart, were considered a source of human emotion. Marley having no bowels indicates that he had no compassion for his fellow man in need during his life. However, Dickens’s love of puns compels him to point out that Marley’s transparency allows one to verify that he literally has no intestines.

…folded kerchief bound about its head and chin…

The cloth was tied around the head of the deceased to keep the mouth from gaping. Marley later removes it to allow his jaw to drop, possibly to terrify Scrooge into submission.

How now!

“What is the meaning of this?”

“You’re particular—for a shade.” He was going to say “to a shade,” but substituted this, as more appropriate.

“To a shade” means “somewhat,” but “shade” can also mean “ghost.” Dickens explains later that Scrooge is trying to be clever to distract himself from the terror of his current situation.

There’s more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!

Scrooge continues to attempt to distract himself with smart remarks. He retorts with this play on words that Marley’s appearance is the result of indigestion (“gravy”) rather than the supernatural (“grave”).

waggish

playfully or facetiously humorous

would play… the very deuce with him.

To “play the deuce with” something is to disrupt it. He wants to be distracted from Marley to retain mastery of his emotions.

…its hair, and skirts, and tassels, were still agitated as by the hot vapour from an oven.

This indicates that Marley is visiting Scrooge from Hell.

fettered

Chained.

Is its pattern strange to you?

Marley is about to explain that Scrooge should not be surprised by the chains, as he himself wears even longer ones.

It comes from other regions… and is conveyed by other ministers, to other kinds of men.

In Dante’s Divine Comedy, the damned soul Virgil cannot speak of Christ or Heaven, and so refers to them obliquely, as Marley does here.

mark me!

“Pay attention!”

You might have got over a great quantity of ground in seven years.

Scrooge still does not wish to face the reality of Marley’s visit, so he instead tries to find reasons to reject it by looking for inconsistencies in his story. Marley, who suffers greatly and has gone through some effort to spare Scrooge from his own fate, understandably does not respond well to this.

Ward

One charged with keeping watch; in this case, a police officer.

Mankind was my business.

Marley directly contradicts Scrooge’s earlier statement to the gentlemen that visited his office that the fate of the poor was not his business.

That blessed Star

Marley references the story of the Nativity, in which a star appeared which guided the Wise Men to the Christ child. Had they not seen the star, they would never have been able to visit the child Jesus. Similarly, Marley’s self-absorption prevented him from receiving the blessings of service to others.

You will be haunted… by Three Spirits.

Dickens’s first novel, The Pickwick Papers, featured a story called “The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton,” in which a character much like Scrooge has a change of heart about Christmas after being shown the past and future by visiting goblins. This was undoubtedly a precursor to A Christmas Carol.

Scrooge’s countenance fell almost as low as the Ghost’s had done.

This refers to when Marley removed the cloth bound around his head.

“Couldn’t I take ’em all at once, and have it over, Jacob?” hinted Scrooge.

Scrooge has not yet understood the importance of the Spirits’ visits, only seeing them as an inconvenience and an interruption to his sleep, so he attempts to negociate with Marley to combine them into one visit.

…one old ghost, in a white waistcoat…

Dickens may have intended this to be the same individual as the gentleman in the white waistcoat in Oliver Twist.

dull

slow

Stave Two: The First of the Three Spirits

repeater

A watch that can be made to repeat its last strike.

…a mere United States’ security…

At the time A Christmas Carol was published, the United States was in the midst of a severe economic downturn, and its securities were not particularly good investments. Dickens says here that if time stopped moving forward, debts owed to him would be worth as much as a US security: little or nothing.

holly and summer flowers

Holly grows in winter, while most flowers grow during the warm months of the year. This is an emblem of the incongruity that is characteristic of this ghost, and is possibly symbolic of contradictory human nature. People are not consistent, and the person someone was in the past may be very different than who they are today. We soon see that this is true of Scrooge as well: he enjoyed companionship and love in the past, but Belle soon notes a “changed nature” into what eventually became the present-day Scrooge, one very unlike his past self.

…from the crown of its head there sprung a bright clear jet of light, by which all this was visible…

The light that emanates from the ghost’s head symbolizes memories from the past which can illuminate the present.

