MASARYK UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH L A N G U A G E
A N D LITERATURE
Capitalism, Christian Compassion and
Redemption in Modern Adaptations of Charles
Dickens' Christmas Carol
Bachelor Thesis
Brno 2015
Supervisor:
Mgr. Jaroslav Izavčuk
Author:
Radek Kučera
Declaration
"I hereby declare that I have worked on this thesis on my own and that the information I used
has been fully acknowledged in the text and included in the list of reference."
Brno, 28 March 2015
Radek Kučera
Acknowledgement
I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Mgr. Jaroslav Izavcuk for his support
and helpful guidance, and to my brother for being encouraging and supportive of my efforts.
Abstract
The aim of this work is to compare and analyse modern movie adaptations of the book A
Christmas Carol In Prose Being a Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens in order to
determine how faithful they are to the original in their depiction of characteristic Victorian
and Christian themes present in the story: capitalism, Christian compassion and redemption.
To this end, the author will provide a number of selected illustrative extracts from the movies
and the book to ascertain the level of accuracy of the adaptations and identify possible
differences in modern approach to the themes in question. Each theme will be covered in a
separate chapter alongside with other related information that will ensure proper
understanding of possible differences in newer adaptations, such as relevant facts about the
state of society Dickens' lived in and his motivation behind including certain themes in his
work. The modern adaptations used for this work will include primarily these movies: A
Christmas Carol (1951), A Christmas Carol (1984), A Christmas Carol (1999), A Christmas
Carol (2009).
Anotace
Cílem této práce je analýza a porovnání moderních filmových adaptací knihy Vánoční koleda
od Charlese Dickense za účelem určení toho, do jaké míry jsou typické motivy související
s viktoriánskou érou a křesťanstvím, jmenovitě: kapitalismus, křesťanský soucit a vykoupení
vykresleny s ohledem k původnímu příběhu. Za tímto účelem autor poskytuje řadu vybraných
úryvků z knihy a filmů, které slouží ke stanovení míry přesnosti adaptací a odhalují možné
odlišnosti v přístupu moderních adaptací k výše zmíněným motivům. Jednotlivými motivy se
zabývají oddělené kapitoly, sloužící k zajištění správného pochopení rozdílů v moderních
adaptacích a je poskytnut další kontext, jako motivace autora a nezbytné informace o
společnosti, ve které žil. Filmy použité pro účely této práce : A Christmas Carol (1951), A
Christmas Carol (1984), A Christmas Carol (1999), A Christmas Carol (2009)
Keywords
Capitalism, Christmas, Christianity, Victorian era, films, modern adaptation, redemption,
Scrooge
Klíčová slova
Kapitalismus, Vánoce, křesťanství, viktoriánské období, filmy, moderní adaptace, vykoupení,
Scrooge
Contents
1 Introduction 6
2 Capitalism - analysis of the original story 7
2.1 Capitalism moderated by kindness 7
2.2 The true face of avarice - physiognomy and capitalism 9
2.3 Commercialization of Christmas 10
2.4 The importance of personal responsibility 11
3 Capitalism in film adaptations of A Christmas Carol - analysis and
comparison 12
3.1 Capitalism moderated by kindness 12
3.2 The true face of avarice - physiognomy and capitalism 14
3.3 Commercialization of Christmas 17
3.4 The importance of personal responsibility 19
4 Christian compassion - analysis of the original story 20
4.1 Dickens's Christmas Carol and Ebenezer's faith 20
4.2 Compassionate Fred 22
4.3 Church and compassion 24
5 Christian compassion in film adaptations of A Christmas Carol - analysis
and comparison 25
5.1 Dickens's Christmas Carol and Ebenezer's faith 25
5.2 Compassionate Fred 28
5.3 Church and compassion 29
6 Redemption - analysis of the original story 31
6.1 The use of pathetic fallacy 31
6.2 Marley as a messenger of redemption 32
6.3 Ebenezer's earlier years 34
6.4 Shame, regrets, and empathy as means of redemption 34
7 Redemption in film adaptations of A Christmas Carol - analysis and
comparison 35
7.1 The use of pathetic fallacy 35
7.2 Marley as a messenger of redemption 37
7.3 Ebenezer's earlier years 40
7.4 Shame, regrets, and empathy as means of redemption 43
8 Conclusion 45
5
1 Introduction
With the nineteenth century invention of television many directors took it on themselves
to convert various classics of literature to the silver screen. In doing so, they made the
works of numerous literary giants accessible to a wider audience, and in the process, every
now and then, offered a fresh outlook and understanding of such works. The adaptation of
any novel, however, inevitably comes with many issues and hard choices. The end product
might be heavily influenced by current social atmosphere, director's, or screenwriter's personal
convictions, misinterpretations,or unawareness and as a result the original message
may be lost.
The main aim of the thesis is to compare and analyse modern films adaptations of the
book A Christmas Carol In Prose Being a Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens in
order to determine how faithful they are to the original in their depiction of characteristic
Victorian and Christian themes present in the story: capitalism, Christian compassion and
redemption. To this end, the thesis provides analyses of the aforementioned themes from
the original book and its cinematic adaptations accompanied by detailed comparisons
serving to establish their level of accuracy.
Dickensian works pertaining to serious social maladies, such as poverty, or exploitation
of workers, are notoriously difficult to capture in a film. Limited by the budget, time
frame, actors, length of the film, and other factors, every adaptation creates its own
version of the classic. There are a number of detailed books and papers on film adaptation
of Dickensian works, including A Christmas Carol, yet a more complex analysis, tracing
back the evolution of the story as it had been converted into adaptations in a multitude of
different eras is still to be found. In this bachelor thesis, I'd like to supply such analysis,
using mainly the comparative approach to examine the main themes, namely Capitalism,
Christian Compassion and Redemption , as well as any symbolism related to them, and
pinpoint possible issues or inadequacies of modern versions derived from the original story.
The thesis is divided into eight main chapters. Chapter 1 is the introduction outlining
the layout, methods and aims of the thesis, and establishing the nomenclature I will use
in the following chapters. The second chapter serves as an introduction into first main
theme of the story, Capitalism, with the main goal of establishing the context necessary
for proper understanding of the work, such as author's probable approach, attitude, aim
and motivation behind the inclusion of the themes in A Christmas Carol. The following
chapter, number three, is devoted to the analysis and comparison of the films' portrayal of
the aforementioned theme with regard to fidelity to the message and means of expression
of the original. Accuracy, and possible impact on viewers' interpretations of the story are
examined in this chapter as well. In a fashion similar to Chapter 2, Chapter 4 presents
the reader with an analysis of the motive of Christian Compassion, and is followed by
comparison of film adaptations in Chapter 5. Subsequently, the motive of Redemption is
6
analysed in Chapter 6, and its depiction in the films compared in Chapter 7, which follows.
The last chapter of the thesis, number 8, is devoted to presentation of the conclusions
resulting from the analyses and comparisons.
The films selected for the purposes of the thesis are A Christmas Carol (1951) by
Brian Desmond Hurst, A Christmas Carol (1984) by Clive Donner, A Christmas Carol
(1999) by David Hugh Jones, and A Christmas Carol (2009) by Robert Zemeckis. In the
thesis, they are referred to as Hurst's Carol, Donner's Carol, Jones' Carol, and Zemeckis'
Carol, respectively. In examining the themes of Capitalism, Christian Compassion and
Redemption, I aim to reveal and analyse the issues directors and screenwriters of the
adaptations in question had to face when adapting one of the most successful, fascinating,
and timeless classics by Charles Dickens, The Christmas Carol and speculate on the
effectiveness and accuracy of their retelling of the story.
2 Capitalism - analysis of the original story
2.1 Capitalism moderated by kindness
The theme of capitalism ranks among the most prominent in A Christmas Carol along
with social criticism and divine morality. Yet, according to many Dickensian scholars, the
reasons for its inclusion and the aim with which it was employed are often misunderstood.
It is commonly argued that the anti-capitalistic attitude that is supposedly to be found
in A Christmas Carol and other works is a result of Dickens' first brush with the cruel
side of capitalism unrestrained by labour parties and common human kindness.
Charles Huffman Dickens, born 1812, was a feeble, weak child unfit to take part in
any sports with his peers. His education was often neglected due to the family constantly
on the move. In 1824 the Dickens family was transferred to the Marshalsea Prison for
debtors on account of their inability meet their financial obligations. Charles, aged 12,
was forced to demean himself by working at Warren's Blacking Factory to repay the debt
of his family (Marzials 13). The shame and disgrace he endured during this period, which
marked a key moment in the development of his character, profoundly influenced his
subsequent writing. It might be argued that the traumatic experience of having to work
at the factory was a blessing in disguise as it was presumably on account of this ordeal
that he developed deep sympathy for the downtrodden and endeavoured to correct the
injustices they were forced to suffer. As Marzials states, it was only in his later life that
Dickens spoke on this subject:
"My whole nature," he says, "was so penetrated with grief and humiliation, ...
that even now, famous and caressed and happy, I often forget in my dreams that I
have a dear wife and children; even that I am a man, and wander desolately back
to that time of my life" (19).
7
Dickens, having himself been through the dreadful experience of being overworked, underpaid,
disrespected and mistreated by the factory owner understood the need for restrain
of capitalism. The main character of A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge, was conceived
to illustrate the perfect epitome of heartless capitalist. It is important to notice
that while Scrooge himself is described in a most unflattering manner both physically,
having shrivelled cheek, stiffened gait, evil red eyes, thin lips blue and a grating voice and
mentally, being covetous, old sinner, hard and sharp as flint, secretive, self-contained, and
solitary as an oyster it is not the fact that he is affluent that is ever directly criticized.
As Isaacs correctly points out in her article A Christmas Carol: A Capitalistic Story,
"Dickens never condemns capitalism, decries the success of business owners, nor
denounces the trading by which they amassed their wealth. The only criticism
Dickens makes... is that Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley were not generous in
their earned success."
Another important matter regarding aspects of the story connected to capitalism is the
fact that Dickens chose to describe two supposedly rich and prosperous characters in a
very favourable, endearing way. In Stave II, we are introduced to a local owner of a
warehouse Mr. Fezziwig, who once had been Scrooge's employer. He is a jolly, light
hearted character, with everything about him worth liking. His "comfortable, oily, rich,
fat, jovial voice", his "wonderful agility", and even his dancing are exalted and described
as bringing a positive light from his calves, shining like a moon. The positive influence of
this character, practising moderate capitalism restrained by kindness to his employees, is
so immense that even Scrooge in his almost misanthropic state of mind still holds certain
affection towards him and stands up for him and praises his generosity when the Spirit
of the Christmas Past tries to belittle his kind deeds.
The second presumably well-off capitalist who makes a brief appearance in the story
is Fred, Scrooge's nephew. Although the true extent of his wealth is difficult to determine
from the book, we know that he owns a house in the city with house maids, which was quite
costly during the Victorian era, and he extends his financial support to Cratchit's family
whom he hardly knows. Similarly to Fezziwig he is presented as a very happy, handsome
man, loved by his friends and wife. As opposed to Scrooge, he does not accumulate wealth
at every cost for the sake of accumulation only but uses it to make himself and others
happy. Scrooge's inability to use money for anything else than furthering his profit is,
in fact, what Fred ridicules in Stave III when he says, "His wealth is of no use to him.
He don't do any good with it. He don't make himself comfortable with it...Who suffers
by his ill whims. Himself, always". This clue along with several others, such as frugality
about food, clothing, coal is of vital importance as it establishes Scrooge as an archetypal
miser, who denies everyone, including himself, any sort of bodily comfort.
8
2.2 The true face of avarice - physiognomy and capitalism
The early Victorian period (1830-1848), that later came to be known as "Time of Troubles",
was a time of dire economic distress. The poverty rose, unemployment peaked, riots
and hunger were ever-present, and the rift between the social classes became as prominent
as it had not been in years. Dickens, similarly to many sympathizers of Chartist movement,
identified the laissez faire policies passed by the government as culprits. A staunch
proponent of what could be considered "capitalism with a human face" in modern terms,
Dickens strove to include a clear-cut message in A Christmas Carol that would allow the
readers to see the connection between the unfavourable situation at the time and the unrestrained
form of capitalism, one unregulated by any kindness and charity whatsoever,
leading to corruption of human soul and mind. Moreover, Dickens aimed to illustrate
the direct effect of such practices, which, given enough time, turn common people into
unfeeling survivalists incapable of empathy as they had no other options. To this end
Dickens utilises pathetic fallacy, transforming the inner corruption of the characters onto
their physical appearance. In the book, there two most salient episodes illustrating the
inner corruption of minds by capitalism both of which are located in the fourth Stave of
the story.
In order to see the critical approach toward irresponsible businessmen Dickens held,
we have to skip to Stave IV, in which Scrooge is visiting the Exchange to learn more about
one of his possible futures. The businessmen he encounters have several characteristics in
common. Their physical appearance is hideous and vile. The particular features ascribed
to them are such that society finds highly unattractive whether it be body fat coupled with
"monstrous chin" or red face adorned by "a pendulous excrescence" on the end of one's
nose. Such conspicuous outward blemishes are employed in order to highlight the inner
corruption of their minds and souls. In other words, by describing the scene in this manner,
Dickens established a link between the physical appearance of the businessmen and their
characters. This literary technique, based around the belief in credulity of physiognomy
- scientific theory claiming one can accurately assess character of a person based solely
on their appearance — was widely popular among 18th and 19th century writers (Porter
492). Taking this into account, it is hardly surprising to hear the businessmen talk about
the dead person without any hint of sympathy, feeling, or even decency.
