ESSAYS ON Charles Dickens’s
ESSAYS ONCharles Dickens’sA CHRISTMAS CAROLPresented by the Students ofEnglish 498Senior SeminarEdited byBrent E. KinserWestern Carolina UniversityCullowheeCoulter Press2010
1Editor’s Note3Charles Dickens: His Life and His Workelizabeth nissly9Great Expectations:The Contemporary Reception ofCharles Dickens’s A Christmas Caroljosh lohse15Charles Dickens the Revolutionary ReaderA Christmas Carol on Stagechris rollins19Avarice as Collary to Fear inCharles Dickens’s A Christmas Carolfrank gammon25They Were the Worst of Times:The Hungry Forties, the Great Depression, andCharles Dickens’s A Christmas Carolandy willhide31Charles Dickens’s Victorian Christmas Carolwhitney fisher
37Charles Dickens, Frank Capra, and A Christmas Carol:The Everlasting Power of Influencemax kath
Editor’s NoteThe students of English 498, the Senior Seminar,were asked in the fall of 2010 to write short, scholarlyarticles in conjunction with a radio production of CharlesDickens’s immortal A Christmas Carol (1843). This broadcast, are-creation of Orson Welles’s 1938 version of the Carol, wasperformed on the evening of 7 December, in the Fine andPerforming Arts Center on the campus of Western CarolinaUniversity in Cullowhee, North Carolina. These essays arethe result of an immense amount of effort on the part of mystudents, and I present the results of their work here with greatpride as both their editor and their professor.ENGL 498 2010
Charles Dickens: His Life and His WorkElizabeth NisslyIn September1860, Charles Dickens set fire to each andevery personal letter he possessed. Dickens had feared thedetails of his private life would soon become public knowledge.In order to prevent this unwanted exposure, he decided hemust dispose of all personal records. As Fred Kaplan explains“[Dickens] had no belief in or commitment to the idea of a publicrecord about private matters. His books would speak for him. Allother voices should be silenced. His art, not his life, was publicproperty” (18). It is entertaining to imagine how Dickens mightfeel if he were alive today. During the last two centuries, therehave been countless books, articles, and websites dedicated tohis work and to his personal life. The always dramatic Dickenswould surely not be disappointed by the attention his life andworks continue to receive. Beyond speculation, it is safe to say thatDickens successfully accomplished what he set out to do, to put somuch of himself into his work that there is no understanding thelife without the works, nor the works without the life.Charles John Huffman Dickens was born on 7 February1812 to John and Elizabeth Dickens. Due to unstable familyconditions, Dickens suffered through a difficult childhoodfilled with worries that far surpassed those of an average boy.Even as a young child, Dickens found comfort and peacethrough the use of his imagination. According to Kaplan,Dickens spent a significant amount of time daydreaming andreading books he found in his father’s study (18–32). WhenDickens was ten years old, he began to make daily trips alongthe Thames to visit his parents’ friends. Kaplan asserts thatrather than showing interest in the large buildings of LondonENGL 498 2010
4E ssaysonA C hristmas C aroland the wealthy inhabitants, these trips to London sparkedDickens’s interest in observing the lives of the underprivileged(36). But Dickens’s interest in members of the poor workingclass was not purely a result of observation. In spite of his morethan moderate income, throughout Dickens’s youth, his father,John, remained deeply in debt. At twelve years of age, whilehis sister Fanny was attending an expensive music academy,Dickens was put to work at Warren’s Blacking Factory, wherehe spent ten hours a day gluing labels on jars of shoe polish inorder to create additional income for his family. Kaplan suggeststhat Dickens suffered both emotionally and physically from theexperience (38–42). Dickens worked longer and harder thanany twelve-year old ever should, and he was left