The ghost’s appearance is suggestive of a candle. Pagans used candles during the winter solstice as a reminder of the coming spring. Among Christians, the candle references John 8:12, in which Jesus states, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Lutheran priest Johann Hinrich Wichern is credited with developing the Advent wreath in the 16th century, with four candles arranged on a wreath, with one candle being lit each Sunday of Advent. The candles individually represent hope, peace, joy, and love. Sometimes, a fifth candle was lit in the center on Christmas Day, representing the Star of Bethlehem, and by extension, Christ.

extinguisher

A candle was sometimes put out by placing a conical device called an extinguisher over it. The ghost’s extinguisher represents the desire to ignore the past, and forfeit the wisdom its light can bring.

the ghost’s shifting appearance

The ghost’s alternating between a distinct and indistinct appearance may be symbolic of the nature of human memory. While you may have a foggy recollection of many events in your past, others will be as clear and distinct as if they happened today. Some have conjectured that the shifts in the ghost’s appearance may also represent the various people who were part of Scrooge’s past.

…he had a special desire to see the Spirit in his cap; and begged him to be covered.

Scrooge does not want to confront his own past.

gigs

a horse drawing a carriage with two wheels

A gig is a two-wheeled carriage, drawn by a single horse.

jocund

Cheerful, light-hearted.

plain deal forms

Unfinished fir or pine benches.

Scrooge… wept to see his poor forgotten self

Scrooge’s father sent him to a boarding school. Unlike the other children, he was not brought home for Christmas.

The strained relationship between Scrooge and his father may have been influenced by Dickens’s own father. When Dickens was only 12 years old, his father was sent to the Marshalsea (a debtor’s prison in Southwark) as a result of his careless spending. To survive, Dickens had to quit school and work in a shoe polish factory. This experience had a profound influence on Dickens which is apparent throughout A Christmas Carol.

Ali Baba

Scrooge is seeing characters from his books come to life in his imagination. Ali Baba comes from the Arabian Nights story, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

Valentine and Orson

Valentine and Orson are twins from chivalric romance.

What’s his name, the Sultan’s Groom, the Genii, and the Princess

These are characters from the Arabian Nights tale, Nur-ed-Din and his Son and Shems-ed-Din and his Daughter.

the Parrot and Friday

Scrooge is now recalling characters from The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.

laths

Thin flat strips of wood to which the plaster of a wall or ceiling is applied.

loth

Alternate form of “loath,” meaning “reluctant” or “unwilling.” “Nothing loth to go” meant he was very willing to go with her.

best-parlour

A room for entertaining one’s guests, equivalent to a modern living room.

postboy

Postilion, a person who rides one of the horses drawing a carriage when there is no coachman.

the same tap

Coming from the same barrel.

chaise

a small carriage drawn by a horse with a folding top

A light carriage with a folding top, usually drawn by one horse.

garden-sweep

A driveway that curves through the grounds.

hoar-frost

Ice crystals formed from water vapor that has frozen onto cold surfaces.

gainsay

Deny.

Welch wig

A Welsh (or Welch) wig is a type of woolen cap which had a long back to keep the neck warm, which was common among men at the time. Fezziwig may have been bald, and wore the cap to keep his head warm. It is so named because it somewhat resembles a wig, especially since the back often was made to look like curly hair; and because the wool often originated from Wales. Many illustrations and adaptions inaccurately show Fezziwig wearing an actual wig, but they had gone out of fashion by this time.

organ of benevolence

Phrenology was a pseudoscience that claimed that the shape of one’s head could indicate the development of various “organs” inside the skull, and that this could be used to determine a person’s character or aptitudes. The organ of benevolence was supposed to be located at the top of the forehead; thus a person with a protuberance there would be said to be benevolent, because the corresponding organ was large.

…before a man can say, Jack Robinson!

If a person is so brief in their social visits that they would depart almost as soon as they arrived, they were referred to as a “Jack Robinson.” The phrase “before a man can say, Jack Robinson” meant “extremely quickly.”

…tuned like fifty stomach-aches.

As fifty people all having stomach-aches would make a very unpleasant sound, so was the sound of the fiddler tuning his instrument.

…not having board enough from his master…

“Room and board” refers to lodging and food received as part of one’s wages. The boy in question is suspected of not getting enough to eat from his employer.

porter

A dark brown beer.

forfeits

Games in which a loser must pay some sort of penalty, most often a kiss.

negus

A mixture of wine and water, with added flavor and sugar, served hot.

