How does the Ghost of Christmas Past affect Scrooge in A Christmas Carol?
The Charles Dickens classic ‘A Christmas Carol' is full of wonderful characters, and this week we take a look at one of the most famous, the Ghost Of Christmas Past, and examine their role and purpose in the story.
Stave 2 - Summary
The ghost of Christmas past takes Scrooge to the boarding school where he studied as a child. We meet ‘a solitary child, neglected by his friends' who is forced to spend the Christmas holiday alone as his classmates joyfully return to their loving families. When Scrooge recalls his lonely childhood, he ‘sobs'.
The spirit then moves forward in time to show Scrooge's sister Fan announce that she has come to take Ebenezer home. Their fondness for each other is clear in her loving words “Dear, dear brother...I have come to bring you home, dear brother!”. The adult Scrooge sorrowfully tells the ghost that Fan died and is the mother of his nephew Fred.
The ghost moves Scrooge to a later Christmases where a delightful party is being thrown by Fezziwig, the merchant with whom Scrooge apprenticed as a young man. The party is seen as an opportunity to thank the staff for their hard work and share Christmas joy with them all. Scrooge uses religious lexis to indicate that he is starting to recall his Christian duty to others. ‘Bless my soul', ‘Bless his heart' (Scrooge to ghost)
Scrooge later sees a slightly older version of himself in conversation with Belle who is breaking off their engagement because Scrooge's greed has corrupted the love that they used to have – “Another idol has displaced me”.
A very emotional and regretful Scrooge begs the Ghost of Christmas Past to take him back to his home.
The Role of The Ghost Of Christmas Past
The main purpose of the Ghost of Christmas Past is to re-awaken Scrooge to his feelings and emotions. He forces Scrooge to revisit events from his past that were filled with deep feelings, both good and bad. In this way, the spirit compels Scrooge to feel things that he has locked away for years, re-introducing him to all the possibilities that life has to offer.
At the end of the visit by this spirit of the past, Scrooge is emotional and so is open to the lessons that the two further ghosts will teach him.
The secondary purpose of The Ghost of Christmas Past is to give the reader insight into the cruel and heartless character of Scrooge. By revealing the sadness in Scrooge's past, Dickens provides empathy for Scrooge – he was rejected by a cold and unfeeling father and lost the only family member who gave him love.
The reader begins to understand why a man like Scrooge might close himself to society and the possibility of further pain. As such, the reader is more likely to hope for redemption for Scrooge as he learns the error of living a life devoid of love for others.
We hope you enjoyed this portrait of the Ghost of Christmas Past. And If you didn't like this ghost there are not one, but two more to read about in the book! How's that for value?
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