with no timefor normal childhood activities. Still, his experience at thefactory greatly contributed to the man and writer he wouldlater become. Sympathy for children and a constant concernfor the underprivileged dominate most of his fictional writings.A Christmas Carol (1843), Bleak House (1853), and Hard Times(1854), and A Tale of Two Cities (1859) are just a few examplesof Dickens at his best and most socially concerned. Althoughmany of Dickens’s novels and short stories continue to behighly praised, A Christmas Carol has truly captured the heartsof readers and become an immortal piece of literature. It ishere that one finds a shadow of the young Dickens.Dickens created for Scrooge a childhood that greatlyresembled his own, and many of Dickens’s characters arerenditions of his family members and friends. Not only wasScrooge sent off to a boarding school and separated from hisimmediate family as Dickens was, he also had a sister whosename was a near match for Dickens’s own. Scrooge’s sister, Fran,represents Dickens’s sister, Fanny. Fran represents for Scroogewhat Dickens’s own sister represented in his life. Kaplan reportsthat Fran is “the lovely sister-wife who represents the idealwoman and completion of the self” (19). There is no mentionof Scrooge’s mother in A Christmas Carol, and Dickens’s ownrelationship with his mother remained strained throughoutmost of his life. She was the original proponent of sending thetwelve year old Dickens to work, and even after his father wasreleased from prison, Elizabeth forced Dickens to continueworking. He was apparently never able to forgive her for the way
Elizabeth Nissly5she robbed him of his childhood, as Kay Puttock has noticed:“When speaking of his mother, he was prone to add, ‘May Godforgive her’” (3). His sister Fanny provided Dickens with thelove and the affection he needed and desired, attentions hehad never received from his mother. Just as Fanny representedlove in Dickens’s life, Fran symbolizes familial love in Scrooge’slife, and his memory of this relationship plays a significant rolein his redemption.While Dickens enjoyed the large amount of money he earnedas a writer and speaker, he did not allow his wealth to affecthis view of the world or his interactions with others. Dickensbelieved there should be equality amongst people and wasunable to understand how some could be so wealthy while at thesame time others were dying of starvation. According to MichaelRosen, Dickens was interested in showing his readers how thepoor were directly affected by the actions of the wealthy upperclass (44–45). Although viewed by many as a heart-warmingstory of Christmas cheer and happiness, A Christmas Carol is alsovery much a scathing social commentary on Dickens’s time. TheCratchits, who hardly have enough money to feed, to shelter,and to clothe their family, are at the mercy of Scrooge, whountil his transformation remains emotionally removed fromthe troubles of the less fortunate. Rosen argues that insteadof depicting poor members of society as drunks with unwisespending habits, as was common during the 1800s, Dickensshows readers that wealthy people such as Scrooge have much tolearn from the poor (2). Dickens was also an advocate of socialresponsibility. He believed each member of a society should beaware of and concerned for the well-being of others, whetheror not they were personally involved with them. In A ChristmasCarol, Dickens writes, “‘It is required of every man . . . that thespirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, andtravel far and wide; and, if that spirit goes not forth in life, itis condemned to do so after death’” (29–30). Marley’s wordsrepresented Dickens’s own views of personal responsibility.According to Dickens, if people were to go through life onlyconcerned with their own well-being and prosperity, then theywere certain to be punished in the after-life for not living asthey should have. Once again, Dickens’s works offer a clear andilluminating reflection of the author himself.
