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Home , American Notes, An American Carol, A Christmas Carol, Christmas carol, Smoking Bishop

A Little Book about A Carol by

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of its first publication.

, by Linda Hooper assisted by Melissa Mann Katie Franco Michaela O'Connor JessicaSlater Gordon Walker

blished by the Dickens Project University of California ©1993 The Dickens Projectof the University of aliforni i Contents a scholarly consortium devoted to pro moll ng lud y • nd enjoymentof the life,times, and work of harl I k,'n . The Projectconsists offaculty and grad uatc stud nls from Introduction the eight general campuses oftheUniversityof lifornia � as well as from other major American and international by ProfessorJohn 0. Jor 4 Charles Dickens, universities. Founded in 1981 and headquartered at UC 1812-1870 9 Santa Cruz, the consortium includes among its institu­ England, December 1843 tional members the City University of New York, the 18 The Illustrations University of Texas at Austin, Stanford University, the 27 University of Southern California, Rice University, the Adaptations California Instituteof Technology, and the Hebrew Uni­ 44 Further Reading versity of Jerusalem. 64 In addition to promoting collaborative research on Dickens and the Victorian age, the Project disseminates research findings througha series of annual confercn s, institutes, and publications, as well as through courses, theatrical performances,and other programs open to the general public. The Project also organizes fa culty ex­ changes,supports the professionaldevelopment of gradu­ ate students, and producescurricular materials for usein teaching Dickens in the schools and colleges. Introcfuction Dickens wroteA in the .These were years of famine in Ireland as well as of severe economic depression worldwide. Dickens knew and un­ derstoodthe effects of poverty, and,by having Inasmuch as the Dickens Project to promote seck notice homelessmothers huddled in doorwaysat the end study and enjoyment of the life, times, and work of of the firstStave, he was writ ing fromhi s own observat ion Charles Dickens,it isfittingthat on the150th anniv rsary and experience. So today,A Christmas Carolalong with of the firstpublication of A ChristmasCarol in Prose, Being other works by Dickens continues to direct attention to a Storyof Christmas , mark the sion by offer­ we occa the problems of homelessness and economicinjustice on ing a new publication which hope will futher the we ourverydoorsteps.Infocusingonsuchquestions,Dickens appreciationand understandingof Dickens'sbest known is a writerfor all historicalperiods, including our own. work. No other book or storyby Dickens or anyone else It is usefulto that Dickenshad writtenan earlier (savethe Bible) has beenmore enjoyed, criticized, referred recall version of A ChristmasCa ro severalyears beforetaking up to, or more frequentlyadapted to other media.None of his l the storyof Scrooge in October1843. His first novel, The other works is more widely recognized or, indeed, cel­ Pickwick Papers (1836-37), contains an interpolated tale, ebrated within the English-speakingworld. Some schol­ 'The Goblins Who Stole A Sexton," that anticipates A ars have evenclaimed that in publishingA ChristmasCarol Christmas Carolin several interesting respects. Told at a Dickens single-handedly invented the modem form of Christmas party,the storyrecounts how Grubb, the Christmasholiday in England and the United States. a drunken,cruel, misanthropist,is visitedone Christmas As G.K. Chestertonnoted long ago, th A Christmas wi Eve by goblins, who torment him physically and show CarolDickens succeeded in transforming hrislma from him scenesof the happy domestic life fromwhich he has asacredfestivalintoafamilyfeast.In sodoln , h, brought deliberatelyexcluded himself. The lessons they teachhim the holidayinside t e home an husmad t • t . • • s bl•to h dt result in his redemption.He reformshis ways and even­ ordinary people, who w rc now •lit lo JMrl ·!pal • di­ tually leads a long and happy life. rectly in the celebration ralh r th.mn'"'''ly w trw sing its The majorchange that Dickensmade in 1843when he performance in hur h. revisedhis earlier tale was to transformits central charac­ terfrom a memberof the working cla8S--il sexton-into