Subsequent episode in a one of the poverty-stricken districts of the city, in which three
lower class individuals laundress, chairwoman, and undertaker meet at a local pawnshop
is of vital importance as it serves the purpose of directly illustrating the impact of unrestricted
capitalism on the poor masses. We can detect the physiognomy in the way
Dickens describes the occupants of the district as half-naked, drunken, slipshod, ugly. A
perfect match for the environment of straggling streets reeking of "crime, filth, and misery"
the unfavourable economic conditions and lack of upper class' interest reduced them
9
to live in. The link between their hideous appearance and corruption of mind, set only
on survival, is put on display when they begin to unceremoniously producing the items
they took from a dead man's body, whom we later find out to be Scrooge. Some of the
possessions such as blankets and shirt were stripped before the burial right off his cold
corpse. The trio of thieves do not feel badly about the deceased, they disparage him and
justify their action by agreeing that what they did they did because they have the right
to take care of themselves.
2.3 Commercialization of Christmas
Though Dickens' distaste for laissez faire capitalism, based around the idea of as much
freedom for the traders and as little intervention and regulation by the government, can
be well established from works such as Hard Times or Bleak House, his attitude towards
consumer capitalism and commercialization, in general, is somewhat more difficult to determine.
Paroissien claims that Dickens, disgusted by the approach of American audience,
who treated him as a "global media star", grew weary of the American overcommercialized
model, he deemed distasteful (154). The fact remains, however, that while vehemently
critical of more "aggressive and assertive forms" of commercialism, Dickens had no objection
to its restricted form as can be further supported by his frequent use of advertising
techniques to boost the sales of his books (Andrews 44).
In the III Stave of A Christmas Carol, we can find one of the most noticeable affirmation
of consumerism in the story. As the Ghost of Christmas Present leads Scrooge
through the streets of London, they enter a local marketplace. So far Scrooge, although
being protagonist of the story, was only passive, affected participant of the events from
his memory. Such events had been replayed for him in order to lead him to important
personal realizations and reappraisal of his value system. Due to their status of representation
only, objects around prevented him from fully acknowledging their presence and,
similarly, they did not acknowledge him in any way because he was merely a spectator.
Since the vision in marketplace is of present time, their status has been altered and
they have the power to affect Scrooge in a way highly typical of consumer capitalistic
society advertising. They are "winking from their shelves" at the customers, making
people's mouths water as they pass, and some are "urgently entreating and beseeching
to be carried home in paper bags and eaten after dinner." Jaffe's explanation for the use
personification in this manner is as follows, "Visual representation inscribes the spectator
as absence or lack and, in their fullness, these images emphasize that lack. But the relation
between spectator and image is reversed, as these commodities call out to the spectator
to complete them." The reversal of roles thus turns Scrooge into a common member of
consumer-based society, who affected by advertising seeks to supplement his desire to be
made whole by acquisition of material property.
10
In Scrooge's case, however, it could be argued that the feeling of lack or unwholesomeness
was not only created by him being a member of society, which is based around
the idea of amassing possessions, but by the fact that he is still only a projection in this
vision, void of any material body and unable to touch or affect the world around him.
Whatever the case may be, the practices of consumerism and commercialization, which
are so closely linked to modern capitalistic societies, are depicted in very flattering,complimentary
terms here rather than being condemned, leaving the viewer with the notion
that such practices during Christmas time are not only tolerable but desirable.
2.4 The importance of personal responsibility
In addition to presenting the readers with two positive models of capitalistic behaviour,
and one negative, Dickens uses the Christmas Carol to explore one of the popular rationales
for not practising personal kindness and generosity towards the less fortune, the
"taxation superseding generosity fallacy" (Isaacs). The fallacy in question is based around
the rationale that one need not dispense money on charities and programs to help the
poor because he or she is already paying taxes and it is solely the responsibility of the
state to take care of the needy. Such line of reasoning was somewhat commonplace among
upper social orders of Victorian society. At the time when A Christmas Carol was written
the 1834 system of relief known as Poor Law Amendment Act was still in place. The act
effectively cut off most relief to the poor and to deter those who would abuse the help,
the conditions in newly established workhouses were set to be worse then at any private
company.
Witnessing the dire conditions in which the poor lived and the ubiquitous social upheaval
stemming from the government's solution, Dickens included extremely explicit
messages condemning the system as well as those who would shirk their social responsibility
to aid the needy. In Stave I of the Christmas Carol, Scrooge argues that while The
Treadmill and Union workhouses are operational he has done enough to help the poor
and need not give any money on charity. The Treadmill, a large wheel with spokes on
which prisoners trod to rotate an axle to crush grain or pump water, is often considered
torture by today's standards due to the laborious nature of the work and high risks of
injury.
Later, mainly in the third Stave of the book, Scrooge's original attitude toward the
poor is used to shame him into seeing that the fact that he is a capitalist and a tax payer
is not necessarily enough to clear his conscience of his social responsibility to help those
who are worse off. To illustrate how happiness and cheerful compassionate atmosphere of
Christmas can ease the plight of the poor Dickens includes several examples. The examples
from Stave III talk of the joy miners in their homes, sailors at sea, lighthouse guards,
people in almshouses, hospitals and jails experience and compassion for one another they
11
feel at that time of year. All of these examples illustrate the inherent good, which can
be found in everyone, despite their being condemned or frowned upon by society's higher
classes. The most prominent representation of innocence in the story, the downtrodden
character of Tiny Tim, who is just a child, serves as Dickens' way of indicting the ruling
classes by revealing the effects of their wilful reluctance to aid them and their support of
a system that above all punishes instead of helping the poor integrate into the society.
The whole process Dickens thought Victorian society must go through in order to be
fixed can be easily identified in Christmas Carol. The story opens with Scrooge, who
argues for nothing less than death of those who are, in his eyes, of no benefit to society.
As the story progresses and Scrooge is indicted, he firstly begins to care for the child
which is evident from his pleading for Tim's life in Stave III, and later accepting the
responsibility fully and offering Tiny Tim both financial and emotional support, which
lead to him becoming his "second father". In a word, A Christmas Carol does not condemn
capitalism in favour of other systems, as Pike puts it, "He [Dickens] was not calling for
state intervention, nor for economic regulations. Instead, he argued on behalf of personal
philanthropy. In the end, Scrooge helps Tiny Tim not because of socialist ideals, but
because his humanity is reawakened, causing him to care for this child" (Pike).
3 Capitalism in film adaptations of A Christmas Carol
- analysis and comparison
3.1 Capitalism moderated by kindness
The positive way in which Dickens portrayed his role model capitalist Fezziwig remains
virtually unchanged and is well reflected within all the modern adaptations of Christmas
Carol. It is only in Zemeckis' version that the importance of Fezziwig is somewhat lesson
as the dialogue between Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Past has been omitted in
the scene. As a result much of the original context is missing and most importantly
Scrooge never acknowledges the importance Fezziwig's kindness and generosity once had
on his life by defending him against the Ghost's dispariging remarks. Furthermore, the
fact that even Scrooge recognized the benefits of Fezziwig's restrained capitalism is lost in
this rendition altogether, leaving us simply with a scene from happier times of Scrooge's
past instead of presenting an alternative, more altruistic model of running a capitalistic
business,which would differ from the one Scrooge currently employs.
In Hurst's Carol the issue of Industrial Revolution, which is not explicitly alluded to in
the original, is examined in several added scenes. One of most notable expansions to the
original story is the introduction of a new character, Mr Jorkin. Jorkin, an unscrupulous
industrialist, is a disdainful, ruthless businessmen who pursues profit maximization at all
costs. Such character traits are in stark contrast to Scrooge's old employer, Mr Fezziwig
12
who runs his warehouse in a more humane way, restraining certain aspects of capitalism.
Displaying attitudes many businessman of Victorian era possessed, Jorkin tries to
convince Fezziwig to sell his company. He claims that the era of small business owners is
over and the future lies with the industrialization. Fezziwig concedes to the notion,but still
refuses to abandon the way of life he knows and loves. To him, business is not simply about
money, but rather about service provided, happy customers, and family-like atmosphere.
Scrooge at first disagrees with the cold attitude of making money off someone else's backs,
but when Fezziwig is forced out of business, and he becomes clerk in Jorkin's company his
values undergo a gradual shift. After years of working for Jorkin he internalizes Jorkin's
unscrupulous attitude and uses what he learnt to slyly seize the company by manipulating
the company's board.
This is not entirely in line with the original, which does not in any way intimate that
Scrooge's wealth has been amassed though the use of illegal activities, in this case fraud
and coercion, but rather let the reader presuppose that Scrooge found legal ways and
loopholes, which in the absence of more organized labour unions might not be that hard,
and used them to exploit his employees and trading partners. By contrast, the cunning
use of free market to capitalize on other people's desperation is reflected accuratelly in
Donner's version, as it adds a scene revolving around Scrooge's wise manipulation the
market to increase the price of corn for the poor. It is only in Hurst's version that
Scrooge could be considered border-line criminal instead of a mere ruthless, exploitative
capitalist who uses the system to his advantage.
As the story develops we fully understand the corrupting influence Jorkin had on
both Scrooge and Marley. Whereas Fezziwig compromised his firm's profitability with his
concern for his employees, Scrooge and Marley run their firm simply and purely in a way
ensuring it to reach the maximum profits possible while remaining competitive and not
failing (Brenkert 93).
Notwithstanding that the original offers comparatively little insight into how Marley
and Scrooge run their firm, and established it in the first place, Hurst's attempt to expand
on the Dickensian message of caution provied us with more substantial comparison. In
line with Dickens' sentiments expressed in many of his works, most prominently in Hard
Times, we learn about the dangerous breed of businessmen connected to the onset of
industrialization. Jorkin, similarly to Mr Bounderby from Hard Times, is driven by greed
and does not shy from exploiting others to attain his own selfish goals at the expense
of others. By adding the character of Jorkin, and delving into the issue of Industrial
Revolution, the film managed to smoothly incorporate ideas of social responsibility related
to the new era as expressed by Dickens, for instance, in his Birmingham speech in which he
cautioned "for it surely cannot be allowed that those who labour day by day, surrounded
by machinery, shall be permitted to degenerate into machines themselves, but, on the
contrary, they should assert their common origin from their Creator, at the hands of
13
those who are responsible and thinking men" (Dickens, Speeches Literary And Social 30).
Another interesting fact worth examining is that, true to the original story, Hurst
decided to include a scene of Scrooge having his "melancholy dinner" at his usual "melancholy
pub". While in the book, no particular details are given as to Scrooge's eating
habits, in the film he asks a waiter for bread, and when told that the bread costs extra,
he sullenly declines. It is only in this version out the four chosen for analysis in which any
attention is given to the mention of melancholy dinner from the book. In fact, Donner's
version, by contrast, presents Scrooge as a corpulent man, with complete disregard for
the original, which depicted him as an archetypal miser, who denied himself everything
that was costly, including food. Jones' and Zemeckis' renditions respect the original in
this regard and present Scrooge as being frugal with his meals. A possible explanation for
why Hurst decided to include the scene might be found in his background and the target
audience of the film.
Despite the fact that Britain had emerged victorious from the Second World War,
the country, lead by Labour government, was in dire financial situation. Although the
US provided a loan of $4.34bn to help the British economy, the end of Lend-Lease Act,
under which Britain received free food, materials, and oil, left the country struggling.
To compensate for the sudden shortage, many rationing policies had to be renewed and
made even stricter than during the war. As a result even basic foodstuff, including
bread, which was rationed from 1946 to 1948, were deemed valuable. It was not until
1950s that food staples such as meat, bacon, cheese, and fat were officially de-rationed
(Zweiniger-Bargielowska 213 - 215).
Hurst, an Irish veteran of The Great War, who worked for Ministry of Information
creating propaganda films during the WWII, was well aware of the harsh rationing situations
Britain faced in the post-war times. Though the bread was no longer a restricted
commodity in 1951, the year the Christmas Carol was released, the memory of the past
years before was still fresh in the mind of the public. The previous state of affairs, coupled
with the fact that other rationing policies were still in place, made the scene of an old
man denying bread on account of its cost rather relatable and worth including in the film.
Considering the profound changes Hurst and Donner made to to the original, and
Zemeckis' unfaithful depiction of Fezziwig, it is Jones' version that resembles Dickens'
Christmas Carol the most both in depiction of the capitalistic protagonists and scarcity
of information pertaining to Scrooge's business past.
3.2 The true face of avarice - physiognomy and capitalism
Although the use of physiognomy is included in some way or another in all the modern
adaptations of Christmas Carol, some of the directors present it in a way incongruous
with the original. Donner's approach, in particular, neglects certain aspects of the story,
14
leaving us with a depiction of capitalism dissimilar to the original. This can be illustrated
via one of the added scenes in his version.
Following the heated conversation with his nephew, Scrooge decides to visit the Royal
Exchange. In the book, the Exchange is not introduced until the Stave IV, with the
exception of it being mentioned at the very beginning. By showing us Scrooge's second
home, a workplace where he conducts his affairs when he is not at his office, Donner
provides us with an opportunity to gain insight into Scrooge's character. After a brisk
walk among cheery Christmas shoppers, during which Scrooge angrily uses his walking
stick to clear the way, he arrives at the Exchange. He is immediately approached by
three businessmen who anxiously ask him whether he has changed his mind. From the
subsequent exchange we learn that Scrooge is in possession of corn, which the gentlemen
desire to buy so that they can help to feed the poor. Not caring that the high price
he is demanding for his corn will render their plan impossible and the poor will suffer
as a result, he is unwilling to bargain. Futhermore, he threatens that should they wait,
he will increase the price even further. After some deliberation, the three businessmen,
reluctantly and with disgust, accept his unfair proposal while he smirks, delighted with
his shrewd business abilities.