6E ssaysonA C hristmas C arolAs part of his solution to the problem of the poor, Dickensmaintained a keen interest in education throughout most ofhis life. He believed the only way to fight against poverty wasthrough education. Dickens identifies the twins who travelwith the Ghost of Christmas Present in A Christmas Carol asIgnorance and Want. These two children represent whatDickens felt were the most critical problems facing Britain,and he relates his position through the voice of the Ghost ofChristmas Present: “This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want.Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of allbeware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which isDoom, unless the writing be erased” (Perdue 9). Although hisown formal education was sparse and erratic, Dickens knewthe value of education and recognized literacy’s direct impacton his life. He was an advocate for and the most well-knownsupporter of Ragged Schools, which were designed to provideeducation to those who were financially unstable. While theseschools lacked solid teaching staffs and sufficient materialsneeded for proper education, they offered education to thosewho would have never been able to afford it otherwise. In an1844 speech, Dickens articulated his views on education: “Ifyou would reward honesty, if you would give encouragement togood, if you would stimulate the idle, eradicate evil, or correctwhat is bad, education—comprehensive liberal education—is the one thing needful, and the one effective end” (qtd. inLitvack 1). To Dickens, these schools were the key to keepingchildren from experiencing the difficulties he had faced as achild. Education was also the key to fixing a society that in hisview had all but crumbled to pieces. As he so clearly conveysin A Christmas Carol, Dickens felt that knowledge was the onlyhope for a better society, one that might fulfill its destiny as anagent of Christian goodness.Public readings were another way in which Dickenswas able to bring joy to his readers. Between 1853 and 1870Dickens performed nearly 500 public readings of his works.These readings were one of Dickens’s greatest joys. Insteadof relying on elaborate costumes and props like many otherauthors and actors, Dickens presented most of his workscompletely free of anything but his sparkling personality andpassion for performance. A Christmas Carol was first performed
Elizabeth Nissly7in December 1853 and was amongst Dickens’s favorite piecesto read. According to Tom Viola, Dickens’s performances leftaudiences weeping, laughing, and cheering (6). AlthoughDickens had not originally intended for A Christmas Carol tobe performed onstage, his public readings inspired manyother renditions of this classic tale which have continued tobe produced to this day. During the last onstage performanceof his works, Dickens gave a heart-felt and tearful exit saying,“From these garish lights . . . I vanish now for evermore, with aheartfelt, grateful, respectful, affectionate farewell” (Rosen 8).He was never seen in public again and died three months laterleaving behind a legacy few have managed to equal. Dickensmay have erased some of the details of his life when he lit whatis now known as “the bonfire,” but through the letters thatdo survive and especially in works such as A Christmas Carol,readers still can see an in-depth and personal view of his life.Ultimately, however, it is simply true; understanding Dickensmeans understanding his works. The two are inseparable, justas Dickens had intended them to be.
Great Expectations:The Contemporary Reception ofCharles Dickens’s A Christmas CarolJosh LohseAt the time of its first publication in 1843, a largenumber of contemporary critics seemed already to believethat Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol would becomesome sort of cultural icon, although none of them could havepredicted the extent to which this fate came to pass. Reviewersseemed confident that the Christmas story was astonishingly wellwritten and that it would connect with its audience in a majorway, as Dickens’s work always had, and they were absolutely right.Since its release in 1843, the story of Scrooge and the three spiritshas turned into more than just a popular holiday story; it hasbecome an essential part of Christmas. For example, John Forster,Dickens’s great friend and first biographer, writes about theimmediate success of the book: “Never had a little book an outsetso full of brilliancy of promise. Published but a few days beforeChristmas, it was hailed on every side with enthusiastic greeting.The first edition of six thousand copies was sold the first day” (85).This success proved to be just the beginning for A Christmas Carol,and the great expectations predicted by Forster would be fulfilled,and then some, and on both sides of the Atlantic.In London, most critics found the book delightful, andpraised Dickens for the charming characters he placed in thestory. The novelist William M. Thackeray seemed particularlydelighted by Dickens’s newest work, writing, “Rush to the Strand!And purchase five thousand more copies of the ChristmasCarol!” (qtd. in Dickens 232). Thackeray advised fellow criticsENGL 498 2010