5 soonerwas a new technologyinvented in the intervening a wealthy businessman, thereby introducing a different 150years than A ChristmasCarol was quickly adaptedto it. and considerably more"radical" social messageinto the Christmas story. Nevertheless,the basic situation in the two stories Reactions to A Carol have varied tremen­ dously over the years,with eachgeneration finding in it is quite similar. Both Gabriel Grubb and Scrooge are a message-5piritual, psychological, or political-appli­ spoilsports.That is, each refusesto join and participatein the communal festival or sacred"sport" of Christmas. In cableto the needsof differentaudiences. Oearl y the Carol both stories the spoilsportreceives supernatural visitors is an ideologicalwork. both in and forour owntime. The enormous success of its multiple adaptations testifies to who instruct him in the human values appropriateto the Christmas season,and in bothstories the spoilsport un­ its enduringvalue as a marketablecommodity. Ostensi­ bly its message is one that decriesthe commercialismof a dergoes a conversion that reuniteshim with the spirit of debased Christmas celebration. Yet ironically, the story community and fellowship. In both stories, moreover, a / itself continues to be bought and sold, packaged and child or group of children plays an importantrole in the repackagedto meet an apparently inexhaustibledemand. redemptive process. In , Dickens unites important fea­ Indeed, the bookyou hold in yourhands is itselfa result of the Dickens Project'sparticipation in the commercial­ tures of the two Christmasstories he wrotefor the Decem­ ization ofAChristmasCarol. Howeverpureourmotivesin bernumber of Pickwick Papers, joining the family feastof Dingley Dell with its games, intcrgenerational bonding, seekingto promoteenjoyment of the Carol, alsowe knew thatwe could sell our littlebook and turn the profits to and domestic rituals together with the story of a supernatual visitiation leading to conversion. some practical use-a good one, we assure you! In the The various Christmas Caroladaptations listed below end, it may not matter that A Christmas Carol has been reflectonly afraction ofthemany waysin whichDickens's commercialized, itssince story of the strengthof commu­ nity and the power of love is not lostin the buying and original tale has been transposed to other media. In a sense, thestory itselfis already a multi-mediaproduction, selling. especiallythe sceneswhere Scroo ge is made to witnessa Curiouslyenough, Dickens himselfmade little money fromA ChristmasCarol, although he hadhigh hopesfor its series of visionary tableaux in which he can not partici­ commercial success. In its first edition, the Carol was a pate. It is almost as if Dickenswere writing a story to be beautiful little book, well made and lavish with illustra- told by medianot yet availablein the Victorianage. Yetno

6 7 tions. Our little book, not so lav ish nor so beautiful, C/U:Ir(utiJictens , 1812-1870 nev erthelessattempts to reproducesome of thesp iritthat 'Dictens s LifetJkfure tlie Caro{ animated the or iginal. May it br ing you pleasure and good cheer! InOctober of 1843,when he startedto writeA Christ­ mas Carol, Charles Dickenswas at thirty-one thesuccess­ John 0. jordan ful author of Sketches 1:Ty Boz, Papers, Oliver December1993 The Pickwick Twist, , , ,and AmericanNotes. Although his previous books had beenvery popular , with some numbers of Curiosity Shop selling as many as

100,000copies,his curren t novel,, was only sellingabout 20,000 per monthly •· number.His publishers . · .Jif"' · threatenedto reducehis salaryfrom £200 to £150 per month. His wife Catherine wasexpect­ their fifth child. a solution to

pressures, Dickens was Charles Dickens, 1844 planning to

8 9 leaveEngland for Italy, who hi family couldlive more drencorrespond to the six Dickenschildren at that time, cheaply. including Dickens'sy oungestbrother, a sickly boy,known Money had la ways • worry � r Di kens.He was as "finy Freci." born into a strugglinglow cr-middl lass family. When Even withthe move to London,his family could not he was ten, Dickens's father moved Lh family from affordto send Dickensto school,and insteadhe was free Chathamto a smallerhouse in , London. to explore the urban neighborhoods around him. When The four-roomhouse at 16 Bayham Street is su pposcdly he was twelve,his fatherfound workfor him in a factory, the model forthe Cratchits' house. The six Cratchit chil- and he boarded with another family, much as boarded with the Micawbers. Soon after­ ward,his fatherwas imprisoned fordebt, and the whole family moved to the debtors' prison save for Charles, who kept working. He felt abandoned and ashamed of this experience for the restof his life, and althoughhe fictionalized it in his novels,during his lifehe told the truth to only one person,his friend and biogra­ pher, John Forster. Dickens was later sent back to school,but when his parents could again no longeraffo rd to pay fortheir son's education,he foundworkfirst in a law offi.ce,and thenas anewspaperreporter,coveringthe proceedings ofParlia­ ment.He taught himselfshorthand and soon was known as the fastestand mostaccurate parliamentaryreporter in the City. While working as a reporter,Dickens began writing semi-fictional sketches for magazines, eventually pub­ The shorter building is one of several childhood lishing them as Sketches Boz. His next work was The homes of Dickens,this one possibly the model by forthe Cratchits'. PickwickPapers, which was published in a relatively new

