Belle

• "another idol has displaced me... a golden one" - S2


  This shows how Scrooge has allowed his love of money to overtake his heart, and that has changed him from the good man he once was and how he is overcome with avaricious and ravenous.
• "Gain engrosses you" - S2


  • Belle is critical of Scrooge for his love of money and complains that is he no longer the person that, when they got together.
  • Belle criticises Scrooge for the morals and ambitions he once had fallen away as his desire for wealth has consumed him.
  • 'Gain' has connotations of money and earnings and this suggests that Scrooge is fueled by earning money even if he doesn't have a family.
• • Belle, Scrooge's former fiancée, is introduced to the reader in Stave Two of the novella. The Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge to see the final moments of his relationship with her. Her character is used to show the effects of Scrooge's fixation with money. She refers to their relationship as an "unprofitable dream", illustrating Scrooge's obsession with the financial gain of his relationships. Dickens does, however, make it clear that Scrooge was not always like this. Belle says that their marriage contract was made when they were "both poor and content to be so" mirroring the change in Scrooge's attitude. This gives the reader hope, as it reveals that Scrooge was not always this way and so can hopefully return back to his former self. Furthermore, it emphasises that greed and "gain" detrimentally altered Scrooge's personality. This ties closely into the Ghost of Christmas Present's warning that Scrooge should "beware" of 'want'.
• Dickens also explores the theme of family through Belle's character. When Scrooge sees her with her children he wonders what it would have been like to have children who "might have called him father". This causes his sight to grow "very dim indeed", suggesting that he has started to cry. This is a significant display of emotion as it highlights how deeply Scrooge is affected by regret. It could be said that this directly contributes to Scrooge's transformation as these powerful emotions illustrate the error of his ways.
• "Another idol has displaced me...A golden one".


  The word "idol" is an interesting choice from Dickens due to its connotations. An idol is often associated with a god-like figure that people worship, illustrating the extent of Scrooge's fixation with money.
• "Can even I believe that you would choose a dowerless girl"


  Dickens uses a lexical field of money and gain during his descriptions of Scrooge and Belle, exemplified here by the adjective "dowerless". This is significant as it shows Scrooge's misanthropic and miserly attitude. It shows the reader that Scrooge does not hold any meaningful relationships with people as he looks at things through a financial viewpoint.
• "Show me no more! Conduct me home. Why do you delight to torture me?"


  This is significant as it epitomises Scrooge's regret. Dickens uses emotive language, referring to the situation as "torture", which effectively conveys the powerful emotions that Scrooge is feeling.