Ebenezer Scrooge

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This article is about a fictional character in A Christmas Carol. For other uses, see Scrooge.

Ebenezer Scrooge
Marley's Ghost-John Leech, 1843.jpg
Scrooge encounters "Jacob Marley's ghost"
Created byCharles Dickens
Portrayed bysee below
GenderMale
OccupationBusinessman[a]
Relatives
  • Fanny or Fan (late sister)
  • Fred (nephew)

Ebenezer Scrooge (/ˌɛbɪˈniːzər ˈskruːdʒ/) is the protagonist of Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol. At the beginning of the novella, Scrooge is a cold-hearted miser who despises Christmas. The tale of his redemption by three spirits (the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come) has become a defining tale of the Christmas holiday in the English-speaking world.

Dickens describes Scrooge thus early in the story: "The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice." Towards the end of the novella, the three spirits show Scrooge the error of his ways, and he becomes a better, more generous man.

Scrooge's last name has come into the English language as a byword for stinginess and misanthropy, while his catchphrase, "Bah! Humbug!" is often used to express disgust with many modern Christmas traditions.

Description[]

Charles Dickens describes Scrooge as "a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint,... secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster." He does business from a Cornhill warehouse and is known among the merchants of the Royal Exchange as a man of good credit. Despite having considerable personal wealth, he underpays his clerk Bob Cratchit and hounds his debtors relentlessly while living cheaply and joylessly in the chambers of his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley. Most of all, he detests Christmas, which he associates with reckless spending. When two men approach him on Christmas Eve for a donation to charity, he sneers that the poor should avail themselves of the treadmill or the workhouses, or else die to reduce the surplus population. He also refuses his nephew Fred's invitation to Christmas dinner and denounces him as a fool for celebrating Christmas.

That night, Scrooge is visited by Marley's ghost, who is condemned to walk the world forever bound in chains as punishment for his greed and inhumanity in life. Marley tells Scrooge that he will be visited by three spirits hoping that he will mend his ways; if he does not, Marley warns, Scrooge will wear even heavier chains than his in the afterlife.

The Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge visions of his early life. These visions establish that Scrooge's unloving father placed him in a boarding school, where at Christmas-time, he remained alone while his schoolmates returned home to their families. When his beloved sister Fan came to take him home one Christmas, this became Scrooge's one happy childhood memory. She later died after giving birth to Fred. Scrooge then apprenticed at the warehouse of a jovial and generous master, Mr. Fezziwig. He fell in love with a young woman named Belle and proposed marriage, but gradually his love for Belle was overwhelmed by his love for money. Belle realised this and, saddened by his greed, left him one Christmas, eventually marrying another man. The present-day Scrooge reacts to these memories with a mixture of nostalgia and deep regret.

Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present[b]
Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come [c]

The Ghost of Christmas Present arrives next. It shows Scrooge that his greed and selfishness have hurt others as well, particularly Cratchit, who cannot afford to provide his desperately ill son Tiny Tim with medical treatment because of Scrooge's miserliness. The Spirit tells a horrified Scrooge that Tiny Tim will die within a year, and throws Scrooge's own heartless words about the poor and destitute back in his face.

Finally, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows Scrooge where his greed and selfishness will lead: a lonely death, unpaid servants stealing his belongings, debtors relieved at his passing, and the Cratchit family devastated by the loss of Tiny Tim.

Scrooge asks the spirit if this future can still be changed, but the spirit does not reply. Scrooge begs the spirit for another chance, promising to change his ways – and wakes up in his bed on Christmas Day. Overjoyed, Scrooge commits to being more generous and compassionate; he accepts his nephew's invitation to Christmas dinner, provides for Cratchit and his family, and donates to the charity fund.

In the end, he becomes known as the embodiment of the Christmas spirit and as a “second father” to Tiny Tim.

Origins[]

Several theories have been put forward as to where Dickens got the inspiration for the character.