Cold Boiled

Meat (either beef, mutton, or ham) immersed in cold water and slowly boiled over several hours.

mince-pies

A pie filled with “mincemeat,” a mixture of dried fruits, suet, spices. Mince-pies became traditional for Christmas time because the spices (typically cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg) were considered representative of the gifts of the Magi to the Christ child. Indeed, mince-pies served during the Christmas season were often designed to look like the baby Jesus in a manger. Originally, mince-pies also contained minced meat (frequently mutton), but this had been largely dropped from the recipe by the Victorian era. Mince pies were a traditional food left out for Father Christmas by British children on Christmas Eve.

Sir Roger de Coverley

Frequently the last dance of the evening, known to Americans as the Virginia Reel.

Video

cut

To rapidly cross the feet in mid-air while leaping.

beds… under a counter

An apprentice often lived where he worked. A mattress under the counter would be out of the way during the day’s business.

He has spent but a few pounds of your mortal money: three or four, perhaps.

Four pounds is equivalent to 80 shillings, or a little over five week’s pay for present-day Bob Cratchit.

mourning-dress

Belle’s dress indicates that someone dear to her has recently passed away. This is the only mention of her bereavement, though it may have caused her to re-evaluate her life, motivating her to have this discussion with Scrooge.

“What Idol has displaced you?”… “A golden one.”

Scrooge’s pursuit of gain has caused Belle to feel neglected. She recognizes that wealth has become a higher priority to Scrooge than her.

I… can release you.

Despite clearly loving Scrooge, or at least the man he used to be, she has accepted that she cannot find happiness with him, and so breaks off their engagement to be married.

dowerless

Traditionally, a dowry was property belonging to the bride and/or her family that transferred to the groom upon marriage. Belle is not wealthy, so the marriage would not be a profitable investment for Scrooge. At a time when so many marriages were for financial security or advancement, to marry a dowerless girl would only be for love.

the celebrated herd in the poem

A reference to Written in March by William Wordsworth:

The cattle are grazing,
Their heads never raising;
There are forty feeding like one!

in sport

For fun.

Extinguishing the Ghost of Christmas Past

In pressing the cap down on top of the ghost, Scrooge is trying to forget his past. However, the light streaming from underneath it suggests that no matter how hard you try, you cannot completely ignore it.

Stave Three: The Second of the Three Spirits

free-and-easy

Casual, informal; from the term for a place to participate in such vices as drinking, smoking, and gambling. It is conjectured that this is the precursor to the later term “speak-easy.”

plume

To boast of or take pride in.

equal to the time-of-day

Ready for anything.

pitch-and-toss

A simple gambling game where players cast coins at a target.

living green

The practice of decorating one’s home with boughs of green plants (particularly of evergreen trees, holly, mistletoe, and ivy) was well established at this time, but the Christmas tree itself was relatively new. The tradition was imported from Germany by Queen Charlotte, but the practice did not spread much beyond the royal family for some time. It was only around the time of the publication of A Christmas Carol did it start to catch on, and even then, it was more common among the wealthier families which were following the royal trend. Thus, it is probable that the “living green” mentioned here does not refer to Christmas trees. (Note the mention of berries.)

mistletoe

Mistletoe was traditional in England long before its association with Christmas. The druids considered the plant to have powerful abilities to cure disease, dispel evil spirits, and promote fertility (the latter due to its ability to grow even in winter). This lead to a Christmas tradition of hanging mistletoe at the doors of the home to keep evil spirits away.

brawn

Also known as head cheese; a terrine or meat jelly often made from flesh from the head of a calf or pig.

twelfth-cakes

A decorative cake made in celebration of Twelfth Night, a Christian feast celebrating the Epiphany and concluding the Twelve Days of Christmas.

Plenty’s horn

Also called a cornucopia, a symbol of abundance.

wreath

Wreaths were most anciently worn as crowns by the Etruscans, Greeks, and Romans. In particular, the Greeks and Romans wore laurel wreaths to symbolize victory and achievement, and were received anciently by the winners in the Olympic Games. The wreath was later used by Christians as an Advent decoration, topped with candles.

The wreath worn by the spirit is made with holly, which as was previously noted, carries meaningful symbolism in both Christian and pagan tradition. Notably, like the ghost, druids wore it in their hair as protection from evil.

the Spirit’s appearance

The description of the Ghost of Christmas Present is intended to resemble the appearance of Father Christmas from English folklore. The first edition drawings by John Leech also resemble him. It should be noted that the American version known as Santa Claus today was not particularly well known in England at this time, despite his introduction in Clement Clark Moore’s A Visit from St. Nicholas 21 years earlier.

Girded round its middle was an antique scabbard; but no sword was in it, and the ancient sheath was eaten up with rust.

