The Crucial Detail Most People Miss In “A Christmas Carol”
I love Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”.
I have made it a tradition of reading it every December. It’s a short book, so it only takes me a couple hours total, which I break up into several snippets over as many days.
There are also plenty of excellent film adaptations, namely, the 1951 version starring Alistair Sim, the old Disney version with Scrooge McDuck, and the criminally underrated Muppet version.
Honestly, if you tell me you can watch this scene without getting choked up, you’re lying.
I don’t have to go through the plot, since you probably already know it.
Also, mostly everyone knows the point of the story… that Scrooge needs to learn how to stop being such a jerk and be an actual nice person.
And that’s MOSTLY true. But it misses the nuance! It skips over a crucial detail!
Let me explain…
We all know that what kicks off Scrooge’s spiritual journey is a visit by the ghost of his long-deceased business partner, Jacob Marley. Jacob basically tells Scrooge that he had better turn his life around or else Scrooge will end up like him… a tortured soul damned to lurch through eternity laden with the heavy chains which represent the misdeeds he committed in life.
Jacob says that the “common welfare” of man was supposed to be what he focused all his energy on, but he, instead, focused on making money at the expense of others. He says that, in life, his spirit never “roved beyond the narrow limits” of Scrooge’s and his countinghouse. That’s why, in death, he is condemned to constantly travel under the burden of the chains.
“I cannot rest. I cannot stay. I cannot linger anywhere.”
Jacob then shows Scrooge a version of Hell, essentially. Scrooge peers out the window into the streets and sees a multitude of spirits, like Jacob, moaning and dragging chains and iron safes. Scrooge sees a ghost, whom he knew when the ghost was alive, crying while unable to assist a poor woman and child in need.
“The misery with them all was, clearly, that they sought to interfere, for good, in human matters, and had lost the power forever.”
The most important part of that sentence is “interfere, for good, in human matters”.
What Jacob is telling Scrooge, and what most people miss when reading or watching this story, is that Scrooge not only has to BE good, he has to DO good!
If Scrooge just decided to stop being such a dick, that wouldn’t be enough. He had to put his money where his mouth was, as it were, and actually DO things to help other people.
That’s why the Ghost of Christmas Past takes him to Fezziwig’s annual party. The whole point of that scene is to show how easy it is to make a difference in other’s lives. The ghost even remarks that the party hardly cost Fezziwig anything but it caused so much joy for his guests. Fezziwig was proactive with making other people happy.
At the end of the story, after Scrooge has learned the error of his ways, he is shown going around town actually DOING things to make a positive difference.
He pays the boy money to buy the big turkey for Bob. He seeks out the two men who tried collecting charity from him the day prior and pledges an eye-popping sum, which makes up for many years of him stiffing them. He pays a visit to his nephew’s house.
And, crucially, he raises Bob’s salary and promises to help Bob’s struggling family (which he does), which ends up saving Tiny Tim’s life.
It’s a flurry of good deeds!
Scrooge, over only about five pages, makes profound, positive, lasting changes in the lives of those around him. He doesn’t just sit around thinking warm, happy, Christmas-y thoughts… he steps out and acts on them!
“A Christmas Carol” is really about how we all need to get up off our asses and PITCH IN for the betterment of society!
It’s a story about ACTION. It’s a warning against complacency.
Remember, we all have the power to “interfere, for good, in human matters” but many of us don’t. We think we don’t have the time or that we can’t afford it.
Some just don’t want to. They might think that simply BEING good is enough, not realizing that they need to DO good for it to matter.
Simply changing your profile picture, or posting “I stand with (fill in the cause)” on social media doesn’t actually help anyone, regardless of how you feel about it.
Want to help people? Want to make sure you don’t end up like Jacob Marley? Write a check. Swipe your card. Drop a fistful of bills in the bucket. Volunteer your time for worthy causes.
Actually DO something that makes a difference.
While we are on the topic of Scrooge, another thing that isn’t usually fully understood is why Scrooge is such a jerk in the first place.
We actually aren’t given much insight into why that is! But there is one detail given that sheds a little bit of light on Scrooge’s psychology.
Basically, Scrooge is the way he is because he had a shitty dad.
Yup! Scrooge’s dad is the reason why Scrooge eventually needs the great lengths of ghostly intervention to save him from an eternity of torment!
Early in the story, the Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge his own childhood. Scrooge is shown himself as a sad, lonely boy at boarding school who is neglected by his peers. Then, his little sister appears and informs Scrooge that their father has “changed” and will allow Scrooge to come back home.
That’s the only detail we get regarding Scrooge’s home-life. It’s a fleeting moment but it paints a picture of a little boy who doesn’t feel valued by his father. No wonder Scrooge feels the need to constantly make money… he is always searching for more and tries getting it through monetary gain. He never felt valued by the one person who SHOULD have valued him, so he strives for value in external means, namely money.
So, “A Christmas Carol” is also a story about the danger of being a cold, demanding, distant father and the knock-on effects that can have.
So, this Christmas, please make a difference by actually DOING something. The other day, I wished the guy who made my pizza a “Merry Christmas” and he lit up! He responded with a full-throated “Merry Christmas” of his own. He seemed genuinely happy.
Tip more than you normally would. Smile at people on the street. Reach out to someone you haven’t spoken to in ages. Call your mother.
And remember the most important lesson from “A Christmas Carol” which is to make sure you “interfere, for good, in human matters”.
Lastly, my favorite part of the story is when Bob Cratchit sits around drinking gin with his children.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