10 11 serial format. Each month, a twelve-thousandword sec­ tion ofthebook was sold in a "number," at a shillingeach. Thismade a long book affordable to many more people. Charles Dickens was an outgoing, playful man who AfterPickwick, all of his subsequentboo ks, until A Christ­ loved games and parties. The act of writing A Christmas mas Carol,were first sold in serial form. Carolaffected him profoundly.During its composition,he Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in six weeks, from wrotea friendthat he "weptand laughed, and weptagain, October 1843 until the end of November.It was the first and excitedhimself in amost extraordinarymannerin the storyDickens wrote all at once, and the effecton Dickens's composition; and thinking whereofhe walked aboutthe writing is noted by one critic who writes, '1t is a transi­ black streetsof London fifteen and twenty miles many a tional work between the early novels and his mature night when all the sober folks had gone to bed." work. This is the first occasion of Dickens discovering a Despite Dickens's frequent criticism of organizedre­ plot sufficient to carry his message. [Dickens]... at last ligion and religious dogma, he loved celebratingChrist­ beganto keep asteadier eye on thepurpose and designof mas. Of the Christmas following the publication of A his work which was tocharacterizehis work fromDombey ChristmasCarol, Dickens wrote in a letter, "Such dinings, andSon [the novel following Carol] onward." Dickens was in debt when he hoped to turn a quick profitfrom A ChristmasCarol royalties. As one biographer described it, his bank manager had given his muse an enthusiastic push. A ChristmasCarol was a bestseller and Dickens expected his firstroyalty check to be £1000,but due to the high production cost of the book-in part because hisof many last minute changes and its expensive material&-he received only £250.

....--

Dickens's signature in a presentationcopy of A ChristmasCarol.

12 13 such dancings, uch conjuring , such blind-man's principle),to lookat thelatter object." When the Dickens bluffings, such theatre-goings, such Jdssings-<>ut of old familyleft for Italy in July, they left the baby in England years and kissings-in of new on never took place in with his maternal grandmother. theseparts before. To keepChuzzl ewit going,and todo AfterAChristmasCarol,Dickenswroteanother"Christ­ this little book, the Ouol,in theodd times between two masbook,."TheChimes,forChristmas1844.Dickenswrote partsofit,was, as you maysuppose, pretty tigh t work.But threemore Christmasboo ks and many Christmasstories. when it was done I brokeout likea madman,and if you He edited two magazines,Houselwld Words, and AU the couldhaveseenmeata children'spartyatMacready'sthe Year Round, which published annual "Christmas num­ other nightgoing downa countrydance withMrs. M. you bers" forwhich hewrote and edited stories. Writingabout would havethought I was a country gentlemanof inde­ Christmas and, later,giving readings from Carol were pendent property residing on a tip-top with the farm, importantso urcesof incomefor Dickens for the rest of his windblowing straightin my faceevery day. " JaneWelsh life. It is possible thatDickens sometimes regretted this Carlyle(wife of Thomas) was a guestat his New Year's relentless association with the holiday. In a letter to his Eve party that year and described the performance by daughter Mamie he wrote that he felt as if he "had Dickensand his best friend. "Dickensand Forster above murdered a Christmas a number of years ago, and its all exerted themselves till theperspiration was pouring ghostperpetually haunted me." down and they seemed drunk with their efforts. Only thinkofthatexcellent Dickens playingtheconjurerforone whole hour-thebest conjurerI ever saw." On January 15, 1844, Charles and Catherine's son Francis Jeffery w� born. Dickens's biographer Peter Ackroyd (1990}points out the irony thatone monthafter the publication of A Christmas Ouol, which glorifiesthe family and especially the pitiful Tiny Tim, Dickens's feelings forhis ownyoungest child weremore Scroo gish than Cratchity.Dickens wrote a friend,''Kate is all right again,and so they tell me is the Baby. But I decline,(on