The neglected scabbard with no sword is symbolic of peace, and references Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.

more than 1,800 brothers

Each of the Spirit’s brothers represents one year’s Christmas season, and each lives only during the Twelve Days of Christmas. The first day of Christmas is Christmas itself, so the Ghost is indeed very young (less than two hours old, in fact).

The original manuscript had the ghost refer to his “oldest brother” (i.e. Jesus Christ), but Dickens removed this, feeling it too irreverent.

apoplectic

Apoplexy is unconsciousness due to a seizure or stroke. Apparently the chestnuts made a significant impression on passers-by.

…and glanced demurely at the hung-up mistletoe.

Kissing under the mistletoe had its origins in Norse mythology. Baldr and his mother Frigg dreamed that Baldr was to die. Frigg extracted promises from all living things not to harm Baldr, except the mistletoe, which was apparently too non-threatening to bother. Loki used mistletoe to fashion a spear or arrow, which was used to kill Baldr.

Frigg declared that from that day forward mistletoe would never again be used as a weapon, but would be a symbol of peace and love, vowing to give a kiss to anyone who walked underneath one. It was even held that mistletoe berries were Frigg’s tears. If enemies met in the wood under a mistletoe, tradition required that they must lay aside their weapons and depart in peace. Likewise, people would meet under the mistletoe in order to show a willingness to reconcile.

It’s possible that this tradition became associated with Christmas tangentially from the hanging of the mistletoe to keep away the evil spirits. One of the earliest mentions of kissing under the mistletoe came, in fact, from Dickens’s first novel, The Pickwick Papers. Traditionally, a young lady caught under the mistletoe must grant a requested kiss or she would not be married the following year.

Norfolk Biffins

Dark red apples from the county of Norfolk. These were often dried, flattened, and served as a treat, which was simply called a Biffin.

bilious

Nauseous.

daws

Jackdaws, birds related to crows. This is a reference to a quote by Iago in Othello, act 1, scene 1:

But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
For daws to peck at: I am not what I am.

In contrast to Iago, the grocers are “frank and fresh.”

bakers’ shops

People would bring their dinners to the baker’s shop to be cooked, as most would not have had an oven at home.

…close these places on the Seventh Day?

There was a movement around this time to legally require all people to observe the Sabbath Day. Dickens was opposed to this movement, and even wrote a work critical of an act of Parliament spearheaded by Andrew Agnew (one of four attempts) designed to enforce Sabbath observance. He observed that the closure of bakeries on Sundays would disproportionately affect the poor, as the wealthy had the means for their dinners to be cooked within their homes.

Scrooge’s statement that these acts were done in the name of the spirit’s family indicates that his work is not to be taken solely as a holiday story or a social commentary, but as a Christian allegory. The conflict with Sabbatarians can be compared to the criticism received by Jesus’s disciples in the Gospel of Mark when they ate grain as they walked by fields on the Sabbath. Here the ghost’s reply to Scrooge may be likened to Jesus’s to the Jews that “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Dickens chastises those who would put greater importance on religious rules than people, and particularly those whose enforcement of such rules would have little to no impact on themselves.

The Ghost of Christmas Present is the most outspoken of the spirits, and largely serves as Dickens’s mouthpiece for his views.

The Spirit’s changing size

The Ghost of Christmas Present can change size easily, in particular noted to shrink to stand inside the humblest of homes. This may have been intended to be symbolic of Christ’s condescension to come to earth as a man to save humanity. In any case, it serves to highlight his supernatural power.

Bob Cratchit

A “bob,” as noted later in the paragraph, is slang for a shilling. The word “cratchit” has multiple meanings; the one most relevant is probably “stomach,” as despite his small income, his family manages to make the most of it to provide an enjoyable Christmas dinner, as we will see.

…in a twice-turned gown, but brave in ribbons, which are cheap and make a goodly show for sixpence…

At this time, everything people owned was made by hand. Weaving cloth and constructing clothing was a manual, labor-intensive task. Therefore, cloth and clothing were much more expensive than they are today. When an article of clothing began looking shabby, instead of throwing it out, the poorer folk would “turn” it by carefully taking it apart, cleaning it, then sewing it back together inside-out. Mrs. Cratchit, in her frugality, rather than incur the expense to purchase or create a new gown, has opted to turn her already-turned dress again. In order to attempt to hide the shabbiness of her clothing, she has decorated it with ribbons, which were inexpensive.

