A Christmas Carol: Character Quotations

• Ebenezer Scrooge: “What's Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, but not an hour richer” — Ebenezer Scrooge, Stave 1
• Key word or phrase to memorise:  “paying bills without money”

  What the quotation means:

  Scrooge tells his nephew that Christmas is not a happy time for him as it is costly and leaves him poorer each year, mainly because he has to pay wages without any return

  Theme: Poverty
• • Dickens immediately introduces Scrooge as mean and miserable:
  • This is highlighted by contrasting Scrooge’s response to Fred’s cheerful and charitable characteristics
  • Scrooge’s list highlights his focus on money at a time that is meant to celebrate kindness:
  • He therefore places ultimate importance on money and wealth
  • Dickens illustrates the irony that Scrooge does not recognise his affluent position:
  • His presentation of a greedy employer draws attention to inequalities in Victorian England through his treatment of his employee, Bob Cratchit
• “No more. I don't wish to see it. Show me no more!” — Ebenezer Scrooge, Stave 2
• Key word or phrase to memorise:  “no more"

  What the quotation means:

  Scrooge instructs The Ghost of Christmas Past to take him away from the vision of Belle and to not show him any more visions of the past because they remind him of what he has lost

  Theme: Transformation and redemption
• • Dickens builds sympathy for his protagonist by showing Scrooge’s sensitive side when he returns to his past
  • However, Scrooge is still resistant to facing his “shadows”, and the spirit has to force him to observe further
  • Scrooge’s repeated exclamatory commands show that he still believes he is the one in control, and that he can command others to do his bidding
• “‘Spirit,’ said Scrooge submissively, ‘conduct me where you will. I went forth last night on compulsion, and I learnt a lesson which is working now.’”  — Ebenezer Scrooge, Stave 3
• Key word or phrase to memorise:  “conduct me where you will”

  What the quotation means:

  Where before Scrooge instructed The Ghost of Christmas Past to “conduct” him home, he asks The Ghost of Christmas Present to “conduct” him anywhere that he wants him to go, suggesting that he is more willing to continue his journey

  Theme: Transformation and redemption
• • By the arrival of The Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge has changed significantly:
  • His tone is more submissive, suggesting humility and respect for the spirits
  • His willingness to hand himself over to the spirit depicts a dramatic change:
  • The juxtaposition of “compulsion” and “conduct me where you will” highlights the change from his being forced to go, to his compliance
• Bob Cratchit

  “I'll give you Mr Scrooge, the Founder of the Feast!” — Bob Cratchit, Stave 3
• Key word or phrase to memorise:   “Founder of the Feast!”

  What the quotation means:

  The Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge to the Cratchit family’s Christmas dinner, where Bob raises a toast to him and thanks him for providing their meal

  Theme: Family and relationships
• • Dickens presents a positive portrayal of Bob, Scrooge’s poorly-treated clerk:
  • Although he works hard to provide for his family for hardly any wages, he credits Scrooge as the provider of the family’s income
  • Bob’s characterisation as charitable and forgiving contradicts Scrooge’s view of the “idle” poor
  • Bob’s magnanimous nature is further highlighted by Mrs Cratchit, who is less keen to toast the “stingy” Scrooge
  • Dickens’ character, Bob, represents the impoverished families of Victorian England:
  • His loving family is one of the reasons Scrooge alters his course
  • Dickens is suggesting that family and connection are more important than wealth 
• “I know, my dears, that when we recollect how patient and how mild he was, although he was a little, little child, we shall not quarrel easily among ourselves, and forget poor Tiny Tim in doing it” — Bob Cratchit, Stave 4
• Key word or phrase to memorise:  “patient” and “mild” 

  What the quotation means: Bob Cratchit reminds his family that the death of the kind and stoic Tiny Tim offers them a reminder to be kind to one another, as a tribute to him

  Theme: Death and loss
• • Dickens depicts Bob’s family coming together after Tiny Tim’s death
  • Here, Dickens alludes to religious representations of Tiny Tim:
  • His character represents innocence and purity, such as in “little child”
  • The adjectives “patient” and “mild” allude to biblical references about gentleness 
  • This implies that Tiny Tim is like a saint sent to earth to teach moral lessons  
• “He broke down all at once. He couldn't help it. ‘I am very sorry, sir. I am behind my time.’” — Bob Cratchit, Stave 5
• Key word or phrase to memorise:  “very sorry” 

   

  What the quotation means: Bob pleads with Scrooge to forgive him for being late for work the day after Christmas Day

