Wednesday
is a definitive Dickensian dodransbicentennial, for it marks 175 years since A Christmas
Carol was published.
The
tiny tale of how Tiny Tim won a miser’s seemingly unwinnable compassion holds
up in self-explanatory manners. While it modestly weighs in between 28,000 and
29,000 words, A Christmas Carol packs
droves of quotable expressions. From the pre-reformation Ebenezer Scrooge’s
callous comments to Tiny Tim’s generous prayer, those too require no primers.
The
downside to that: Charles Dickens’ narrating alter-ego boasts a bevy of
highlights himself, but these tend to be overshadowed. This is especially true
in the first of the story’s five staves.
The
first 11 paragraphs are devoid of dialogue. All characters cease to speak again
for the stave’s final seven paragraphs. From there, Scrooge, the Ghosts of
Christmas and the visions in their respective staves break up the virtual
silence more.
Conversely,
Dickens takes much of Stave One to set a tone, both for his audience and his
main character. In accordance with that variety, he dishes up a few humorous
visuals without losing focus on the setting’s dingy reality.
Before
Jacob Marley’s heads-up kicks in, the Christmas
Carol narrator keeps us engaged and a few steps ahead of Scrooge. The
following 10 descriptive narration lines typify the novella’s solid
foundational portrait that is Stave One.
10. “…conscious of
a terrible sensation to which it had been a stranger from infancy…”
Between
the sneak peek and the full-fledged phantom, Scrooge tries to convince himself
there is no supernatural presence. But the narrator’s biographical angle lets
us see through his wobbly wall of denial.
And
because Scrooge is, at best, an antihero, we can take satisfaction in
foreseeing reality before he uncomfortably arrives there.
9. “External heat
and cold had little influence on Scrooge.”
With
this line and the passage it introduces, the two basic definitions of cold-blooded crop up in curious contrast.
Scrooge
naturally fits the more metaphorical meaning with his unwavering misanthrophy.
The vibe he emits with his attitude clouds the fact that, unlike real reptiles,
he feels no impact from fluctuating air.
Yet
because his approach even encourages seeing-eye dogs to steer their owners
away, it is plain the locals see Scrooge as a different animal. With sparse
exceptions, he could all but be a male Medusa, he is so off-putting.
8. “…you might
have got a hearse up that staircase…and done it easy.”
Step
by step, the narrator illustrates the waste of space that are Scrooge’s digs.
In this portion, he injects a touch of comic relief, as the hypothetical visual
accentuates the absurdity. The building could theoretically handle much chaos,
yet barely anything ever stirs there (for now).
All
of the unoccupied rooms and darkened hallways typify Scrooge’s penuriousness
and its effects. For all of the money and property he has at his disposal, he
makes scant use of it for himself, let alone others.
7. “The ancient tower
of a church, whose gruff old bell was always peeping slily down at Scrooge…”
Despite
coming off his defeat of two donation collectors, Scrooge can barely escape
seasonal symbols. With an overcast, the naggingly lofty building of worship near
his office may go out of site at times. But with its sounds, it does not stay
out of mind.
The
narrator’s choice of simile, “as if its teeth were chattering,” connects the
bells with the destitute. But their periodic ringing intervals are clearly not
enough to sway Scrooge. As such, a more forthright intervention will be
required to instill any proper Christmas spirit.
6. “There were
Cains and Abels…swallowed up the whole.”
If
the neighboring church cannot grip Scrooge, a familiar face will.
Eight
biblical individuals or groups of figures adorn his dwelling’s Dutch-designed
fireplace. Yet, as Dickens establishes in this vivid scene, their seniority and
strength in numbers cannot suppress Marley’s impending ghost.
After
desperately dismissing it with his trademark interjection, Scrooge will spend
another three nonspeaking paragraphs in denial. But any levelheaded bystander
looking in from the outside knows better. There is an extraordinary apparition,
one immune to all diversion and deflection, at hand.
5. “…taking off
the bandage round its head, as if it were too warm to wear in-doors…”
This
passage highlights a lengthy sentence affirming one of Marley’s great contrasts
with Scrooge. One man feels the elements in death more than his ex-associate
does in life.
Six
paragraphs earlier, the narrator makes the same point by describing the Ghost
as “agitated as by the hot vapour from an oven.” This despite the
well-established coldness of his old residence, as kept by Scrooge.
Whatever
the source of the heat is, one party will soon demonstrate his brimming
sensitivity versus the other’s lacking.
4. “…it must have
run there when it was a young house…and have forgotten the way out again.”
Had
Monty Python done a Christmas Carol
adaptation, this would have been Terry Gilliam’s moment.
In
the second of 13 nearly-silent paragraphs taking us from Scrooge’s workplace to
his residence, Dickens wastes no time scene-setting. While the house is
superficially forlorn, the joking theory about it keeps the mood appropriately
light. Scrooge has a long way to go before he can earn anyone’s full-fledged
sympathy.
3. “…Scrooge had
as little of what is called fancy about him as any man in the City of London…”
Give
this narrative more advanced technology, and Dickens would be stopping the tape
at this point. Before presenting Marley’s likeness in the door knocker, he offers
a detailed heads-up on this vision’s unusual nature.
Besides
Scrooge’s lack of imagination, the paragraph reaffirms that Marley was not
heavily on his mind that day. As such, this initial apparition must be anything
but a hallucination.
That
notwithstanding, when the Ghost follows up by appearing inside and in full,
Scrooge tries passing it off as a digestive side effect. Having gotten to know
him as well as we have, however, we see the desperation and futility in his
theory. Debunking an explanation after he built it up that high creates more
room for a profound character transformation.
2. “…the Ward
would have been justified in indicting it for a nuisance.”
Is
this the first step in Scrooge’s conversion? Earlier that fateful Christmas
Eve, he had wished imprisonment on the living poor. Now the narrator hints he
deems it appropriate for his old partner.
Then
again, this is a polar opposite of the Marley he had always known. Seven years
before these events, Scrooge would likely never have thought what the narrator
suggests.
Then
again, the reason the Ghost howls is because he is a condemned spirit. Clearly
not wanting to become what he shudders at, Scrooge may wish Marley gone and
still accept the three visitations.
1. “Scrooge
resumed his labours with an improved opinion of himself…”
An
especially quotable dialogue sequence has culminated in the portly charity
collectors’ surrender. As he retakes the floor, the narrator adds another layer
to Scrooge’s unthinkably icy dimension.
But
describing the aftermath of the conversation serves an additional purpose, one
that packs a fitting dose of delayed gratification. As appalling as Scrooge’s
pride in driving the gentlemen away on Christmas Eve is, the overnight
conversion and payoff will be that much sweeter for it.
Then
and only then can anyone agree that he does, in fact, have any “improved
opinion.”
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