Sixpence (six pennies) is equivalent to half a shilling, or one-fifth of Bob Cratchit’s daily wage.

fashionable Parks

To show off one’s fine clothes, one would ride through certain places (such as Hyde Park) in the afternoon, so as to be seen by others.

goose

Before the Spanish brought turkeys to Europe in the 16th century, goose or chicken was commonly had for Christmas dinner. The wealthy sometimes had swan or peafowl.

Pubs often ran “goose clubs” where members would pay a small weekly amount toward a goose. When Christmastime came, the pub owner would buy the geese in bulk and assign them out to the paid members via random drawing. This arrangement was beneficial for the club members because they didn’t have to pay for a goose all at once, and the pub owner benefited because the club members stopping in to make their weekly payment would often buy a pint. This arrangement is probably how the Cratchits bought their goose.

A goose from a goose club kicks off another well-known Victorian era Christmas story, “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle” from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

Tiny Tim

Dickens had a nephew with a disability named Henry who was five years old when A Christmas Carol was written, and who was the inspiration for Tiny Tim.

Tiny Tim being borne on his father’s shoulder is symbolic of the financial burden his illness places on the family. Dickens is not specific about what ails the child, but it has been suggested that he might suffer from renal tubular acidosis, tuberculosis, or rickets.

wash-house

An outbuilding where several families would do laundry. The pudding was cooked over the fire there because the family did not have an oven.

pudding singing in the copper

Christmas pudding is a boiled dessert consisting of dried fruits, egg, suet, treacle or molasses, and spices. In America it would be called a fruitcake. It was wrapped in a cloth and then steamed in a “copper,” or metal boiler, so named because historically they were made of that metal, although by this time it was more likely iron. The escaping steam would cause a whistle, which is the “singing” spoken of. After steaming for a long time, it was “turned out” of the copper, unwrapped from the cloth, set on a plate, doused in brandy, and set alight.

half of half-a-quartern

About 2.5 tablespoons or 37 milliliters.

bedight

Adorned.

adamant

Unyielding, unfeeling, unwilling to be persuaded. “Adamant” can be used to describe substances which are unusually hard, especially some type of stone or metal. The nigh-indestructible metal “adamantium” from Marvel comics derives its name from this word. The ghost’s words “if man you be in heart, not adamant” might be rendered today as “if your heart is not made of stone.”

cant

Hypocritical, sanctimonious speech.

Mr. and Mrs. Cratchit’s attitudes about Scrooge

Mrs. Cratchit feels very negatively about Scrooge—with good reason—and doesn’t understand why her husband does not feel the same way. Bob, however, is thankful to Scrooge, as without him, he would be unable to provide for his family, much less enjoy their Christmas meal. This scene between him and his wife is here to highlight his gratitude and positivity, which is revisited in Scrooge’s vision of their future.

twopence

Literally two pence, meaning a trivial sum.

five-and-sixpence weekly

This is five-and-a-half shillings, meaning Peter would be making about 37% of Bob’s income. (Martha also works, but we are not told how much she earns.)

Child labor was common in those days, particularly among the poorer classes, as many families would find it very difficult survive unless the children also brought income. Some worked as much as 16 hours a day. Dickens himself had worked in a factory at the age of 12, with his father shut up in a debtor’s prison. A series of parliamentary acts called the Factory Acts gradually improved conditions for children, culminating in the Factory and Workshop Act of 1878, which banned employment for children under 10, mandated education for all children 10 and under, and prohibited 10- to 14-year-olds from working more than half days.

milliner

A hatmaker.

a song, about a lost child travelling in the snow

If Dickens had a particular song in mind when he wrote this, it is unknown to us. Gilbert Keith Chesterton has since written “A Child of the Snows,” and it is believed to be inspired by this passage of A Christmas Carol.

There is heard a hymn when the panes are dim,
And never before or again,
When the nights are strong with a darkness long,
And the dark is alive with rain.

Never we know but in sleet and in snow,
The place where the great fires are,
That the midst of the earth is a raging mirth
And the heart of the earth a star.

And at night we win to the ancient inn
Where the child in the frost is furled,
We follow the feet where all souls meet
At the inn at the end of the world.

The gods lie dead where the leaves lie red,
For the flame of the sun is flown,
The gods lie cold where the leaves lie gold,
And a Child comes forth alone.

Peter might have known… the inside of a pawnbroker’s.