10E ssaysonA C hristmas C arolto keep any negative thoughts to themselves because he feltthe tale would become a widespread public icon; a negativereview could do nothing to hurt the success of Dickens’s storiesin Thackeray’s mind: “No skeptic, no Fraser’s Magazine,—no,not even the godlike and ancient Quarterly itself (venerable,Saturnian, big-wigged dynasty!) could review it down” (qtd. inDickens 231). Similarly, Thomas Hood praises Dickens in theJanuary 1844 edition of his Hood’s Magazine: “It was a blessedinspiration that put such a book into the head of CharlesDickens; a happy inspiration of the heart that warms every page”(qtd. in Dickens 224). In the Morning Chronicle (19 December1843), Charles Mackey commends Dickens’s use of languageand his ability to bring readers through Scrooge’s transitionwithin the story: “All this is given with Mr. Dickens’s peculiarvigour of detail and colouring; until, at last, the affrighted man,upon contemplating his own dark, solitary, unwept gravestone,starts in his sleep and awakes ‘a wiser and a better man.’ Thetransition in the stave first is perfectly charming” (qtd. inDickens 230). Overall, reviewers were pleased with the writingand the characters presented in the tale, and more importantto Dickens perhaps, they encouraged their readers to buy acopy of Dickens’s Christmas story, if for no other reason thanfor the pure delight of reading it.But critics also felt that the story contained more than vividlanguage and likeable characters; the story possessed the powerto change hearts. Mackey, in fact, opens his Morning Chroniclereview with his expectations of the effect that A Christmas Carolmight have. “Mr. Dickens has here produced a most appropriateChristmas offering, and one which, if properly made use of,may yet, we hope, lead to some more valuable result in theapproaching season of merry-making than mere amusement”(qtd. in Dickens 230). Mackey goes on to discuss the importanceof the message contained in Dickens’s story, one centeredaround charity and humility: “A spirit to which selfishness inenjoyment is an inconceivable idea-a spirit that knows wherehappiness can exist, and ought to exist, and will not be happyitself till it has done something towards promoting its growthhere” (qtd. in Dickens 230). By the end of the first paragraph,Mackey calls out his readers, asking them to practice Dickens’smessage in their lives, and to embrace the “Christmas Spirit.”
Josh L ohse11Mackey was not alone in his opinion that A Christmas Carol hadtranscended entertainment. An anonymous reviewer in theinfluential Athenaeum echoes Mackey’s thoughts, writing of thebook’s profound effect on its readers, and suggesting that thestory will undoubtedly bring about change in reader’s hearts:“[A Christmas Carol is] a tale to make the reader laugh and cry—open his hands, and open his heart to charity even towards theuncharitable” (qtd. in Dickens 223).The reviewers were not the only ones to notice theeffectiveness of A Christmas Carol as a vehicle of social conscience.John Forster writes that Dickens was bombarded with lettersfrom happy readers daily. “Such praise expressed what men ofgenius felt and said; but the small volume had other tributesless usual and not less genuine. There poured upon its authordaily, all through that Christmas time, letters from completestrangers to him which I remember reading with a wonder ofpleasure” (89). These letters rarely if ever praised Dickens’suse of language or his character development. For the generalreadership, the Carol was more than a charming book; in itDickens had captured the essence of Christmas. Forster addsthat the letters were “not literary at all, but of the simplestdomestic kind; of which the general burden was to tell him,amid many confidences about their homes, how the Carol hadcome to be read aloud there, and was to be kept upon a littleshelf by itself, and was to do them all no end of good” (89).This view of A Christmas Carol as more than just anothercharming story was to last a very long time. Decades later,Forster looked back on the impact of A Christmas Carol, andthe widespread acceptance the story received following itsrelease: “There was indeed nobody that had not some interestin the message of the Christmas Carol. It told the selfish manto rid himself of selfishness; the just man to make himselfgenerous; and the good-natured man to enlarge the sphere ofhis good nature” (89). By the early twentieth century, criticssuch as Adolphus William Ward were still looking back on thetime, writing that Dickens had stirred up a powerful feelingof “benevolence” and that A Christmas Carol had “never lostits hold upon a public in whom it has called forth Christmasthoughts which do not all centre on ‘holly, mistletoe, redberries, ivy, turkeys, geese, game, poultry, brawn, meat, pigs,