As established in Subchapter 2.2, one of the techniques Dickens used to reveal the
hideousness of mind corrupt by capitalism was directly linking it to the outward physical
appearance of those who are corrupt. It is due to this use of physiognomy that the
businessmen from the original are described as vile, hideous and physically repulsive.
This is well reflected in Zemeckis' Carol, in which the businessmen are overweight and
suffer from a skin condition, which renders their faces red.
By contrast, Jones' version neglect the original and presents the viewer with a trio of a
bit stout but ,in general, ordinarily and healthy looking men in suits. The businessmen in
Donner's version differ even more significantly to the ones depicted in the original story.
Out of the three gentlemen, only one is corpulent. Although all of them are well-dressed in
a red, green, and brown overcoat, with cravats and top hats typical of the era, none of their
clothes is ostentatious or overly lavish. The book describes businessmen at the Exchange
hustling around with "great golden seals" for everyone to see, in Donner's adaptation the
most luxurious items the three businessmen carry are pocket watches attached to thin
golden chains. Furthermore, their faces are clear, without any noticeable blemishes on
them, and all are of rather common, everyday exterior, void of any oddly shaped parts
of face or deformities altogether. As dissimilar as they are to the businessmen from the
original in physical appearance, they are even more different in character. They show
compassion toward the less fortunate, and are indignant by the ruthless, cruel disregard
for fellow humans and lack of empathy Scrooge displays. In essence, they might be
thought of as similar to Scrooge's old employer Mr Fezziwig, who is introduced in the
Second Stave. Dickens uses the character to present the readers with an epitome of
15
kind, generous, restricted capitalist, who finds balance between making profit and never
losing sight of the importance of practising charity and empathy towards others. This is a
serious deviation from the original on Donner's part as it neglects to assert the connection
between capitalism in its unrestricted form and its detrimental effects on human mind
and body Dickens aimed to caution his readers against.
While the use of physiognomy as means of pointing out the negative effects of overly
capitalistic society is present in all the films, as the scene in Joe's pawnshop has not been
omitted from any of them, there are certain liberties the directors, Hurst in particular,
have taken. In Hurst's rendition of the story, we can see several children in Joe's pawnshop.
Clothed only in ragged tatters and looking sickly, they toil for the Old Joe, sorting various
pieces of clothing and items. Although the book alludes to the shop as being dingy den
with piles of iron scrap, rags bottles, and assorment of other discarded items, there s no
mention of any children being exploited for work in this chapter, or in fact, any other
chapter of the book.
There might be a good reason behind the addition of the scene. Despite the fact that
the situation in post war Britain was slowly taking turn for the better in 1951, the problem
of child labour was somewhat renewed as a result of the dire economic situation. As
Mclvor reported, "During the Depression in the 1930s and in the immediate post-war years
some form of paid work before leaving school remained the norm for working-class kids and
the exploitation of child and youth workers was widespread" (37). Since Brian Desmond
Hurst, at the time living in the UK, was no stranger to difficult conditions, coming from a
working-class family, he was sympathetic to the plight of numerous post-war child orphans
and children of the poor forced to work in abysmal conditions, which is, in all likelihood,
why he decided to add the issue of child labour into his version of the story.
The addition of criticism of child labour is inarguably within the lines of the original
ideas, such as leniency and kindness toward the poor, instead of exploitation, A Christmas
Carol promotes. Furthermore, considering Dickens' adversity toward child labour, which
can be easily established from his other works and articles he wrote for various journals,
one can infer that the problem of child exploitation Hurst decided to draw attention towards
by adding the scene, is one Dicken's considered of the utmost importance, although
he did not include it directly in the original.
Donner's and Zemeckis' adaptations follow the original more closely, but introduce
certain changes as well. Among the biggest of them is the change of Scrooge's attitude
towards capitalism. While in the book Scrooge's reaction upon seeing the chairwoman,
laundress, and undertaker sell the dead man's possessions is horror, detestation and disgust,
all of which are highly indicative of the advanced state of mind capable of empathy
and compassion for someone he does not know, in both films Scrooge's primary reaction
is anger. Zemeckis' Scrooge threatens to fire his chairwoman while Donner's cries that he
will have her brought before the magistrate and imprisoned. Moreover, in both films the
16
directors deviated from the original premise of Scrooge, after being confronted with his
past and presence, finally feeling sympathy for a complete stranger and chose to replace it
with him being angry with the trio of robbers for stealing his things. As a result the scene
does not reflect any progression of Scrooge's journey to redemption, but rather reiterates
the fact that he is still the same miser he was at the outset of the story.
Jones' version, by comparison, stick closely to the original, depicting Scrooge as being
horrified and disgusted by the behaviour of the lower class thieves. The trio displays
the same disregard and disrespect, but Jones drives the point of the poor being forced
into this kind of depraved acts even further by adding a religious aspect to the scene
as well. As Mrs Dilbert contemplates her loot, she peers at the floor and seems to be
ashamed by what she was forced to do to survive. When the laundress subsequently
proclaims that they all know they are helping themselves by this, she feels the need to
defend herself by stating that robbing the dead man for personal gain "is not a sin". The
fact that the chairwoman tries to justify acting against God's commandments and her
personal views by such statement represents an interesting choice, considering that it is
in this version that Scrooge is rather blatant about his atheism. The scene effectively
puts in contrast Scrooge's wilful adherence to the unrestrained capitalistic system, his
cruelty driven profit maximization and disregard for others and the disregard of the poor
for other human beings, which was not,as in Scrooge's case,their personal choice but was
forced upon them solely by necessity and in spite of their religious principles they would
strive to follow if they could.
3.3 Commercialization of Christmas
As mentioned in the previous chapter of the thesis, in Stave III of the Christmas Carol
Dickens dedicates a page-long passage to a detailed description of goods at a local marketplace.
The way in which the items and their profound effects on Scrooge and other
bypassers are described with highest exaltation inevitably leads every reader to the conclusion
that Dickens must have been highly appreciative of commercialization and consumerism
of Christmas emerging in 1840s. For any adaptation to work, the approval and
admiration of consumer-based society, celebrating Christmas by buying material goods
must be clearly presented in the story. Unfortunately, the only adaptations, which at least
partialy reflect Dickens' attitude toward commercialization of Christmas are Donner's and
Jones'.
The 1951 version by Desmond Hurst replaces the market place altogether and instead
of message of approval of consumerism focuses on the importance of charity by introducing
additional backstory for the character of Alice (Belle from the original). The decision to
neglect this particular part of the story is all the more strange considering the fact that
Hurst introduces an extra scene at the beginning of the film, which is centred around Tiny
17
Tim admiring the beauty and intricacy of several mechanical that are put on display in
the window of one of local toy stores. According to Campbell, while the practice of
window shopping involves appreciation of aesthetics and art as well, the main impact
and purpose of window displays is purely economic. In a consumer-based society they
serve to promote window shopping which in turn entices consumers to enter the retail
premises and buy the goods(92). As Tiny Tim observes laughing robotic figures and
smiles, his attention is drawn to a marvellous, detailed model of a boat, which is being
taken away from the display to be packed for the buyer. Saddened by the realization that
he is not going to get anything so beautiful for Christmas because neither him nor his
family could ever afford to purchase such costly toys, he lowers his head in dejection. The
scene not only portrays the uneven way of wealth distribution and criticism of capitalistic
society oppressing the poor but also shows the newly found hold of consumerism Victorian
Christmas time slowly came to be connected to in the last century. It could be therefore
argued that Hurst did not do away with the commercial aspects, such as personification
of items, which "beckon" to the customers and mesmerise them into craving them, that
is to be found in the original story, but merely shifted them to more initial position in
the story.
By contrast Donner's Christmas Carol features a busy marketplace highly resembling
the description of the original with people bustling to and fro, purchasing various vegetable,
fruit, meat and pastry. It is only in this version that the scene is given enough
length and the various kinds of foods are prominent enough due to several close-up shots
that the viewer can grasp the atmosphere of typical Christmas rush Dickens described in
the book, and fully appreciate the effect unwholesomeness and desirability of more the
items have on the shoppers. Although the physical setting of the scene and the alluring
way the items are presented shows high degree of fidelity to the book, the message of
the original story has been subject to changes in this rendition as well. Apart from the
primary focus of the scene on positive aspects of consumerism and kindness and compassion
towards the poor the Ghost demonstrates by sprinkling their dinners with substance
from his torch to improve its flavour, Donner also uses the scene to reproach Scrooge's
unrestrained avarice and need for accumulation for its own sake. When, in an added
line, Scrooge greedily interjects that, "There's a lot of buying isn't there," he is slightly
reproached for his remark by the Ghost of Christmas Present as if he had said something
unbecoming. While the behaviour of the Ghost, belittling the importance of accumulating
material goods and instead promoting the importance being charitable and mindful
of others, is definitely within the lines set by the book, the criticism of consumerism and
commercialization is not at all present in the original. In fact, as mentioned earlier, the
original chapter promotes quite the opposite, not only condoning the free exchange of
goods but stressing the positive impact wanting and buying things has on the consumer.
In Jones' version the scale of the marketplace has been greatly reduced, leaving viewer
18
with only a couple of small stands near to which are a handful of people chattering. While
the wares and foods are present, the focus of the scene is not at all turned to them and
retains solely on the dialogue between Scrooge and the Ghost. There is no hustle and
bustle caused by hurrying shoppers and the atmosphere is rather calm and peaceful than
one of an active marketplace. As there are tolls heard from a distance, we can infer that
the lack of people on the market place can be caused by the fact that Jones' decided to
focus on the dialogue itself omitting the part of the original that described the Ghost
conducting Scrooge through the marketplace. Although the latter part of the scene from
the book containing the Ghost sprinkling people's dinners and Scrooge asking him about
it is accurately represented in the film, the original idea of commercialism being shown in
a positive light and as having positive effect on the consumers is lost. The least accurate
depiction of the theme of commercialism can be found in Zemeckis' Christmas Carol where
the Ghost of Christmas Present flies Scrooge only briefly over the bakery and, not showing
the marketplace at all, conducts him straight to Bob Cratchit's house.
3.4 The importance of personal responsibility
The first dialogue concerning the theme of personal responsibility between Scrooge and the
charity collectors in Stave I is represented fairly accurately in all the modern adaptations
of Christmas Carol. The Victorian institutions associated with dire economic situation
and often cruel punishments, The Treadmill in particular, are named in all the versions
except for Jones', which only broadly refers to prisons and workhouses. Such change might
left one wondering whether Scrooge was actually that harsh for condoning these general
institutional concepts. In contrast, the original allusion to The Treadmill, which was as
Zedner argues, "a particularly cruel device, exhausting prisoners not only physically but
also mentally, as it produced nothing," and was considered torturous by many at the time,
clearly shows Scrooges ignorance and detachment from reality as he is willing to argue
that such harmful means of exploitation and correction are moraly justifiable (297).
While Jones' version falls short in portraying Scrooge's ignorance at the outset of the
story, it is the only version which fully include the examples of the downtrodden poor
from Stave III that are supposed to help Scrooge realize his error in considering the poor
less valuable members of society and condemning them to death. Only in this rendition
are the miners singing carols, sailors praying on a boat caught in storm, and lighthouse
guards singing shown. Furthermore even the jail, which is only listed as one of many other
places the Ghost conducted Scrooge that night, is included and we can see the cheerfulm
positive effects of the holiday on one of the prisoners, who plays the flute in his cell.
Other versions offer only very limited depictions of Victorian working classes and
paupers. Hurst's Carol leaves out the miners, sailors, and lighthouse guards, and instead
presents the viewer with a single unidentified family, which might or might not be the fam-
19
ily of miners from the original, singing a Christmas carol to illustrate the joy the holiday
bring to ordinary people. Likewise Donner's adaptation neglects the three aforementioned
professions and replaces the allusions to the various struggles of the lower classes from
the original with a single added scene of destitute family living under a bridge. When
Scrooge's sees the family living under a bridge he asks the Ghost of Christmas Present
why they do not go to the institutions he pays from his taxes. A moment later, the father
of the family laments his inability to obtain a job due to Britain's economic crisis and
proclaims that if things do not get better he will be forced to steal. As a last resort,
he proposes that his wife take the children and go to a local parish poor house, which
she resolutely rejects saying that she would rather die that separate the family this way.
While such scene is not included in the original, it is well within lines of Dickens' critical
message aimed towards the government solutions and his call for the monetary involvement
of the higher classes. Furthermore, the scene appears to be illustrative of the reality
that, "Many can't go there; and many would rather die." one of the collectors from Stave
I mentioned when Scrooge refused to donate and proposed that the poor make use of the
institutions run by the state instead.
The pivotal dialogue from Stave III in which Scrooge finally accepts his share of
responsibility for Tiny Tim has been included in all the versions with high level of accuracy.