Peter Cratchit is something of an author avatar, here. When his father went to debtor’s prison, Dickens was obliged to pawn his books to survive.

kenned

Knew.

furze

Gorse, a shrub with yellow flowers.

grog

A mixture of alcohol (such as rum) and water.

tucker

A piece of lace worn on the bodice of a dress.

aromatic vinegar

A strong acetic acid flavored with pungent substances, used as a smelling salt.

puts him in the vein

Makes him inclined.

fifty pounds

This would be a life-changing amount of money for Cratchit, constituting nearly 67 weeks’ pay.

Glee or Catch

A glee is a song for three or more voices, usually unaccompanied. A catch is another term for a round.

execrable

Appalling.

…loved her love to admiration with all the letters of the alphabet.

A reference to a game, in which the first player, starting with the letter A, recites the following, filling in the blanks with words beginning with that letter:

I love my love with an A
Because he/she is [adjective].
I hate him/her because he/she is [another adjective].
I feed him/her on [noun] and [another noun].
His/Her name is [name], and he/she lives in [place].

The next player does the same with the letter B, and so forth.

How, When, and Where

A game in which a player leaves the room, while the remaining players select a word for that player to guess, preferably one with multiple meanings. Let’s use “date” as an example. The guessing player returns and asks each of the other players, “How do you like it?” They might get responses such as, “with flowers” (a romantic appointment), “sleeping in” (a date on a calendar), or “with almonds” (a fruit). After everyone has responded, the questioner asks each player “When do you like it?” and finally “Where do you like it?” At any point, the questioner may attempt to guess the word. When they get it right, the person last questioned becomes the questioner.

…the sharpest needle, best Whitechapel, warranted not to cut in the eye…

Whitechapel was the center of needle-making in England. A needle “warranted not to cut in the eye” was one where the eye was finely drilled and smoothed to eliminate sharp edges, so as not to cut the thread that passed through it. These would have been the highest-quality needles, and which could therefore be expected to have the sharpest points.

Yes and No

A game similar to the modern “Twenty Questions.”

…man in his little brief authority…

Could great men thunder
As Jove himself does, Jove would ne’er be quiet,
For every pelting, petty officer
Would use his heaven for thunder;
Nothing but thunder! Merciful Heaven,
Thou rather with thy sharp and sulphurous bolt
Split’st the unwedgeable and gnarled oak
Than the soft myrtle: but man, proud man,
Drest in a little brief authority,
Most ignorant of what he’s most assured,
His glassy essence, like an angry ape,
Plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven
As make the angels weep; who, with our spleens,
Would all themselves laugh mortal.

Measure for Measure, Act 2, Scene 2

In Measure for Measure, the prideful Angelo rejects Isabella’s pleas to be merciful to her brother, who is slated to be executed. With this reference, Dickens compares Angelo to those who shut out the influence of Ghost of Christmas Present. They may be able to forbid entrance to the Spirit, but their authority is indeed brief. When men die, their earthly authority dies with them, but the Spirit of Christmas is everlasting.

Twelfth Night

A Christian feast celebrating the Epiphany and concluding the Twelve Days of Christmas. It also concludes the life of the current Ghost of Christmas Present.

Ignorance and Want

The two children the Ghost of Christmas Present shows to Scrooge are called Ignorance and Want. The former represents society’s abandonment of the poor, while the latter represents the resulting consequences. Children are guiltless of the evils which bring about Ignorance and Want and yet are the ones that suffer most from it; thus Dickens represents them with a little boy and girl.

Scrooge’s visions of the Cratchit home show his personal involvement with them: his choice to remain ignorant of the family’s plight will result in Tiny Tim’s death from want of nourishment. The Ghost indicates that Ignorance is the greater danger, as without it Want can be overcome. As he states, the doom written on his forehead may be erased.

It is the Ghost of Christmas Present who displays the children to Scrooge rather than the other spirits because it is only in the present that anything can be done. Simply thinking about what has happened in the past or contemplating what you may do about it in the future results in no change; it is present day action that is required.

Ignorance and Want being personified as destitute children was inspired by a visit Dickens made to a school for poor children in London’s East End.

Midnight

The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come arrives at midnight. Some traditions hold midnight to be the “witching hour,” when evil spirits are abroad and at the height of their power.

Annotations

Preface

Stave One: Marley’s Ghost

Stave Two: The First of the Three Spirits

Stave Three: The Second of the Three Spirits

Stave Four: The Last of the Spirits

Stave Five: The End of It

Acknowledgements