Theme of supernatural

• • During the Victorian era, the Gothic genre began to permeate literature.
  • This encompassed supernatural themes which were particularly popular at the time.
  • It is often said that the Victorian era was a 'golden age' for these gothic and supernatural motifs, a trend which Dickens avidly explored.
  • The beliefs and authority of The Church greatly influenced public perception of the supernatural.
  • The theme is split into two different categories:
  • ideas which follow the teachings of The Bible (these were permitted) or
  • ideas which contradict the Word of God (these were labelled as sinful).
• • The Ghost of Christmas Past:

  • show both Scrooge and the reader the actions which have led up to Scrooge becoming the man he is.
  • Dickens presents the Ghost to be a personification of the past, which is reflected in his appearance.
  • "like a child: yet not so like a child as like an old man".
• Ghost of christmas present:

  • the Spirit's true supernatural property is not his religious significance but his ability to spread joy.

  Dickens reveals that the Ghost "sprinkled incense" on the food that people were eating, causing their "humours" to be "restored directly"
• • Marley's Ghost:

  • things that Marley created in his life become the things which keep him trapped in the afterlife.
  • This has a didactic purpose as Dickens is trying to illustrate to the reader, through supernatural means, that the way they live their lives dictates their eternal resting place.
• Fred's goodness can be seen as supernatural as he is unchanging.

  • lots of imagery of light to describe Fred.
  • He arrives at scrooges "all in a glow*,the light that surrounds him
  • suggestive of his goodness and the Christmas spirit within him.
  • "eyes sparkled".
  • This mirrors the Ghost of Xmas present who has a "sparking eye"
  • to symbolise Christmas Spirit and the positive light that comes from it.
  • Biblical allusion "the light of the world".
  • Ghost and Fred have a sparkle suggests that they are of similar nature, attributing a supernatural quality to Fred.
• Tiny Tim:

  • The little boy is filled with an almost supernatural spirit.
  • This is highlighted when the narrator asserts that Tiny Tim's "childish essence was from God".
  • a child-like spirit is the foundation of Christmas Spirit.
  • Dickens reinforces this through the character of Scrooge.
  • In the final stave, when Scrooge is filled with Christmas spirit, he says that he is "as merry as a school-boy".
  • This same instruction aligns with Biblical people must be ”like a child" to inherit the kingdom of God.