‘A CHRISTMAS CAROL’ ENDURES BECAUSE OF ITS ETERNAL TRUTH
Who could have predicted that an undersized, Victorian English novel published in December 1843 would not only endure, but inform and influence our understanding of Christmas in 2021? While scholars and critics have routinely disparaged the literary merit of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” readers across the English-speaking world have put this small work at the top of their Christmas list for nearly two centuries, inspiring countless plays, movies and even spinoffs like Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”
Dickens’ classic novella, “A Christmas Carol,” is a parable of deliverance wherein the irascible Ebenezer Scrooge is persuaded to renounce his churlish, solitary lifestyle after an unlikely midnight encounter with the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley.
This cultural treasure has become an integral part of our appreciation for Christmas in all its glorious, multifarious manifestations.
It endures for many reasons, not the least of which is its redemptive theme in which Scrooge, a curmudgeon and a reprobate, is able to find deliverance from his obduracy and become a beacon of generosity, kindness and goodwill.
It offers hope that even the most despicable, conniving cynic among us may be transformed into a decent, loving human being.
Scrooge. Marley. These characters’ names were not chosen idly. Jacob’s Old Testament namesake (from the Book of Genesis) was a conniving, greedy trickster who cheated his own brother out of his inheritance and fraudulently obtained his father’s blessing. Dickens cast Jacob Marley in the same mold.
The name Scrooge was coined by Dickens to denote a selfish, meanspirited, miserly wretch, whose signature comment was “Bah, humbug!” Scrooge is a perfect example of onomatopoeia because it sounds like a skinflint who screws, scrounges and scavenges his way through life. Yet by appending the name Ebenezer, he opened up the possibility for a “new” Scrooge, one who was transformed after his nighttime encounter with the three spirits of Christmas. The word Ebenezer is also taken from the Old Testament, but unlike Jacob it signifies a commemoration of divine assistance — literally a “stone of help” — that reminded ancient readers of God’s promise to protect them.
The ghost of Jacob Marley, who appeared to
In 2021, we do well to remember this Victorian tale when tempted to place personal convenience over the well-being of others. It is all too easy to scoff when asked to show proof of vaccination or to wear a mask.
Scrooge in a dream, was seven years dead and cursed to wander the Earth eternally as a decrepit spirit, forever burdened by a mass of chains that represented his accumulated sins. He did not realize the error of his miserly ways until it was too late. So when Scrooge timidly remarked, “But you were always a good man of business, Jacob,” Marley snapped, “Business! Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business: charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were all my business.”
We chuckle at Dickens borrowing from St. Paul’s ninefold “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23) as he distills the Soul of Christmas into his morality tale. But we are inclined to forgive him this exercise in benign plagiarism because it conveys an important kernel of the good news that is the heart of Christmas.
In 2021, we do well to remember this Victorian tale when tempted to place personal convenience over the wellbeing of others. It is all too easy to scoff, “Bah, humbug!” when asked to show proof of vaccination or wear a mask. But when the common welfare of our fellow citizens hangs in the balance, we have a community obligation to set aside personal feelings and engage in behaviors that protect the weakest among us from serious illness or death.
Regrettably, the lessons from “A Christmas Carol” have been lost on many of our public servants, including some school teachers, health-care workers, firefighters and members of the San Diego Police Officers Association. It is ironic that while the police routinely enforce mandatory submission to traffic laws, drug and alcohol statutes, and smoking restrictions, many officers have responded with “Bah, humbug!” to mandatory vaccinations, which would greatly enhance the common welfare.
Go figure! It is a specious contention that opposes mandates even while conceding that the vaccine is effective in controlling the spread of the virus. “Bah, humbug!” is not an acceptable response, whether for political convictions, religious dogmas, personal opinions or a belief in conspiracy theories.
Thankfully, “A Christmas Carol” endures because its truth is eternal: the common welfare is everybody’s business, and “the light still shines in the darkness — and the darkness has never put it out.”