It is Jones' version, however, that retains most of the dialogue from the original ad
verbatim. One of the unfortunate realities of the Victorian era lay in the approach higher
class members often adopted. As Diniejko claims, "Most well-off Victorians were ignorant
or pretended to be ignorant of the subhuman slum life, and many, who heard about it,
believed that the slums were the outcome of laziness, sin and vice of the lower classes"
(Diniejko). This fact, accompanied by Dickens' disagreement, is most prominently alluded
to in Christmas Carol's line from Stave III of the story, "It may be, that in the sight of
Heaven, you are more worthless and less fit to live than millions like this poor man's
child. Oh God! to hear the Insect on the leaf pronouncing on the too much life among his
hungry brothers in the dust!" The proposition that the plight of the poor might not be
caused by their innate inadequacies but rather by unfair system, who deprived them of
opportunities men of higher classes and wealth possess, is summed up in this utterance.
Since Jones' is the only version properly reflecting this sentiment it should be consider
most accurate in regard to its depiction of personal responsibility.
4 Christian compassion - analysis of the original story
4.1 Dickens's Christmas Carol and Ebenezer's faith
A Christmas Carol is a tale of compassion and forgiveness in many forms. Although the
story is consider secular in nature by many, the plethora of references to the Bible and
20
Christianity is overwhelming. To understand the kind of Christian compassion Dickens in
all likelihood strove to promote in this redemptive story, his ties to Christian teachings,
his relationship with Jesus and his attitude towards the Church must be fully taken into
account and examined.
As most men of his days, Charles Dickens was brought up in the spirit of the Church of
England. Despite this well-established fact his religious views and the question whether he
was truly Christian is much disputed even to this day. It was the Church of England which
fell prey to many of Dickens' criticisms of its rigid dogmas and corruption of imagination
in children among other issues, and yet as Chesterton argues:
Dickens had a definite tenderness for the Church of England... something in those
placid services, something in that reticent and humane liturgy pleased him against
all the tendencies of his time; pleased him in the best part of himself, his virile love
of charity and peace. Once, in a puff of anger at the Church's political stupidity
(which is indeed profound), he left it for a week or two and went to an Unitarian
Chapel; in a week or two he came back (220).
Moreover, in spite of his turbulent relationship with the Church, he often made, in his
speeches and his books, numerous allusions to the Bible and praised Jesus Christ as a
model for righteousness and charity. In A Christmas Carol, we can see the Cratchit
family as the epitome of perfect Christian household. Not only do they educate their
children on the New Testament, which can be observed in Stave IV as one of the children
reads Mark 9:36 to the others who mourn for Tim , they seem to live by it. The religious
beliefs the Cratchits cherish are indisputably the reason why in Stave III Tiny Tim, whose
condition is rapidly deteriorating, thinks of the well-being of other parishioners before his
own and contemplates whether he could elevate their mood by showing at the church and
reminding them of Jesus Christ.
Dickens' affection towards Christianity and wish for his children to follow it can be
further supported by his writing a story book retelling parts of the Bible to his children.
It was only after his death that this book, with the approval of his family, was published.
His belief in the importance of his children's knowing and understanding the message of
Christian compassion and forgiveness can be clearly seen in this work, "Remember! - It is
Christianity TO DO GOOD always - even to those who do evil to us... It is Christianity
to be gentle, merciful, and forgiving, and to keep those qualities quiet in our own hearts,
and never make a boast of them, or of our prayers or of our love of God, but always to
show that we love Him by humbly trying to do right in everything . . ." (Dickens, The
Life of Our Lord 124).
Although establishing the true nature of Dickens' relationship with Christianity is
rather difficult, it is clear that Dickens drew on Bible and aspects of Christianity in writing
the Christmas Carol. To demonstrate this, one does not have to go look further than the
21
name of the main protagonist of the story Ebenezer Scrooge, who at the beginning of
his journey lacks any kind of Christian compassion whatsoever as can be seen from his
reaction to the charity workers in Stave I, who try to persuade him to donate to aid the
poor "furnish Christian cheer of mind or body". Instead Scrooge argues that if the poor
are unwilling to make use of the institutions he support from his taxes (Union workhouses,
Poor Law, The Treadmill), they should better die and decrease the surplus population.
The importance of background knowledge of the Bible becomes apparent once we begin
to analyse the protagonist of the story, Ebenezer. The uniqueness of such uncommon
name in Victorian times, immediately leads the reader to expect some hidden significance
behind it. The word "Ebenezer" is an anglicized version of two Hebrew words "Even
Haazer" which were used in the Bible. In Samuel 1:7-12, Samuel makes a burnt offering
to the God and prays for his help against Philistines. God helps Israelites to prevail in
the battle, and in return Samuel sets up a stone monument to honour God and rememer
the help his tribe received on that day. The monument is named Ebenezer, which literally
translates into "stone of help"(Neal). The symbolism arising from calling a main character
of the book, an unyielding, uncompromising, hard-hearted, cold, miser, by a name given
to a rock is all too typical of Dickensian writings, often targeted at the bible-educated
readers of 19th century Victorian Britain.
Furthermore, it is only by supernatural intervention by trinity of spirits that the true
spirit of Christmas is reawakened and Scrooge finds it in himself to understand the plight
of the poor and compassionately share some of his wealth to ease it. While it could be
disputed whether Scrooge was, in fact, a Christian at the beginning of the story, the
ending is rather suggestive on the matter. Not only does Scrooge does Scrooge thank to
Heaven and Christmas time, crying on his knees in a manner not dissimilar to redeemed
sinner, even his perception of the outside is akin to Heaven, "the Golden sunlight", "the
Heavenly sky" and all of it "Glorious". What is even more he, in a true spirit of Christian
compassion, buys the biggest turkey, sends it to Cratchit's family and hurries to catch the
sermon at the church. Even the very last sentence of the story pokes fun at his religious
conversion, suggesting that Scrooge from then on lived according to Total Abstinence
Principle, which was associated with the Methodist Church, and has never seen "spirits"
from then on in his life. For any adaptation to be truly accurate in regards to Scrooge's
religious affiliation, it must reflect all of the aforementioned clues suggestive of the presence
of religious conversion in the story while remaining ambiguous enough to prevent definitive
determination of the matter.
4.2 Compassionate Fred
A Christmas Carol features many displays of Christian compassion, nevertheless the character
most heavily driven by it is undoubtedly Scrooge's nephew, Fred. Fred's compassion
22
and generosity can be put in a stark contrast with Scrooge's anger, callousness and hatred
for humankind and the season in Stave I, right at the beginning of the story. Walking
into Scrooge's counting house, Fred sees how his uncle mistreats his only employee. In the
subsequent exchange between the uncle and nephew, we learn that Fred came to invite
Scrooge to dine with him. Well aware of the expected outcome of the conversation, the
two argue about the point of Christmas and Fred tries to sway him. Scrooge criticizes
Fred's marriage based on love rather than economic reasons, and verbally abuses everyone
who likes Christmas. Yet in spite of everything Fred remains calm and does not get angry
with his uncle. In Stave III of the book, we learn Fred's reason for this holiday visit is
compassion, "I am sorry for him; I couldn't be angry with him if I tried. Who suffers by
his ill whims! Himself, always". We also learn that, at this point, Fred's visit is almost
ritualized. Despite his uncle's anger, refusal, and verbal abuse, Fred's compassion won't
allow him to give up and stop trying, because "He[Scrooge] may rail at Christmas till he
dies, but he can't help thinking better of it—I defy him—if he finds me going there, in
good temper, year after year, and saying Uncle Scrooge, how are you?"
But Fred's compassion does not extent only to his relatives, from his description of
Christmas we can see that he cares for people in general, "Christmas time... a good time;
a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar
of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts
freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the
grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys." The choice of words is
most peculiar in this instance, as "people below them" refer to the lower societal classes.
As a result, it can assumed that Fred is well aware of the class-based society he lives in
and promotes Christmas as a time of year where people recognize the similarities rather
differences and help each other. His promoting more classless type of society based around
love, equality and helping others can be backed by the fact that he himself put aside any
expectations of class behaviour and married a dowerless woman from lower class knowing
it would anger his wealthy uncle and likely leave him without inheritance.
From the very same dialogue we can also determine that Fred's compassion at this time
of year is of Christian nature, as he admits to the importance of the source of it when he
claims that the sanctity connected to Christmas is rather inseparable by emphasizing that,
"apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it
can be apart from that..."We can detect his compassion for Cratchit's family struggle even
earlier in the third Stave of the story when he admits that there was a secondary reason
for his visiting Scrooge's office. He claims that he comes every year on the off-chance that
his visit might shame Scrooge into giving his clerk extra fifty pounds for Christmas time.
True to his message of compassion, in the vision of future in Stave IV of the book, Fred
offers a financial support to Cratchit's family, which he knows very little about, apart
from the fact that their financial situation is dire and they are raising a lame child.
23
4.3 Church and compassion
Although the notions and teaching of Christian ideals, such as compassion and forgiveness,
are found in abundance in the story, there are very few links tying them directly to any
one Church in particular. This is in all likelihood the result of Dickens' mostly negative
outlook at any form of organized religion, which has been mentioned earlier in this thesis,
and proclivity to promote the need for more personal relationship with Christ instead. His
lukewarm attitude towards the Church,which he considered unnecessary and dangerous
for its attraction to zealots and radicals, can be seen in a speech he delivered in 1857
in London, presenting his audience with his vision of the perfect school, "...it is a place
of education where, while the beautiful history of the Christian religion is daily taught,
and while the life of that Divine Teacher who Himself took little children on His knees is
daily studied, no sectarian ill-will nor narrow human dogma is permitted to darken the
face of the clear heaven which they disclose" (Dickens, Speeches Literary And Social 189).
Bearing Dickens' criticisms of Church, based on the disparity between its actions and
Christian teachings, in mind, it is of little surprise that in writing the Christmas Carol,
he focuses on reviving mainly the parts of holiday revolving around charity, compassion
and family rather than veneration of the birth of Christ. Not only does A Christmas
Carol shows tendency to separate Christ's teaching of compassion and solidarity from the
Church of England, but in the III Stave of the story the way many clergymen in it think
and conduct is explicitly criticized by the Ghost of Christmas Present.
As Scrooge walks alongside the Ghost, they engage on the topic of charity and Scrooge
accuses him of being affiliated with the Church. At the time, many homes of the poor
were equipped with a fireplace for heat and cooking, but few had ovens in them; the
poor typically used local bakeries when, on the rare occasions, they needed to roast or
bake their meal. Motivated by religious reasons and encouraged by a portion of the
Church, certain members of parliament, had repeatedly tried to pass Sunday Observance
Bill, which would prohibit opening of the bakeries on Sunday. The Ghost, fired by the
suggestion, distances both himself and the purpose of the holiday from the Church and its
doings by stating that, "There are some upon this earth of yours... who lay claim to know
us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness
in our name, who are as strange to us and all our kith and kin, as if they had never
lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us." This episode is of
utmost importance as it exemplifies the kind of altruistic compassion Dickens intended
to promote. The Ghost sprinkles the poor with his torch simply in order to make their
Christmas happy, there are no ulterior motives beyond that. This is put in direct contrast
with the Church, who unquestionably does a great deal of charitable work and helps the
poor, but nearly always demands something in return, be it the space for proselytizing,
monetary support later, or obedience to rules often not in believer's best interest. It
24
was due to Dickens' troubled childhood during which he was forced to labour for a time
that led him to forming a contemptuous disdain for those, who demanded obedience to
their belief system in return for a bowl soup." To Dickens, true charity was a matter of
open-hearted benevolence; to use the relief of poverty as a cudgel to beat a recipient into
piousness was repellent and evil." (Standiford 32)
Another instance of criticism aimed towards the Church can be found earlier in the
same Stave. When the Ghost of Christmas Present conducts Scrooge through London's
streets, cheery people are bustling to and fro all round them, the narrator describes in
great detail various foodstuff found in the market among the jovial shoppers. We learn
that in the half-closed shops there are chestnuts, oranges, lemons, pears, French plums,
Norfolk Biffins, delicious spices, and many more. Curiously enough the only kind of food
Dickens chose to describe via the use of personification are onions. They are said to be
"ruddy, brown-faced, broad-girthed Spanish Onions, shining in the fatness of their growth
like Spanish Friars, and winking from their shelves in wanton slyness at the girls as they
went by, and glanced demurely at the hung-up mistletoe." In this case it is the Catholic
Church that Dickens accuses of being being "fat" supposedly by not being charitable
enough while accumulating wealth and filled with lascivious clergymen whose "wanton
slyness" towards young girls is conspicuous.
5 Christian compassion in film adaptations of A Christmas
Carol - analysis and comparison
5.1 Dickens's Christmas Carol and Ebenezer's faith
As mentioned in Chapter 4 of the thesis, the question of Scrooge's religious beliefs remains
without a definite answer in the story. Though the clues contained in the original might
lead most readers into believing that Scrooge was a born-again Christian at the end of
Christmas Carol, the matter remains open. One of the biggest hints that points to the
process Scrooge undergoes in the story being religious conversion is the fact that upon
his arrival from the journey, led by the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, one of the
first things he does after promising on his knees to be honor Christmas is visit local
church to hear the morning sermon. It is only in Jones' version that Scrooge's visit to the
church has been included. This inclusion, however, does not necessarily result in Jones'
Christmas Carol being the most accurate in regards to Scrooge's faith. On the contrary
Jones introduces several added lines that significantly affect the story and might result
in viewer's perception of the main character being, to varying degrees, different from the
original. It is on account of these changes that Jones' Carol warrants closer examination.
