Belle

• “Another idol has displaced me… a golden one.”

  • Metaphor “idol”: Belle compares money to a religious object of worship, showing how Scrooge treats wealth as more important than love or human connection
  • Adjective “golden”: Symbolises wealth and greed — Belle’s tone is bitter but calm, showing disappointment rather than anger
  • Verb “displaced”: Suggests she’s been pushed aside — there’s a deep sadness in how love has been replaced by materialism
  • Effect: Dickens uses religious imagery and contrast to show how Scrooge’s obsession with money has corrupted his values
• “You fear the world too much.”

  • Direct accusation “fear”: Belle points out that Scrooge’s decisions are driven by anxiety and insecurity, not love
  • Generalised noun “the world”: Suggests all of society — Scrooge’s fear isn’t just personal but a reflection of his distrust of people and life itself
  • Tone: Calm but cutting — Belle speaks with truth and clarity, making her a moral voice in Scrooge’s past
  • Effect: Dickens uses Belle’s words to expose Scrooge’s emotional weakness and misplaced priorities
• “I release you. With a full heart, for the love of him you once were.”

  • Verb “release”: Suggests Belle is freeing Scrooge, even though it causes her pain — an act of emotional maturity and strength
  • Phrase “the love of him you once were”: Implies that Scrooge has changed so much he is no longer the same man — a powerful reminder of how greed can corrupt identity
  • Tone: Forgiving but firm — Belle lets go with grace, not bitterness
  • Effect: Dickens uses Belle to show what Scrooge has lost, and how far he’s fallen from who he used to be
• “She left him, and they parted.”

  • Simple, blunt sentence: Lacks emotion on the surface, which makes the moment more painful — Dickens often uses understatement for emotional weight
  • Verb “parted”: Formal and distant — the emotional closeness has dissolved into detachment
  • Passive tone “she left him”: Suggests inevitability — Scrooge’s choices have led to this silent, permanent loss
  • Effect: Dickens shows how Scrooge’s emotional coldness leads to loneliness
  • The plainness of the language mirrors the emotional emptiness left behind