  • Ebenezer Scroggie, a merchant from Edinburgh who won a catering contract for King George IV's visit to Scotland. He was buried in Canongate Kirkyard, with a gravestone that is now lost. The theory is that Dickens noticed the gravestone that described Scroggie as being a "meal man" (corn merchant) but misread it as "mean man."[1][2] This theory has been described as "a probable Dickens hoax" for which "[n]o one could find any corroborating evidence".[3]
  • It has been suggested that he chose the name Ebenezer ("stone (of) help") to reflect the help given to Scrooge to change his life.[4][5]
  • Commentators have suggested that the surname was partly inspired by the word "scrouge", meaning "crowd" or "squeeze".[5][6][7] The word was in use from 1820.[8]
  • Another is that the minor character Gabriel Grub from The Pickwick Papers was worked up into a more mature characterization (his name stemming from an infamous Dutch miser, Gabriel de Graaf).[9][10]
  • Jemmy Wood, owner of the Gloucester Old Bank and possibly Britain's first millionaire, was nationally renowned for his stinginess, and may have been another model for Scrooge.[11]
  • The man whom Dickens eventually mentions in his letters[12] and who strongly resembles the character portrayed by Dickens' illustrator, John Leech, was a noted British eccentric and miser named John Elwes (1714–1789).

Kelly writes that Scrooge may have been influenced by Dickens' conflicting feelings for his father, whom he loved and demonised. This psychological conflict may be responsible for the two radically different Scrooges in the tale—one a cold, stingy recluse, the other a benevolent, loving man.[13] Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, a professor of English literature, considers that in the opening part of the book portraying young Scrooge's lonely and unhappy childhood, and his aspiration to rise from poverty to riches "is something of a self-parody of Dickens's fears about himself"; the post-transformation parts of the book are how Dickens optimistically sees himself.[14]

  • One school of thought is that Dickens based Scrooge's views on the poor on those of demographer and political economist Thomas Malthus, as evidenced by his callous attitude towards the "surplus population".[15][16] And the Union workhouses? ... The treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?" are a reflection of a sarcastic question raised by the reactionary philosopher Thomas Carlyle: "Are there not treadmills, gibbets; even hospitals, poor-rates, New Poor-Law?"[17][d]

There are literary precursors for Scrooge in Dickens's own works. Peter Ackroyd, Dickens's biographer, sees similarities between Scrooge and the title character of Martin Chuzzlewit, although the latter is "a more fantastic image" than the former; Ackroyd observes that Chuzzlewit's transformation to a charitable man is parallel to that of Scrooge.[19] Douglas-Fairhurst sees that the minor character Gabriel Grub from The Pickwick Papers was also an influence when creating Scrooge.[20][e]

In other media[]

  • In the 2007 DreamWorks Animation television holiday special Shrek the Halls, after Shrek tells Donkey to go, Donkey responds by telling Shrek to go and "have yourself a Merry Christmas, Ebenezer Shrek!" and Shrek replies "And a 'Bah, humbug' to you too!".

Portrayals[]

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Scrooge's type of business is not directly stated in the original work. Contemporary adaptations often depict him as a money-lender, but also as a mercantile executive (1951) or commodity trader (1984) .
  2. ^ Illustration by John Leech (1843)
  3. ^ original illustration by John Leech (1843)
  4. ^ Carlyle's original question was written in his 1840 work Chartism.[18]
  5. ^ Grub's name came from a 19th century Dutch miser, Gabriel de Graaf, a morose gravedigger.[21]

References[]