The film opens with added scenes of solemn funeral procession lead by a hearse and
continues at a graveyard where four men carry a casket and bury it. Serving in lieu
25
of omnipresent narrator who is not in this version, the scenes are present to notify us of
Marley's death. After signing the appropriate documents at the parish, Scrooge engages in
a brief conversation with the vicar and another elderly gentleman, presumably a business
acquaintance of the dead. Seeing Scrooge's sullen face, the vicar tries to lift his spirit
by saying that Jacob Marley is now in a better place. His effort is met with a brash
disagreement as Scrooge instantly replies "He is nowhere, sir. The truth is he's dead."
This statement can be construed as a direct admission of disbelief in any form of afterlife
and as the case may be of his atheism. Although the more prevalent opinion among
Dickensian scholars is that Scrooge was likely of Christian persuasion, Dickens did not
leave enough clues in the writing to reach a final conclusion on the matter, and many hold
that he might have been atheist or simply non-religious. Approaching the issues solely
on the basis of statistics, it is highly improbable that Scrooge falls into 0,3% of Victorian
Era Brits who were Atheist (Field 693).
To answer the question why Jones decided to include such explicit admission of faithlessness
in the film, we have to familiarize ourselves with the audience the product was in
all likelihood aimed at. Despite the facts that the director of the film was British , cast
was dominated by British actors and the shooting took place in England, A Christmas
Carol was produced under the baton of Turner Network Television, which had always
been an American company. According to a survey conducted by The General Social
Surveys in 1998, less than 10% of the US population identified as religiously unaffiliated,
while 76% stated they were Christian (PewResearch).
There is little doubt that being an Atheist in America during the 1990s, a member of
by estimate less than 3%, often meant putting one's credibility, family, and job at risk.
Illustrating sentiments deeply entrenched in minds of a substantial part of the public,
the former president of the USA George H. W. Bush, in his 1987 conference speech
proclaimed "I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they
be considered patriots. This is one nation under God" (Stevens 113). The majority's
distrust towards Atheists can be further established by taking into account the results of
Gallup Poll conducted in 1999, the very same year this version of Christmas Carol was
released, which revealed that 51% of Americans would never consider voting for an Atheist
candidate in a presidential election (215). Surveys by American Mosaic Project exposed
similar type of prejudice, showing that nearly 40% of Americans consider Atheists a group
whose vision of American Society is most disagreeable and 47% would never allow their
child marry an Atheist (45). Not surprisingly the status of Atheists as social outcasts is
reflected rights as well. To this day, many American states maintain discriminatory laws
prohibiting any Atheist from a holding a public office.
Framing A Christmas Carol in such a way that leads to a number of viewers interpreting
it as a story of conversion of a cold-hearted, miserly Atheist to kind, generous
Christian rather than a Christian led astray by avarice mending his ways is a logical
26
choice considering the station's target audience. By retelling the story in this manner
the 1999 version panders to majority of American viewers by reaffirming social ideas and
conceptions most of them already recognize and hold true.
Similarly to Jones' presumably Atheistic Scrooge, the 2009 adaptation of Christmas
Carol, directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by Walt Disney Pictures, offers a depiction
of Scrooge inconsistent with the original. As the book would have it, Marley is
considered "a true friend" by Scrooge and respected by him for his business prowess. Having
spent countless hours working in their counting-house and knowing each other very
well, there is little doubt the two established a close relationship. Their closeness can
be, for example, seen in Scrooge's reluctance to replace the sign above their office door
despite the fact that Marley had been dead for seven years. Gold holds that the reason
for this behaviour is the unifying bond they shared in life and states that, "If Marley and
Scrooge are one, or parts of the same, then Marley's being dead would suggest that part
of Scrooge is dead. Scrooge does not, of course, know that he is dead" (58). Conversely,
there is lack of evidence in the book that would suggest that Scrooge, at any point, hated
or disdained Marley, which Zemeckis does not fully respect in his rendition.
Zemeckis' adaptation commences with an extra scene, which has been added at the
beginning of the story directly following Scrooge's signing of Marley's death certificate.
We see Marley displayed in an open wooden casket, two copper pennies carefully placed
on his eyelids. Scrooge forced to pay for the burial, most reluctantly pays the undertaker
the burial costs. As the undertaker's assistant is about to nail a lid to the casket Scrooge
shouts to stop him. Taking the coins from the dead body with a wry smile across his face,
he exclaims "Tuppence is a tuppence," as he leaves.
The practice of placing coins on the body of the deceased originated from a popular
Pagan belief that pennies, otherwise called Charon's obol in this instance, were necessary
to pay the ferryman to cross the river Styx. This custom continued, though with
diminishing tendency, far into Christian era in Britain and faded away in the course of
19th century (Grinsell 264). The most likely purpose behind Zemeckis' choice to add
such graphic scene is to, in a shocking manner, illustrate the extend of Scrooge's avarice
and miserliness. Such goal has been accomplished, however, the film might leave viewers
baffled over the nature of relationship between Marley and Scrooge. In accordance to the
book, the film presents us with Scrooge as Marley's "sole friend" and "sole mourner". As
there are no family members or friends at the burial, it is logical to assume that Charon's
obol was being observed at Marley's request. By removing the coins from Marley's eyelids,
Scrooge exhibits ultimate disrespect for his dead partner's wishes. Similarly to the
1999 adaptation of the story by Jones, this behavior is strongly indicative of Scrooge's
utter disbelief in any form of afterlife as it is unlikely that sceptical Scrooge believed that
by this act he was barring Marley from the crossing the river and joining afterlife. The
resulting image of Scrooge as presented in Zemeckis' version is more cruel and emotionally
27
detached in nature, not forming any relationship even with Marley, with whom he spent
years closely managing their company. This is considerable deviation from the original,
in which Marley was Scrooge's closest friend.
5.2 Compassionate Fred
To establish which of the adaptations portrays Fred most accurately, we must examine
whether his behaviour and opinions reflect the original. From the book, we have
established that in Fred's mind the ideas of compassion and generosity are inseperably
connected to the sacred origin of the holiday, and thus to Christianity. It has also been
pinpointed that Fred, aware of the class structure of Victorian society, does not only
promote compassion in general, but emphasizes the fact that higher classes in particular
are the ones he expects to show charity and compassion. Furthermore, Fred shows little
regard for the norms of the time. He is married to a poor woman without dowry and
talks to Cratchit as his equal and even extends financial help to him. Lastly, we know
that Fred's compassion drives him to be persistent in his efforts to sway his uncle into
joining the dinner every year, and further there is an ulterior motive of shaming his uncle
into giving Cratchit extra money for Christmastime as well.
All modern adaptations of Christmas Carol altered the dialogue between Fred and
Scrooge from the I Stave, omitting all allusions to the sacred origin of the holiday completely.
As a result in none of the four films the connection between compassion and
Christ is established and we are left with a secularized version of the story, which, unlike
the original, shows no insight into the beliefs, which motivate Fred's behaviour. The issue
of social stratification is mostly neglected in all four modern adaptations as well. This can
be supported by the fact that in none of the adaptations does Fred in his speech refer to
"people below them", but rather avoid specifying who he is talking about. This is the case
of all the adaptations, with the exceptions of Hurst's in which Fred's speech explaining
the importance of Christmas has been wholly omitted. While the issue is still minutely
present as all Christmas Carols feature Scrooge reproaching his nephew for not marrying
a woman from sufficiently wealthy and respected family, the general idea of higher classes
helping the poor, especially at Christmas time is reduced to a more general message of
compassion not restricted to any one class in particular.
In Hurst's version, Fred is shown chatting with Bob in the first Stave and we learn
that he knows Cratchit's family well-enough to remember their handicapped son. While
this does not drastically alter the story, the fact that the two of them are not strangers, as
the original would have it, somewhat belittles the compassion Fred later shows in Stave
IV. Even more importantly Hurst's version fails to mentioned that the invitation Scrooge
received at the beginning of the story was not the first but one of many. As a result, we
do not know about the persistent nature of the compassion Fred displays year after year
28
when he visits his uncle's office with the friendly invitation only to be ridiculed, yelled
at and scorned by his bad-tempered relative. Unfamiliar with the original and presented
with Hurst's version only, one could argue that Fred's decision to invite Scrooge might
have been only a momentary whim and does not at all reflect his compassionate nature.
Similar argument could be made for Zemeckis' rendition as well as it also neglects to
mention that Fred inviting his nephew and arguing is an annual occurrence.
By comparison Jones' and Donner's Carol's are highly accurate in depicting Fred's
character as they both include the kind promise of never giving up on his morose uncle and
extending the invitation no matter the circumstances Fred makes to himself every year.
In Donner's version Fred is given more prominence in the story. In a scene corresponding
to Stave IV from the original, Fred is said to have promised a very lucrative job placement
for one of Cratchit's sons, Peter. Moreover he is said to be very generous with the starting
wage, so as to help the family he knows to have a disabled child. While the book does
mention Fred extending his help to the family and offering financial support, it is only
in Stave V with the Ghost of Yet to Come that he does so and we are not given any
details as to the degree of his generosity. Considering that the added scene can be viewed
as partially compensating for the absence of criticism of class-conscious society in Fred's
speech in Stave I, the additional scene offers a perfect example of Christian compassion
and social responsibility Fred's character staunchly propagated in the book. For the
reasons mentioned earlier, it is Donner's 1984 version of Christmas Carol, which best
reflects Fred's compassionate character.
5.3 Church and compassion
As established earlier the most prominent and direct criticism of the Church is delivered in
II Stave of the story at the local marketplace by the Ghost of Christmas Present. The main
reason behind such explicit denunciation of the actions of the Church was Dickens' desire
to to unequivocally established the possibility of being true follower of Christ without
bounding oneself to larger organisations such as churches that can be ripe with immoral
individuals, who, as in this instance, put their own interests before the interests of the
needy. Both Donner's and Jones' versions miss any allusion to the Sunday Observance Bill
mentioned in the original as well as any criticism that could be interpreted as pertaining
to the Church or its practices. While Hurst's version does omit the marketplace scene
showing Ghost's anger at the sins committed in the name of Christmas and Christianity,
as well, the theme of Church being connected to deeds of compassion is still present in an
extra scene added to the film. In the scene, we are introduced to the background story
of Alice, Scrooge's former fiancee, who left him because of his greed and inhumanity, and
learn about her spare time charity job in one of London's homeless shelters. As she cares
for an old sick women, we observe a number of cots occupied by elderly poor people.
29
Through the aisle of beds walks an old priest preaching to the poor Corrinthians 13:2
from the Bible. Such occurrence is peculiar considering that the only allusion to acts of
Church in the original is deeply critical. Here we can, by contrast, see that the poor do
not mind being taken care of by the Church, in fact, one of the poor Alice is caring for
emphasizes that this is the best Christmas she has ever had.
Although we established Dickens' dislike for zealotry in the previous chapter, based
on his life it is safe to assume that he was somewhat tolerant of Church's efforts to help
the poor in their moderate form, such as limited amount of preaching in exchange for
meal or bed. This can be substantiated by the approach Dickens took in dealing with his
own personal project of home for homeless women, Urania Cottage. Although financed
by the millionaire Miss Couts, the idea and organisation of the project was bestowed
upon Dickens, who wished to prepare the women society thought incorrigibly corrupt
for their new life in colonies. In doing so he introduced the women to a strict daily
routine and safe, stable environment. One of many points of dispute among Dickens
and Miss Couts was caused by his insistence that the preaching in the shelter be kept
to bare minimum. Spreading religion in this setting to a captive audience was not his
intention, or as Bodenheimer puts it, "Dickens did not want to women to simply conform
to the rhetoric of reform which often included heavy doses of religion.... So instead of
religion, Dickens "preached the doctrine of Home" (139). It is essential to realize that
while Dickens strove to avoid preaching altogether he chose to tolerate it insofar that in
the end a plan including education and a training program promoting religious virtues
based on Christianity was drawn and successfully implemented.
In comparison to Donner's and Jones' adaptations, which omitted the theme of compassion
in connection to the Church utterly, and Hurst's modified version, Zemeckis'
Christmas Carol keeps most of the original story intact. In fact, the whole scene features
only two notable changes. Firstly, the dialogue has been altered to be more understandable
to viewers lacking the background knowledge of Victorian Times and Sunday Observance
Bill. This is in particular conspicuous in the explicitness with which the Ghost
distances from the Church. While in the original Dickens counted on the viewer to identify
those "who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness
in our [Christmas spirits'] name" from the immediate context of the situation (They are
present at the bakery, and the Ghost responds to Scrooge's accusal of depriving the poor
of means to warm their food every 7th day ), Zemeckis' rendition directly identifies the
clergy as being perpetrators by laying the blame on "so-called men of cloth". Secondly,
in this version the Ghost does not in any way help the poor, whereas in the book he
does so by sprinkling water from his torch on poor people's dinners. Such benevolent
act of selfless compassion was than compared with the doings of many members of the
Church to illustrate the difference between the honest Christ-like compassion Dickens'
intended to promote and the falsehood of rigid inflexible dogma propagated in the name
30
of Christianity to the detriment of the destitute members of society. Scrooge's accusation
from the original clearly showed the reader the extent to which his mind changed since
the beginning of the story. Faced with the problems the poor, he resolutely stood up
for them and question the social order he thought the Ghost promoted. Given the fact
that the Ghost of this version does nothing to help the poor, Scrooge's accusation seems
unprovoked and incidental as it is not an immediate response to hypocrisy of Christ's
followers he perceived in the original.