12E ssaysonA C hristmas C arolsausages, oysters, pies, puddings, fruit, and punch’” (60).Now at the beginning of the next century, it is not difficult torecognize that the longevity of this opinion of Dickens’s hasattained immortal status. Christmas would not be the holidaythat it is without A Christmas Carol and its social message ofcharity and good will.Initially, however, the response to A Christmas Carol was notuniversally positive. The reviewer in the New Monthly Magazine,for instance, gave A Christmas Carol some of the highest praiseit received, while at the same time pointing out a large flaw inthe actual packaging of the book: “One thing only it lacks, tomake its power in this respect universal. We have no objectionto its gilt leaves, its gay cover, and its genteel typography butthese form a chevaux-de-frise about it that keeps it from thepoor” (149). Forster also writes about the expensiveness ofDickens’s Christmas stories: “Of course there was no complaintof any want of success: but the truth really was, as to all theChristmas stories issued in this form, that the price charged,while too large for the public addressed by them, was too littleto remunerate their outlay” (87). The cost of the book was asubstantial complaint regarding the first printing of A ChristmasCarol, which Dickens initially had printed in a fine binding thatcreated an expensive price tag. The contradiction between thecost and the message was obvious, especially to Dickens, whodid not make as much money from it as he would have liked.Later editions of the book were constructed with the budget ofmodest households in mind. The resultant lower cost grantedaverage readers access to the tale, and allowed it to reach thewide audience that would ensure its immortality.In addition to the minor and correctable complaints aboutcost, not all of the contemporary reviews of A Christmas Caro
A Christmas Carol (1843), Bleak House (1853), and Hard Times (1854), and A Tale of Two Cities (1859) are just a few examples of dickens at his best and most socially concerned. Although many of dickens’s novels and short stories continue to be highly praised, A Christmas Carol has truly captured the hearts
R.B. Wilkie Collins, Under the Management of Mr. Charles Dickens : His Production of "The Frozen Deep." Edited by Robert Louis Brannan. Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press, 1966. xi, 1973 p. ill. R.L. Robert Langton, The Childhood and Youth of Charles Dickens : With Retrospective Notes and Elucidations From His Books and Letters.
A Christmas Carol By: Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol, Play version adapted by Frederick Gaines This adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol was first produced by the Children's Theatre Company of the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts in November 1968. The script was edited by Linda Walsh Jenkins with the assistance of Carol K .
Comprehension Questions (AO1) Answer in full sentences that make sense on their own. 1. What happened in Dickens childhood in 1824? 2. Who did Dickens help in 1837 and how did he help them? 3. What happened to Dickens 17-year old sister-in-law in 1837? 4. Where did Dickens
ACT 1 PROLOGUE: Mr. Dickens SCENE ONE: Marley’s Ghost SCENE TWO: The First of the Three Spirits ACT II SCENE THREE: The Second of the Three Spirits SCENE FOUR: The Last of the Spirits SCENE FIVE: The End Christmastime, in the City of London (Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843, when he was 31.) .
Dickens lived there for several years, during which time he wrote The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby. Since its opening, the museum has paid tribute to Charles Dickens, both by allowing visitors to learn more information about him, but also by promoting his works to Fig
4. Literature owes some of its most memorable characters to him. 5. Who is not familiar with Ebenezer Scrooge and his “bah, humbug’’? Practice B Replace each italicized word or phrase with an appropriate pronoun. 6. Dickens’s stories reflect Dickens’s own life. 7. Dickens was one of the many child workers of London, so he knew firsthand
The Lamp Lad runs toward Dickens and stops, holding out his hand once more. Lamp Lad Light your way, sir, Light your way, sir For a penny Dickens smiles and laughs, giving the boy a penny from his waistcoat. Dickens Merry Christmas, boy. Lamp Lad God Bless you, Guv’nor May you
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