  1. ^ "Revealed: the Scot who inspired Dickens' Scrooge". The Scotsman. 24 December 2004. Retrieved 14 January 2020. Details of Scroggie’s life are sparse, but he was a vintner as well as a corn merchant.
  2. ^ "BBC Arts – That Ebenezer geezer... who was the real Scrooge?". BBC. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  3. ^ Pelling, Rowan (7 February 2014). "Mr Punch is still knocking them dead after 350 years". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  4. ^ Kincaid, Cheryl Anne (2009). Hearing the Gospel through Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" (2 ed.). Cambridge, England: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 7–8. ISBN 978-1443817981. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Pearson, Richard (9 December 2014). "Why did Charles Dickens invent Scrooge?". The Independent. Retrieved 30 November 2020. Scrooge is also a real word. Spelled slightly differently, 'scrouge' 'scrowge' or 'scroodge' is an old word meaning to squeeze someone, to encroach on their space, making them feel uncomfortable...
  6. ^ Cereno, Benito (14 December 2018). "The real man who inspired Ebenezer Scrooge". Grunge.com. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  7. ^ "Definition of SCROUGE". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Why did Charles Dickens choose the name Ebenezer Scrooge?". www.londonguidedwalks.co.uk. Retrieved 30 November 2020. The word is also a blend of ‘scrouge’ the verb to squeeze or to press, used 1820–1830 (itself being a blend of crew and bruise) and gouge...
  9. ^ "Real-life Scrooge was Dutch gravedigger". United Press International. 25 December 2007. Archived from the original on 27 December 2007.
  10. ^ Alleyn, Richard (26 December 2007). "Fake Scrooge 'was Dutch gravedigger'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 December 2008.
  11. ^ Silence, Rebecca (2015). Gloucester History Tour. Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 40.
  12. ^ Dickens, Charles (1999). "Letter to George Holsworth, 18 January 1865". In House, Madeline; Storey, Graham; Brown, Margaret; Tillotson, Kathleen (eds.). The Letters of Charles Dickens. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. p. 7.
  13. ^ Kelly 2003, p. 14.
  14. ^ Douglas-Fairhurst 2006, p. xix.
  15. ^ Elwell, Frank W. (2 November 2001). "Reclaiming Malthus". Rogers State University. Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  16. ^ Nasar, Sylvia (2011). Grand pursuit : the story of economic genius (1st Simon & Schuster hardcover ed.). New York City: Simon & Schuster. pp. 3–10. ISBN 978-0-684-87298-8.
  17. ^ Douglas-Fairhurst 2006, p. xiii.
  18. ^ Carlyle 1840, p. 32.
  19. ^ Ackroyd 1990, p. 409.
  20. ^ Douglas-Fairhurst 2006, p. xviii; Alleyne 2007.
  21. ^ Alleyne 2007.
  22. ^ Fleming, Michael. "Jim Carrey set for 'Christmas Carol': Zemeckis directing Dickens adaptation", Variety, 2007-07-06. Retrieved on 2007-09-11.
  23. ^ "Doctor Who Christmas Special – A Christmas Carol". Retrieved 22 November 2010.
  24. ^ "Christmas Day". Radio Times. 347 (4520): 174. December 2010.
  25. ^ "BBC Radio 4 – Saturday Drama, A Christmas Carol". BBC.
  26. ^ Heymont, George (29 January 2016). "Rule Britannia!". Huffington Post. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  27. ^ "From Charles Dickens to Michael Caine, here are the five best Scrooges". The Independent. 19 December 2018.

Citations[]

  • Ackroyd, Peter (1990). Dickens. London: Sinclair-Stevenson. ISBN 978-1-85619-000-8.
  • Alleyne, Richard (24 December 2007). "Real Scrooge 'was Dutch gravedigger'". The Daily Telegraph.
  • Carlyle, Thomas (1840). Chartism. London: J. Fraser. OCLC 247585901.
  • DeVito, Carlo (2014). Inventing Scrooge (Kindle ed.). Kennebunkport, ME: Cider Mill Press. ISBN 978-1-60433-555-2.
  • Dickens, Charles (1843). A Christmas Carol. London: Chapman and Hall. OCLC 181675592.
  • Douglas-Fairhurst, Robert (2006). "Introduction". In Dickens, Charles (ed.). A Christmas Carol and other Christmas Books. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. vii–xxix. ISBN 978-0-19-920474-8.
  • Elwell, Frank W. (2 November 2001). "Reclaiming Malthus". Rogers State University. Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  • Gordon, Alexander (2008). "Elwes, John (1714–1789)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/8776. Retrieved 13 January 2016. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
  • Jordan, John O. (2001). The Cambridge Companion to Charles Dickens. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-66964-1.
  • Kelly, Richard Michael (2003). "Introduction". In Dickens, Charles (ed.). A Christmas Carol. Ontario: Broadway Press. pp. 9–30. ISBN 978-1-55111-476-7.
  • Sillence, Rebecca (2015). Gloucester History Tour. Stroud, Glos: Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4456-4859-0.

External links[]

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