A Christmas Carol Key Theme: Transformation and Redemption

• Transformation and redemption timeline

  The theme of transformation and redemption in A Christmas Carol:

  
• How is transformation and redemption presented in A Christmas Carol?

  Transformation and redemption are presented in A Christmas Carol through the structure of the novella, as well as through the ghosts, other characters and descriptions of the setting:

  • The novella’s structure: Dickens structures the novella into five staves, like the traditional form of a Christmas carol, suggesting the ultimate message will be redemptive:
  • Each stave highlights an aspect of Scrooge’s journey to redemption and salvation, building tension and suspense
  • The ghosts: Starting with the ghost of Jacob Marley, the catalyst for Scrooge’s transformative journey, Dickens uses each of the 3 spirits for a specific purpose:
  • The Ghost of Christmas Past represents memory, truth and the hope for change
• • The Ghost of Christmas Present conveys the message of generosity and goodwill
  • The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come represents fear of death and the moral reckoning that awaits Scrooge unless he changes his ways
• • Scrooge’s changed interactions: Dickens uses a cyclical structure to show how Scrooge’s relationships with other characters change from Stave 1 to Stave 5 to reflect his transformation:
  • In Stave 1, Scrooge dismisses the charity collectors, but in Stave 5 he runs after the charity collector to make his payment, including “many back-payments”
  • After rejecting Fred’s Christmas invitation in Stave 1, he eventually does spend Christmas day with his family in Stave 5 
  • Scrooge also goes from being a cause of misery to Bob and his family to being their benefactor and saviour at the end of the novella
• • Descriptions of the weather: Dickens also uses pathetic fallacy to symbolise Scrooge’s transformation:   
  • In Stave 1, Dickens conveys the cold and gloomy atmosphere of Victorian London, describing the weather as “cold, bleak, biting…”
  • But in Stave 5, there is “no fog, no mist” and the sky is “clear, bright, jovial” and filled with “golden sunlight”
  • The descriptions of the weather reflect Scrooge’s transformed character, from having “cold within him” which “froze his features” to being described as “fluttered and so glowing with his good intentions”
• Why is transformation and redemption a key theme in A Christmas Carol?

  1.  The importance of change 

  • Dickens presents the importance of change as part of his wider social message to inspire his readers to work for a more equitable and fair society: 
  • Despite being unsympathetic and resistant to change, if change is possible even for Scrooge, it is possible for anyone 
  • The novella is deliberately didactic (intended to teach) and allegorical (containing a moral or hidden meaning)
• 2. Christian and pagan values 

  • To emphasise the universality of the themes in the novella, Dickens alludes to Christian ideals of charity and redemption throughout:
  • Scrooge is a “sinner” to be saved; the ghosts work to redeem from his vice of greed 
  • Jacob Marley is described as being doomed to wander the earth in his chains, which indicates he exists in a state of purgatory 
  • Dickens also draws on pagan ideas, such as the torch held by the Ghost of Christmas Present, symbolic of the Horn of Plenty from classical mythology
  • His views on redemption go beyond the Christian church, as he criticised some religious practices (such as the keeping of Sunday as a strict day of rest) which affected the poor the most