  Theme: Poverty
• • Dickens illustrates the importance of family, and the circumstances of the impoverished:
  • Bob apologises that “making rather merry” with his family made him late
  • Still, Bob’s desperate plea implies he is aware of and scared of the potential repercussions
  • It also portrays Bob as honest and remorseful when he is wrong
  • Nevertheless, this is a scene in which Dickens has created dramatic irony:
  • Readers know Scrooge is a changed man, and this lightens the scene
• The Ghost of Christmas Past: “‘What!’ exclaimed the Ghost, ‘would you so soon put out, with worldly hands, the light I give?’” — The Ghost of Christmas Past, Stave 2
• Key word or phrase to memorise:   “the light I give” 

   

  What the quotation means: The Ghost of Christmas Present impatiently asks Scrooge why he, a human, wants to extinguish the flame of enlightenment that appears from its head

  Theme: Transformation and redemption
• • The first spirit explains that the visit is for Scrooge’s “reclamation” and “welfare” 
  • Dickens uses light imagery in connection with this spirit:
  • The spirit refers to the “light” that glows from his head, representing Scrooge’s enlightenment, and it is also associated with hope
• “‘Your lip is trembling,’ said the Ghost. ‘And what is that upon your cheek?’” —The Ghost of Christmas Past, Stave 2 Key word or phrase to memorise:  “Your lip is trembling”

   

  What the quotation means: The Ghost of Christmas Past notices that Scrooge becomes emotional when he sees visions from his childhood and asks him if he is crying

  Theme: Transformation and redemption
• • Dickens portrays the first step of Scrooge’s transformation:
  • The journey to his past stirs his emotions, showing his hidden vulnerability and humanity
  • The spirit identifies his reaction to help Scrooge in his self-reflection:
  • The first spirit is a forceful reminder to Scrooge to face his choices and take responsibility for his actions
• “‘I told you these were shadows of the things that have been,’ said the Ghost. ‘That they are what they are, do not blame me!’” — The Ghost of Christmas Past, Stave 2
• Key word or phrase to memorise:  “do not blame me!” 

   

  What the quotation means: The Ghost of Christmas Past becomes frustrated with Scrooge’s requests to leave the visions he is shown of Belle, and tells him it is not his fault what Scrooge sees in the “shadows” of the past

  Theme: Family and relationships
• • Dickens presents the idea of personal responsibility:
  • The spirit is forcing Scrooge to face up to his past and the decisions he made
  • The Ghost of Christmas Past tries to make  Scrooge reflect, but he attempts to avoid it:
  • When he sees the outcome of past relationships he is told it is his fault
  • The spirit makes him accountable by refusing to take the “blame”
• The Ghost of Christmas Present: “‘I see a vacant seat,’ replied the Ghost, ‘in the poor chimney-corner, and a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved. If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die.’” — The Ghost of Christmas Present, Stave 3
• Key word or phrase to memorise:  “unaltered by the Future”

   

  What the quotation means: The Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge to see the warmth of the Cratchit family Christmas, but warns him that Tiny Tim is unlikely to be there next year as he is too frail to live unless something changes

  Theme: Poverty
• • Dickens paints a sympathetic portrait of Tiny Tim to criticise a society without a social care system
  • When the ghost humanises Tiny Tim, Scrooge is upset to hear of his potential death
  • Here, the ghost makes Scrooge face the consequences of his selfish greed:
  • He warns that the only hope for Tiny Tim is to change the “Future”
• “Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased” — The Ghost of Christmas Present, Stave 3
• Key word or phrase to memorise:   “Beware” and “Doom” 

   

  What the quotation means: The spirit’s sinister children, “Ignorance” and “Want”, serve as a warning to Scrooge that, unless he and others like him do not pay heed, the future will consist of similar children dying due to their poverty and society’s ignorance

  Theme: Poverty
• • The novella advises Victorian society to invest in children as they represent the future 
  • The children, “Ignorance” and “Want”, represent Dickens’ ideas that poverty leads to an endless cycle of crime and suffering:
  • The urgency of Dickens’ warning is conveyed by the imperative “Beware” and the capitalisation of “Doom”
• “‘There are some upon this earth of yours,’ returned the Spirit, ‘who lay claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name.’” —The Ghost of Christmas Present, Stave 3
• Key word or phrase to memorise: “in our name” 

   

  What the quotation means: The Ghost of Christmas Present refers to a group of symbolic spirits and says that they see human beings justifying their immoral, uncharitable or unkind behaviour by saying it is in the “name” of religion or spirituality

  Theme: Transformation and redemption
• • Dickens’ novella makes several references to the principles of Christianity
  • The spirit tells Scrooge that he belongs to a group who observe humans:
  • The ghost’s rhetoric is a severe judgement on those who behave poorly in the name of spirituality or religion 
  • This line may allude to Dickens’ concerns about Victorian perceptions of morality: 
  • He criticises individuals who say they are religious without behaving that way, especially regarding charity