6 Redemption - analysis of the original story
6.1 The use of pathetic fallacy
A Christmas Carol is a tale ripe with symbolism and allusions all too typical of Dickensian
prose. To fully understand the current stage of Scrooge's gradual redemption the reader
has to make sense of the clues that are shown as relating to the character. As the story
begins we observe Scrooge's journey home from his office and learn about the weather.
According to the narrator, it is foggy and frosty, which exactly matches both character
and mood of Scrooge at the outset of the story who was previously described as having
"cold within him" and carrying his own low temperature always about with him. As he
is yet to begin the process of his redemption, his home is described in a similar manner.
He lives in a "gloomy suite of rooms" to which leads only a path through a dark yard.
The description of the environment is, in a fact, a description of his inner state of mind.
His house is, similarly to his soul, huge but so empty we can hear a thunderous echo of
every sound and his the door, the only way into inside, is always kept double locked.
The symbolism behind weather is important auxiliary mechanism by which Dickens
manages to reflect Scrooge's mood and mindset to help the reader understand the effect
Ghosts are having on him and highlight the changes in his thinking. As the story progress
Scrooge begins to approach his humanity and moves closer to redemption we can see the
changes in him prompts the changes in weather. For example, at the beginning of the
second stave, after the distressing visit by Jacob Marley, Scrooge wakes up to a weather
that is dark, "very foggy and extremely cold". As the story progress and he is transported
to a vision and reminded of some happy memories from his childhood it is said that "the
darkness and the mist had vanished with it [city], for it was a clear, cold, winter day".
In Stave V, when Scrooge achieves his redemption by opening his heart and mind to the
plight of the poor, we can see the result such act has on his mind reflected in the weather,
which is suddenly not foggy or misty, but clear, bright and jovial with a golden sunlight,
heavenly sky and sweet fresh air.
Not only does pathetic fallacy apply to weather but to Scrooge's possessions as well.
When he enters his house in the first Stave of the book, he cooks himself gruel and
31
rests in front of a fireplace, whose mantle is decorated with depictions from the Old
Testament. As Vogel points out it is not a coincidence that the depictions feature scenes
from ancient Judae-Christian history, such as Cain murdering Abel, Pharaoh's daughters;
Queens of Sheba, Angelic messengers, Abraham, and Belshazzars but rather Dickens' way
to touch on the issue of morality in a gentle, non-intrusive way. The stories in question
are, as most of the Old Testament, focusing on themes of God's wrath, righteousness,
sin and punishment, the act of disobedience against God or law, and conflict; be it
among nations, brothers, or rulers. As follows, the resulting messages of such stories tend
to promote wrath and destruction rather over a peaceful resolution, firm punishment
rather than mercy, and absolute justice before forgiveness. Among significant portion
of Victorian times Christians such messages were often consider too cruel and harsh,
unfitting of the mindset of a modern Christian, who leaned towards the central messages
of love, forgiveness and charity expressed by Jesus in The New Testament. The old harsh
morality of the Old Testament depicted on the tiles is representative of Scrooge's current
mindset and way of life. In way not dissimilar to the moral progression we can see from Old
Testament's harsh morality with little use for compassion or leniency to Jesus' message of
love and solidarity, Scrooge has to undergo the transition from his current state of mind
and open himself to the new ways to achieve his redemption.
6.2 Mar ley as a messenger of redemption
Jacob Marley, an old business partner of Scrooge, who died exactly seven years before
the events of the main story took place, plays a vital role in Scrooge's reformation. In
a spirit of true friendship, he visits Scrooge with an important message of warning while
and tries to help him escape his fate. Considered from a theological standpoint, he acts
as an emissary of redemption, revealing a course of action by which Scrooge can atone
and be delivered from his past sins of greed and ignorance.
The hebrew name Jacob would no doubt evoke the possibility of the character being
connected to the Old Testament in minds of Victorian readers. Marley, similarly to
Jacob from the bible who in Genesis 32:28 struggles with God for which he is dubbed
Israel, stands in direct opposition to God by refusing to "intercede for good in human
affairs" during his life. In his death he is forced to wander the Earth, helpless most of the
time, and laments his sins. It is clear that he endeavours to persuade Scrooge to learn
from his mistake of not abiding by Christian charitable ways and further emphasizes the
importance of doing so at the time of Christ's birth by the following disclosure,' "At this
time of the rolling year," the spectre said, "I suffer most. Why did I walk through crowds
of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star
which led the Wise Men to a poor abode! Were there no poor homes to which its light
would have conducted me!'" Interestingly enough it is this piece of revelation that leads
32
Scrooge, who until than was only slightly dismayed by the apparition and kept jesting
about the situation, began to "quake exceedingly." This show of fear reveals the first sign
of Scrooge's newly-found understanding of the importance to repent and redeem his past
actions if he wants to escape Marley's terrible fate.
As regards the emotional impact on Scrooge, which would likely push him to reconsider
the chance of redemption Marley bestowed upon him, perhaps the most important part
of Marley's message comes last. When Marley decides that it is time to leave, he chooses
the window as an exit, presumably so that he can draw Scrooge's attention to what is
happening outside. In the street, "the air was filled with phantoms, wandering hither and
thither in restless haste, and moaning as they went." Scrooge recognizes a great deal many
of them as his acquaintances. He sees the misery and desperation of one old ghost in a
white waistcoat who tries to help a destitute women holding an infant. Returning to the
theme of personal responsibility, Scrooge managed to shirk by appealing to governmental
solutions of The Poor Law, Workhouses and The Treadmill, Dickens mentions the several
ghosts as being linked together, and insinuates that they might be a government. Scrooge,
being one of most prosperous and prominent businessmen with influential connections in
all likelihood recognized at least some of the ghosts of politicians he knew during their
lifetime.
As Fairhurst points out, the whole episode bears striking resemblance to the description
of hell from Dante's Inferno, and the similarity is bigger yet if we consider that
Scrooge subsequently obtains guidance from supernatural entities, similarly to Virgil guiding
Dante through the circles of hell (8). The character of Scrooge, raised in a private
school, would no doubt be acquainted and recognize the resemblance, similarly to many
Victorian times readers. It could be therefore argued that the purpose of the scene is
not by any means to show how kindness and charity are important, but rather to simply
highlight the importance of the decision Scrooge has ahead of him and to scare him into
acceptance of what the Ghost are about to reveal to him. In short, after the revelation
of afterlife, highly akin to hell, Scrooge cannot longer hide behind his own ignorance.
In Marley, and the other ghosts, he is shown that ignorance won't protect him from his
doom. The revelation that turning a blind eye to government's failed solutions and being
indifference to well-known fact that "the poor who were deemed deserving of government
care were placed in conditions which were, remarkably, lower than the typically attainable
standard of living for the lower class," won't save him causes him to heed Marley's advice.
Thus Marley effectively destroys any hope of retaining his current lifestyle while not being
punished in the life that follows Scrooge once held, forcing him to reevaluate his priorities
not for the sake of others but for his own.
33
6.3 Ebenezer's earlier years
In the second Stave of the book, we learn of several important factors from Scrooge's
childhood that significantly affected his emotional development and shed some light on
the matter of his family and its role in creating the misanthrope in need of redemption he
grew to be. It is noteworthy to mention that the childhood Dickens created for Scrooge
highly resembles his own. One of the things we discover is that Scrooge, similarly to
Dickens, was at a very young age send away from his home to live in a boarding school.
As Scrooge visits his old school, we witness the first act of repentance in the story and
step toward redeeming himself. He pities the boy he once was and then adds that he
wishes he had given something to the caroller instead of scaring him away with ruler in
his hand in a fit of anger, following his nephew's upsetting visitation. As he says this, the
unexpected empathy for child, innocent as he was at that age, and regret over his actions
overcome him and he cries.
From a visit his sister Fan pays him one Christmas day in order to bring him home, we
can surmise that Scrooge was exiled on account of his father's anger, but now "Father is so
much kinder than he used to be". As Nissly astutely points out, Dickens' own sister named
Fanny "provided Dickens with the love and the affection he needed and desired, attentions
he had never received from his mother. Just as Fanny represented love in Dickens's life,
Fan symbolizes familial love in Scrooge's life, and his memory of this relationship plays
a significant role in his redemption" (5). Although the reasons why Scrooge's mother
only cared for him as an infant and very young child, before he was sent to the boarding
school, differ the end result is same, the deprivation of maternal love. It is little wonder
than that Scrooge came to consider his younger sister, the only family member close to
him, a second mother. The love he felt for her is likely the main reason of his hostility
against his nephew Fred, who reminds him of the fact that Fan is dead, not only because
he is her son, but also because he shares the same positive, compassionate character and
propensity to help others. It is no sooner than Scrooge learns deal with his loss that
damaged his relationship with Fred, as he does at the end of the book, that he can hope
to achieve redemption and happiness.
6.4 Shame, regrets, and empathy as means of redemption
At the beginning of A Christmas Carol we are introduced to heartless, cruel and selfish
Ebenezer Scrooge, who speaks ill of the poor, rejects any form of personal responsibility
or care, and claims that society would be better off if they were dead. As the story
progresses, and he is reminded of his humanity and childhood innocence , he begins to see
the faults of his behaviour and feel regret, remorse and need to atone for them. There are
several such instances, which can be used to track Scrooge's progression towards a more
empathetic, charitable and selfless individual worthy of redemption.
34
Following the visit of his childhood school and his regrets about telling off the caroller,
who sang at his office door in Stave I, Scrooge is conducted to an old warehouse where
he had been formerly apprenticed. He observes a merry ball with everyone laughing and
dancing, and is so touched by generosity of his old employer that he stands up to the Ghost,
who belittles Fezziwig's importance and responds that "The happiness he[Fezziwig] gives,
is quite as great as if it cost a fortune." Shortly after the statement which is reflective
of Scrooge's sudden realization that certain things can be more of more importance than
money, Scrooge regrets his behaviour towards Bob Cratchit and desires to have a word
with him.
Second profound show of empathy and shame comes at the beginning of the III Stave
when Scrooge accompanied by the Ghost of Christmas Present visit Bob Cratchit and
his family at their home. After a rich Christmas dinner, Cratchit's family sits round the
hearth and Scrooge notices Bob's troubled expression as he looks at Tiny Tim and holds
his hand. Worried about the ill child, Scrooge pleads with the Ghost and begs him to
say that Tim will be spared. The Ghost retorts that if the Future remains unaltered Tim
will die and echoes a comment Scrooge made in the first Stave "If he be like to die, he
had better do it, and decrease the surplus population." This time Scrooge's response to
being faced with the plight of poverty is diametrically different from the one he gave at
the very beginning of the story. He hangs his head down in shame, and is "overcome with
penitence and grief", revealing a distinct change in his attitude and progress on his way
towards being corrected and redeemed.
7 Redemption in film adaptations of A Christmas
Carol - analysis and comparison
7.1 The use of pathetic fallacy
As established in the previous Chapter, weather is an essential part of A Christmas Carol
as it gives readers acquainted with Dickensian style of writing immediate insights into
characters' inner thoughts, feelings and general mindset. With this in mind, one can
presume that the fact that the weather on Scrooge's walk home in Stave I is foggy, dark
and freezing is not a coincidence. In other works by Dickens, such as Bleak House, the
fog carries a very specific symbolism. As Diniejko states, It [the fog] stands for institutional
oppression which penetrates into every segment of Victorian society. Dickens sees
London as a place of human misery, and the world he perceives is governed by greed and
money" (Diniejko). Since the aura of darkness and fog surrounds Scrooge directly after
his heated confrontation with the charity workers, whom he contemptuously laughed at
for wanting to help the poor and wanting to do more than rely on corrupt government, it
is quite probable that the same symbolism can be applied to the Christmas Carol as well.
35
Similarly to the darkness and cold, the "aura of oppression" thus constitutes a symbol
easily recognizable to any reader familiar with other works by Dickens.
While all the adaptations stay true to book's depiction of this particular instance
of weather in terms of darkness and cold, Hurst's version omits the fog altogether and
presents the viewer with darkened city streets on a completely clear winter evening. What
could be considered even more substantial in relation to the original story is the fact that
Hurst decided to make significant changes to Scrooge's house. Firstly, the position of the
house was altered in Hurst's and Jones' renditions with utter disregard for the pathetic
fallacy the original featured. In both films the house is adjoined from both sides by other
common houses, making it a typical terrace house. Such treatment completely ignores the
symbolism imbued in the original work, in which the house was representative of Scrooge's
mind. Similarly to it, it was old, shut, secluded and different from others, and surrounded
by yard of darkness "so dark that even Scrooge, who knew its every stone, was fain to
grope with his hands".
Secondly, pathetic fallacy is neglected in the subsequent part of Hurst's and Donner's
Christmas Carols as well. Houses in the films are of ordinary size with normal-sized
staircase, whereas the original speaks of rather large house consisting of many separate
rooms, and a stairwell large enough to fit a locomotive hearse with enough space left.
The spaciousness of the house is put in a direct contrast with its emptiness. Thus the
echo Scrooge hears when he yells "Pooh, pooh!" as he enters draws attention not only
the directly observable physical emptiness of the house but Scrooge's lonely, empty inner
state of mind as well. This is further highlighted by pointing out the presence of immense
darkness inside the house, and the statement of the narrator that darkness is a state
Scrooge preferred and liked. With regard to these pathetic fallacies, it is Zemeckis' version
that most closely follows the original, properly depicting bad weather, including the fog,
vast gloomy yard, and dark spacious house echoing every sound and boasting enormously
wide staircase in the middle.
Another important piece of fallacy in the chapter are the tiles adorning the mantle of
Scrooge's fireplace. As established in the previous chapter their importance is two-fold
in that they Scrooge's current mindset, which is closer to the ideas promoted in the Old
Testament, and present the reader with the idea of Marley, whose face Scrooge sees in the
tiles, initiating the process of redemption by heeding Scrooge to follow New Testament's
tenets to save himself. The original notwithstanding Hurst's and Zemeckis' versions of
Christmas Carol omit the imagery of the Old Testament tiles altogether as well as any
other references to the Bible in the dialogue between Jacob and Scrooge leaving us with a
completely secularized version of the scene. By contrast Donner and Jones remain at least
partially true to the original and feature some of the depictions inspired by the Bible. In
the case of Donner's rendition, we are left with only a single tile depicting the Last Supper
of Jesus Christ on which Marley's face appears three times. The pathetic fallacy pointing
36
to Scrooge's current state of mind is thus lost and the scene server only as a premonition
of what will follow.
It is only in Jones' adaptation that we can see the tile depicting Cain murdering Abel
from the original. However, even Jones' version, which undoubtedly comes closest to the
original from all the adaptations, alters the message of the original as the second tile,
featuring Jesus Christ preaching to his disciples, shown in the scene is based on the New
Testament and thus does not reflect Scrooge's mind at all.
7.2 Mar ley as a messenger of redemption
To determine the accuracy with which Marley's message of redemption to Scrooge in the
adapted version of Christmas Carol corresponds with the original, we must consider the
wording and means Marley uses to convince Scrooge to save himself. Firstly, Dickens'
Marley goes to great pains to establish the fact that he is indeed a ghost, and has lost
his power to change the physical world. Not only does he accepts and answers Scrooge's
sceptical question, he speaks of his curse and inability to travel beyond his former counting
house. Knowing Scrooge very well, he chooses to play on his fears, rather than compassion
or rationality, by repeatedly disclosing the torture of powerlessness he is subjected to day
after day. Most importantly, Marley makes undeniably clear the existence of connection
between Christianity and the afterlife he is cursed to live. Regretting that he did not
follow Christ's teaching and failed to save himself he pities the past by saying "Why did I
walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to
that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode! Were there no poor homes to
which its light would have conducted me!". Furthermore, Marley specifically emphasizes
the notion that any "Christian spirit" no matter who he is should strive to help others
while he lives for he cannot amend for not doing so in the afterlife while neglecting to
extend the notion to people of different religious affiliation. The specificity with which
Dicken's targets his audience is of little surprise considering the basis of his message. As
Hartley mentions in her book The Selected Letters of Charles Dickens, Dickens himself
divulges the purpose behind his work, stating in one of his letters to reverend Macrae,
"With a deep sense of my great responsibility always upon me., one of my most
constant and most earnest endeavours has been to exhibit in all my good people
some faint reflection of the teachings of our great Master, and unostentatiously to
lead the reader up to those teachings as the great source of all moral goodness."
(364)
As regards the ghost aspect of the story, forcing Scrooge into acceptance of the supernatural,
and by extension the possibility of an afterlife, all the versions stick closely to
the original with the exception of Donner's and Zemeckis' Carol. There several important
changes Donner introduced in his adaptation that impact the original message of the
37
story. Firstly, in Donner's version Marley is fully corporeal, not a ghost as Dickens would
have us believe. Such change profoundly influences viewers understanding of the story as,
at first sight, Marley is no longer a supernatural being and thus does not represent the
trustworthy messenger from the afterlife the original describes. Even more so, Scrooge
of this version does not regard Marley as an authority on the subject either. This can
be established by Scrooge's behaviour directly following Marley's departure. The original
states that, "He[Scrooge] tried to say "Humbug!" but stopped at the first syllable," which
clearly signals the doubt caused by the idea of theological redemption and inevitable
punishment Marley and the ghosts from the street put into his head.
By comparison, Donner's Scrooge is virtually unchanged by the encounter with his
old friend, and saying "Humbug," shrugs the whole episode off and goes to bed at once.
Secondly, this is the only adaptations that fully omits the desperate ghosts in the street
trying to interfere for human good and ghosts of failed governments Scrooge once personally
knew. As a result the motive of redemption through acceptance of personal responsibility,
rather than hiding behind governmental solutions Dickens portrayed in the scene
is lost along with its moral implications. This, coupled with the flattering way Donner
portrays the businessmen as compassionate and socially responsible, arguably makes his
rendition of the story least critical of affluent members of higher social and thus by consequence
in lesser need of redemption as well. In other adaptations, with the exception of
Hurst's, the ghosts of government members linked together are nowhere to be seen, but
the call for personal responsibility for the destitute members of society is still faithfully
presented through other ghosts in the street, most notably one who, chained to a heavy
vault, unsuccessfully endeavours to help a poverty-stricken mother holding an infant.
Similarly to Donner, Zemeckis alters the character of Marley to serve his dramatical
purposes. For instance, as Scrooge approaches his house door and reaches to insert the key
in the keyhole, he notices that the door knocker has taken on a shape of Marley's head.
When he tries to examine this phenomena more closely, the head lets out a horrific shout,
scaring Scrooge, who falls down the stoop, hurting his back in the process. Horrified he
shuffles away on the floor and waits a moment before entering the house.
According to John Bowen, Dickens frequently makes use of ghostly apparitions in his
prose because "we as readers will often experience the emotion of knowing or caring more
for someone who never existed, in a place and time that never were, than for those we
believe to be alive around us every day. This is the perfectly normal and utterly strange
effect of that activity we call reading fiction, or reading Dickens's fiction at least" (30). As
to the aim of employing such techniques he adds that "These 'ghost effects' of criticism
are not merely one theme among many but a condition of the criticism of fiction. And as
the ghost of Marley does not come alone, or simply to disturb or question Scrooge, but
obliges him to witness the poverty and exploitation of the working people and the abject
poor who surround him and who suffer by his deeds, so all Dickens's fiction bears with it
38
ethical demands upon its readers" (Bowen).
It is safe to say that Marley's role in the story is never that of traditional ghost. The
story does not rely on him scaring or haunting poor Scrooge in order to force him into
being good, rather he is a messenger, a harbinger of what could come to pass in the future,
he is there to warn his friend of many years and introduce the possibility of redemption
if he mends his ways. Zemeckis' version of the "door knocker scene" disregards the fact
that Marley's face on the knocker is simply a premonition, conjured perhaps in order to
render the future visit of the ghost less shocking, and presents the viewer with a ghost
who haunts Scrooge and terrifies him to death without actually accomplishing anything
save for making the miser fearful and less open to the message he is about to rely.
In the scene following the dialogue between Marley and Scrooge, Zemeckis once again
draws on traditional trope of ghosts being terrifiers, which was highly popular and prevalent
in works of Gothic genre written in Victorian times. Ignoring the fact that Marley
and the other ghosts serve not merely as bogeymen who mean to aimlessly scare Scrooge,
but rather as a cautionary tale designed to push Scrooge into admitting that poverty is
an issue and accepting his share of social responsibility, Zemeckis introduces an aggressive
ghost who at the end of the scene attacks Scrooge scaring him so profoundly he falls on
his back and shaking runs to hide in his bed. It is only Hurst's Carol that follows the
original with painstaking accuracy, depicting ghosts linked together and even ad verbum
repeating the line from the original stating that the ghost "seek to interfere for good in
human measures and have lost their powers...forever." to ensure proper understating of
the scene.
Interestingly enough none of the modern adaptations accurately follow the wording
of the original dialogue concerning the theme of Christianity and Marley's warning. In
all the version the scene is effectively secularized by omitting any and all allusions to
Christianity, Christian spirit or the blessed star from Matthew 2:1-2, which lead the
wise men. While the story still remain connected to the sacred origin of the holiday by
allusions from other Staves, mainly I and IV, as a result of this omission the idea of Christ
being a role model for the upper class is inevitably lost in the I Stave and it is not until
Stave IV with the introduction of the Ghost of Christmas Present and Tiny Tim that the
connection between religion and charity, Dickens embedded in the original, is properly
established.
In conclusion, Hurst's and Jones' carols show the highest degree of fidelity to the
original, not only do they adequately depict Marley as Scrooge's friend and guide, who
came to his rescue with the intention of saving him from damnation, but they are accurate
in their portrayal of the other ghosts and through their use convey the message of caution
Dickens' embedded in the original as well.
39
7.3 Ebenezer's earlier years
Examining Dickens' Christmas Carol, we find that there is a severe scarcity of information
in regard to Scrooge's past and relationship with father and his sister, Fan. Even less
information is to be found on Scrooge's mother, who is not even once mentioned in the
book. What we do know, however, is that Scrooge spend a portion of his childhood
in a boarding school at the behest of his father, with whom he presumably had a bad
relationship, and that his sister Fan seeing that "Father is so much kinder than he used to
be, that home's like Heaven," convinced the father to take him back when he was older. In
absence of a more complex backstory, Hurst and Donner decided to introduce a possible
cause for Scrooge's behaviour by elaborating on his relationship with his mother.
Compared to the original, which does not fully delve into Scrooge's childhood experience,
Hurst's version strives to provide us with a more complex explanation as to why
events in Scrooge's childhood passed the way they did, and what lies at the core of his
contempt for the season and general disdain for acts of compassion and mercy. In order
to do that the adaptation introduces additional background information about the family.
As we watch the scene with young Scrooge being visited by Fan at the school, we learn
that not only was Scrooge sent away at a tender age, but also that his father has not
visited him at the school, and therefore does not know him at all. While all of this was
faintly implied in the original, Hurst goes to great pains to emphasize the fact that the
father-son relationship is broken or possibly even non-existent in this case. To this end
Hurst's Scrooge even explicitly states that,"Nobody else ever cared for me. Nobody else
ever will," leaving little doubt that Fan is the only person he considers close to him. As the
scene develops, present-day Scrooge discusses his family with the spirit, and it is revealed
that the reason why Scrooge's father send his young son away was that he blamed him
for the death of his wife, who died after the childbirth. Furthermore, the spirit indirectly
implies that Scrooge perpetuates this cycle of misguided reasoning and unfair blame by
holding his nephew Fred responsible for the death of his mother, Fan, who died during
childbirth, giving Fred life. The emotional impact Fan's death had on Scrooge and its
effect on his relationship with Fred is presented in an added scene of dying Fan pleading
with Scrooge to take care of her newborn child. Later it is revealed that Scrooge's hatred
and guilt prevented him from honouring this promise.
The self-defence mechanism theory as described by Anna Freud fifteen years prior to
the making of film might shed some light on the possible psychological effects as regards
Scrooge's personality caused by the additional family background Hurst has chosen to
include. The theory states that,
"It [ego] learns what is regarded as blameworthy but protects itself by means of
this defence mechanism from unpleasant self-criticism. Vehement indignation at
someone else's wrongdoing is the precursor of and substitute for guilty feelings on
40
its own account. Its indignation increases automatically when the perception of
its own guilt is imminent."(119)
Applying the theory on the film in question, one has to consider whether Scrooge's misguided
anger and resentment towards his own nephew, the only family he has left, is not a
result of projection. To put in other words, as a child Scrooge accepted the preposterous
proposition his father made that Scrooge was responsible for his mother's death. In order
to escape the enormity of the guilt and self-loathing connected to this acceptance, he
channels the negative feelings he has for himself toward his nephew, who is in many ways
similar to Scrooge's younger self. Thus acting in a manner akin to his father's Scrooge
protects himself, not realizing that his nephew and the Christmas season he came to associate
with his guilt, for he felt loneliest that time of a year, are only substitutes for the true
object of his derision, himself. The film succeeds in offering a simple, plausible explanation
behind Scrooge's emotional responses to charity workers and his nephew and provides
the viewers with further contextual clarification of his attachment to individualism and
materialistic outlook on life.
Donner's retelling of the classical story introduces similar additional family background
as well. More information about Scrooge's personal life, and features a brief scene with
his father, who is not introduced in the book save for Fan's remark about his violent
nature, is added in this adaptation. As in the case of Hurst's Carol, Donner's version
reveals, through a dialogue between Scrooge and the spirit, that Scrooge's mother died
during childbirth and his father holds grudge against him, which is why he sent him to
a boarding school. Only in this version is Scrooge both said to be responsible for his
mother's death and sent to the boarding school knowing it is his punishment.
The notion that Scrooge's sojourn at the boarding school is, in fact, a form of cruel
punishment might bear significant effect on his psychological development, making the
acceptance of the blame his father lay on him more probable. Even though similar argument
could possibly be made for Hurst's adaptation as well, as it is insinuated that
Scrooge's father blamed him the death of the mother, Hurst avoids mentioning any explicit
connection between the death and Scrooge being send away to boarding school, so
it cannot be determined that sending Scrooge to the boarding school was punishment.
Likewise the self-defence mechanism theory does not fit Jones' rendition. Although Jones
explicitly states that Scrooge was sent to the school on account of his father taking a
dislike to him after the death of the mother, it cannot be surmised that Scrooge's mother
died in childbirth in this version, because any further details on the subject are withheld
from us.
On one hand, the fact that Donner's versions firmly establishes, by both the spirit and
Scrooge himself, that his displacement to the boarding school is a revenge by exile exacted
by his father helps in creating a plausible explanation for the origin of Scrooge's hatred
and aloofness. On the other hand, it could be considered troubling due to its specificity,
41
because the book, in contrast, allows for a wide range of explanations behind the father's
decision. For example, the strength of tradition might constitute an influential factor, or
as Schavierien points out "Fathers who have attended boarding school themselves may
consider it necessary to perpetuate the tradition... sons of the moneyed classes were sent
away to perpetuate the establishment and its values through careers in the army, the law,
medicine, the church and the making of money" (4). Alternatively, the lack of experience
or belief that the child will be better off among his peers than with a single parent might
be at blame. By being send to a boarding school not only is Scrooge denied his father's
and sister's love and the security and familiarity of home, but any connection to the
feminine side of society is irreversibly severed as well. Instead of enjoy Christmas with
his family, he is constantly reminded of his guilt and dissimilarity, which over the years
grows into a full-fledged hatred toward the season. The inevitable rejection of emotions
unfit for the masculine environment of boarding school for boys leaves lasting effect on
child's character. As Duffel sums up, "Boarding schools don't "build character" or "make
the man", they break the child, and replace it with a coat of armour filled with fear,
loneliness and alienation" (31).
In Donner's version, which added a scene of Scrooge meeting his father, we can partially
observe the alienating affect the school had on young Scrooge. Following Fan's
shocking announcement that Scrooge is to go home for good, and his first consternated
reaction, Scrooge rushes out of the school to embrace his father, standing beside a carriage.
His father, a gloomy figure clad in black from head to toe, sternly makes a gesture with
his cane and orders him to stop. Puzzled by this unexpected behaviour, Scrooge's first
reaction is fear and bafflement. In the brief exchange that follows we learn that his father
has no intention of keeping him home and plans to send him to apprentice at Fezziwig's
in three days' time. While the brevity of the scene does not allow for extensive analysis,
we can determine that Scrooge and his father are perfect strangers at this point. Not only
does Scrooge have trouble keeping an eye contact with his own father, he stutters, even
though he was fluently conversing with his sister a minute ago, and nervously flinches
during the whole dialogue. All such signs could be construed as symptoms of alienating
affect of the boarding school environment Duffel attributes to Boarding School Syndrome.
On the whole, the additional background introduced in Hurst's version provides plausible
explanation for Scrooge's psychological condition while retaining most of the original
story. By contrast, Donner's and Jones' renditions present only partial explanations and
thus leave it to the viewer to fill in the gaps. It is, however, Zemeckis' version that follows
the book most closely. Similarly to the original, there is no mention of Scrooge's mother
dying during childbirth in the film nor is there any clarification as to why Scrooge's father
sent him to the boarding school. Most importantly only in Zemeckis' version Fan is portrayed
as being noticeably younger than Scrooge. From the book, it can be established
that Fan is "a little girl, much younger than the boy [Ebenezer]" and furthermore she is
42
said to be a child, whereas Scrooge is at this point referred to as boy. Moreover, Fan mentions
that Scrooge is to "be a man now", which in all likelihood means that he is about
to enter apprenticeship and start earning money. The fact that Fan is unquestionably
younger than Scrooge bears importance in terms of the dynamic of their relationship.
According to Haight, it is not uncommon for the older of siblings in the environment of
dysfunctional families - which was arguably the case of Scrooge's family, considering his
father's anger issues and the lack of love and support it offered to Scrooge, which lead
to him being so emotionally reserved and misanthropic - to assume a parental role and
be protective of their younger siblings (50). If one examines the story from this perspective,
Scrooge, the older of the two children, was cast into the role of parent assuming
responsibility for his sister. Not only is he her brother, he is her guardian, which only
intensifies the despair he feels when Fan dies, because he feels that he failed in his task.
The enormous amount of parental responsibility Scrooge undertook in order to protect his
little sister fits well with the later part of the story, as it logically explains why Scrooge
feels such powerful negative feelings toward his nephew, who constantly reminds him of
his failure to save Fan. This is fully reflected only in Zemeckis' adaptation, which is why
it should be considered the most faithful one in regard to Scrooge's childhood.
7.4 Shame, regrets, and empathy as means of redemption
A popular outlook among Dickensian scholars based on works of Sigmund Freud, views
the visits of the ghost, exploration of Scrooge's memories, and self-realization he makes
during the journey as a form of therapy. The way in which Scrooge is in a dream-like state
led from memory to memory, realizing his misfortunes, flaws, and gradually approaching
his desire to atone for them is highly akin to the hypnotherapeutic approach popular in
Victorian days. By entering the state of hypnosis a guide, in this case the spirit, helps
the subject access his memories, attitudes and thoughts that are part of his subconscious.
The method is used to achieve a heightened sense of awareness, which leads to realizations
one could not reach because of psychological blockades that are present in the waking,
alert state of mind. As Clarke points out "In the company of the Ghost of Christmas
Past, Ebenezer feels the fullness of his emotional pain. This results in a lowering of his
resistances" (258). The Second Stave presents several significant instances during which
we can see the effect of Scrooge losing control and accessing emotions he had long forgotten
existed.
Interestingly, most of such instances have been omitted from the modern adaptations,
making the character of Scrooge somewhat reserved in comparison to the original and
disturbing the linearity of Scrooge's transformation Dickens' managed to establish in the
original. The first show of accessing suppressed emotions in relation to the healing process
of memory in the book comes at the beginning of Scrooge's journey in Stave II. As the
43
spirit magically transports Scrooge on a country road, he instantly recognizes a place he
spent his childhood in and overwhelmed by emotions cries. Trying to mask his emotions
he lies and denies that he's crying, only to sob again when the spirit remarks that the
there is "a solitary child, neglected by his friends" left at the school. Entering one of
the classrooms they see a child, young Scrooge, reading adventure books and Scrooge
displays a spout of child-like excitement remembering his imaginary childhood friends.
As he calms himself down he pities the boy and reluctantly expresses a wish, which
illustrates first stepping stone on the journey to his rebirth, "There was a boy singing a
Christmas carol at my door last night. I should like to have given him something: that's
all."
By contrast, Jones' Scrooge has not yet recognized his faults and enter the healing
process. He sheds no tears of happiness or sadness, he does not pity the sad, lonely boy
he was, but simply remarks that "Life is hard," confirming his current view that struggle
with want and poverty is part of the natural order of the world and it is upon individual
to fend for himself. Furthermore, he does not show any sign of empathy by remembering
his bad conduct towards the caroller and wishing to change it. Similar approach to this
instance has been adapted in Donner's and Hurst's Carols as well. Donner's Scrooge does
not cry, and although he hesitantly shows a small degree of compassion for his younger
counterpart, he fails to remember the caroller he had scolded and regret his past conduct.
In Hurst's rendition, most of the original dialogue has been omitted from the scene. As a
result, the main focus of the scene is on the relationship between Scrooge and his sister.
Due to the absence of Scrooge being faced with his childhood loneliness, Hurst's Scrooge
does not pity the boy he had once been and does not empathize with the caroller he had
met in Stave I.
It is only in Zemeckis' version that the emotional impact of Scrooge's childhood home
is at least partially revealed. Although, similarly to the other adaptations, most of the
dialogue taking place inside the school building has been omitted, including Scrooge
remembering the caroller, the first instance of Scrooge succumbing to his emotions upon
his arrival to the village has been included. We can see Scrooge being overwhelmed by
feelings and crying as he sees the countryside he spent his childhood in. Most of the
original dialogue has been repeated ad verbum, so the viewer is clearly made aware of
Scrooge's intentions to mask his vulnerability by lying to the ghost.
Following Scrooge's visit to Fezziwig's ball, the original presents Scrooge in advanced
stage in terms of compassion and remorse, who immediately after the emotional response
to one of his happiest memories remembers his maltreatment of Bob Cratchit and remarks
"I should like to be able to say a word or two to my clerk just now. That's all." This show
of compassion, and hint of altered mindset is completely omitted from Jones' version of the
story. The pattern of callousness and paranoia from Jones' version of Scrooge is detectable
in the next scene as well. Not only is Scrooge played by Patrick Stewart unapologetic
44
about his past behaviour, he shows distrust and paranoia by doubting the veracity of
the memories the spirit provided him, thus effectively delaying the process of redemption
by his own obstinacy. Neither Donner's nor Zemeckis' Carols reflect the change of mind
Scrooge showed in the book. In Donner's version, Scrooge does not mention Bob Cratchit
at all, and criticises dancing as being waste of precious time he could have used to gain
monetary means instead. Such remarks arguably imply that there has been little change
of Scrooge's mindset in this version at this point. Zemeckis' Carol omits all dialogue in
the scene altogether, giving us no insight into Scrooge's mind, and leaving us unable to
pinpoint the extent to which it might have been altered.
Hurst's Carol follows the original most diligently in this case. The dialogue between the
Spirit and Scrooge regarding Fezziwig's generosity has been retained and we can observe
the alteration in Scrooge's behaviour when he realizes the contrast between the kind
treatment his former boss extended to him and the way he treats his clerk. In accordance
to the original, he wishes to have a word with his clerk, Bob Cratchit, upon the realization.
Despite the fact that none of the adaptations cover the process of Scrooge's redemption
through series of realization leading to shame and regret very accurately, the adaptations
which show highest degree of similarity to the original are Hurst's and Zemeckis' due to
both their explicitness of revealing Scrooge's thought process and inclusion of parts of the
original dialogue concerning the redemptive factor of the story.
8 Conclusion
A Christmas Carol is inarguably one of Dickens' most notable and influential works, which
millions of readers worldwide cherish. At the same time, it is one for which the process
of adaptation into film presents immense challenge both due to its age and complexity.
In transforming the book into film, sufficient background knowledge of Victorian era,
the author, and motives behind his endeavours are of utmost importance as has been
shown in this thesis. The thesis aimed to analyse the key motifs of A Christmas Carol
and its modern adaptations, capitalism, Christian compassion, and redemption, and provide
a comprehensive comparison with the goal of determining, which adaptation most
accurately reflects the societal changes Dickens strove to promote in the original story.
In dealing with the topic of capitalism, author's personal history, including his speeches
and letters, has been examined and his approach to laissez-faire and commercialization of
Christmas has been firmly established by evidence from his past. Furthermore, the use
of physiognomy as deterrent and importance of personal responsibility have been shown
to be part of Christmas Carol's legacy. With Dickens' call for social justice and class
equality in mind, the aforementioned features have been have been minutely analysed
and compared. As a result Jones' Carol has been determined to be the most accurate
in its depiction of Dickens' message regarding capitalism mainly due to its high fidelity
45
to the original as regards the use of physiognomy and the idea of capitalism moderated
by personal responsibility. Moreover, in examining the modern adaptations, themes of
Industrial Revolution and governmental solutions to Britain's economic crisis, such as
Poor Law, which have been given additional prominence in some of the films, have been
compared to the Christmas Carol's original notions and determined to be well in line
with the messages Dickens endorsed. Lastly, the thesis has provided several plausible
explanations for some of the choices modern-day directors opted to make in altering A
Christmas Carol to render its message more relatable to their contemporary audience.
Dickens' religious background and affiliation have been explored in the following part
of the thesis. It has been established that although A Christmas Carol draws heavily on
certain aspects of the Bible and organized religion the author in no way aimed to further
the cause of Church, but rather intended to use Jesus Christ as a role model for Victorian
society. To this end, the lofty ideas of a more charitable Christ-like society based around
mutual compassion, support and financial aid of those in need rather than competition
for monetary gain have been, which lie at the core of Christmas Carol's moral message,
have been examined and by comparison of the modern adaptations the extend to which
they reflect the original ideas has been determined. The important question of whether
the character of Ebenezer Scrooge might have been an Atheist, as some of the more recent
adaptations strongly imply, has been analysed using information from the book, Dickens'
past statements, and statistics of the time and answered in the negative on account of
its improbability. On this grounds, Donner's and Hurst's Carols have been found most
faithful to the original character of Scrooge. On the other hand Zemeckis' rendition has
shown the highest degree of accuracy in connection to the criticism of Church's practices
and efforts, which Dickens' openly opposed due to their allegedly detrimental nature to
the welfare of the poor.
Lastly, the redemptive qualities of the story and its conveyance in modern adaptations
have been examined. To account for the behaviour of the characters in the original
and adaptations, modern psychological theories have been employed. In consequence, the
additional family background introduced in Hurst's Carol has been found both plausible
and beneficial to the story. However, with regard to overall depiction of main character of
A Christmas Carol, the film by Robert Zemeckis has been established as the most accurate
due to its faithful representation of Scrooge's childhood and step-by-step redemptive
process the character had gone through.
In conclusion, the main aim of the thesis to compare and analyse modern films adaptations
of the book A Christmas Carol with the goal of providing detailed analyses of
the themes of capitalism, Christian compassion and redemption and ascertaining the extend
to which modern adaptations are faithful in their depiction of the themes has been
fulfilled. The thesis also provided basic background information about author's social
background and the effect Victorian era bore on the book. Similarly, a number influences
46
guiding the directors of the films to alter the story have been accounted for.
While there are numerous aspects of the story of A Christmas Carol and its modern
adaptations that remain hidden to the naked eye and indubitably warrant further research
and analyses far beyond the scope of this thesis, it is my hope that this work will serve
as a suitable introduction to the issues connected with themes of Capitalism, Christian
Compassion, and Redemption in one of most popular books in history and its cinematic
adaptations.
47
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