14 15 ably intact. Piratesalso p resentedwidely popular theatri­ cal performances. Dickens attended one of theseperfor­ man� of the Caroland found it When Dickenstoured the US in 1842,just a yearbefore "heartbreaking." Dickens sued publishers who pirated the Carol. The writingA ChristtnilSCarol, he hoped to furtherthe estab­ courtsdecided in hisfavor, after which he exclaimedin a lishment of internationalcopyright laws. His books had letter, 'The pirates are beaten flat. They are bruised, been reprintedin the US, and, although they sold thou­ bloody, battered, smashed, squelched, and utterly un­ sands of copies, he had never received royalties. US done." But the publisherswho piratedhis works declared publishers believed that he, along with other British themselves bankrupt, and the lawsuit grew so compli­ writers,were compensated for their work in their own catedDickens had to pay£700to disentangle himself from country,and, ifthey saw their bookspublished ov erseas, it. He laterwrote bitterlyof his experience,''It is betterto that popularitywas paymentenough. Dickens supported suffer a great wrong than to have recourse to the much himselfand a growingfamily solely through his writing greaterwrong of the law." and publishing efforts. His writing had ensured his rise from the lower-middle class, and theft of his work by enterprisingforeigners left him fee lingbitter andcheated. In the end, Dickens retaliated in writing the hilariously satirical memoir,, and the novel Martin Chuzzlewit.In bothbooks Dickens portraysAmericans in unflattering characterizations. Overseas publishers werenot the only competitors forDickens's genius. British copyright law was relatively new,andauthorialrightswerestillunprotected.Dickens's works weresold in unauthorized reprintsand bald pla­ giarismsfrom the beginningof his career.In manyofthese publicationsonly characters'names were slig htly changed, leavingthe story,but not the inimitable Janguag; , reason-

16 17 In the mid-seventeenth century, the Cromwellian t£ngfam£,t£Jecem!Jer 1843 Revolt abolished Christmas as well as the monarchy. Howeverwell the monarchywassubsequently"restored," rnieSpirit of Cfuistmas Inttnediate[y Past the traditionsof the winterholiday never recovered.But A Christmas Carol was written when English Christ­ religious prescription was not the only cause of the de­ mas traditions had been in a centuries-old decline.Most cline of Christmas. Even by the beginning of the nine­ of the holiday traditionsDickens recountsin A Christmas teenthcentury, the industrialrevolution, especiallyin the north, was changing the communitiesthat stilltenuously Carolhave roots in the Roman Saturnalia and the Saxon keptthe customsof their ancestors. holiday of and are much older thanChristianity. In fact, in manyperiodsthroughout the history ofChristian­ By the time the Carol was written in 1843, the lavish ity, these traditions were even "sinful." celebrations of the past were a distant, quaint memory. For most of their history, the English lived in rural Somestill remembered them, and evenbefore the Carola areasand rarelyleft fewpopular books attempted to recordthe celebrationsof the place where the past, such as TheBook ofChristmas by T.H. Hervey they grew up. (1837) and Theng Keepi of Christmas atBraabridge Hall by "Christmas"was a WashingtonIrving (1 820). But socialforces beyond simple twelve-dayfestival nostalgia were at work, rekindling the need for winter taking place in the celebrations. manor of the local Better employment prospects in the cities prompted "lord," and in­ many people to leave their homes for jobs in the cities. cludedburning the Moreand moreboys were being sent away toschool, and , playing their winterhomecoming inspired celebrations that drew traditional games, upon what traditions could be remembered. and feastingon tra­ Dickenswas one of the firstto show his readersa new ditional foods. way of celebratingthe old holiday in their modern lives. His ChristmascelebrationsoftheCaroladaptedthe twelve­ day manorial feastto a on�ay party any family could

18 19 hold in their own urban home. Instead of gathering togetheran entire village, Dickensshowed his readersthe celebrationof Fred,Scrooge's nephew, withhis immedi­ The Carol was first published in a time of great reli­ atefamilyandclosefriends,and alsotheCratchits' "nuclear gious controversy, and its lack of babes, wisemen, stars, family": perfectly happy alone, without the presence of , and other icons of the Christian nativity in­ friendsor widerfamily. He showedthe urban, industrial spired a multitude of sermons and pamphlets. Some English that they could still celebrate Christmas, even religious leaders believed that any story of Christmas though the old without referencesto the birthof Jesuswas self-indulgent manorial twelve­ andunchristian, and thatthe ritualisticcelebrations in the day celebrations story were pagan and sinful. were out of their Although A Christmas Carol is generally associated reach. Dickens's with the Christian winter holiday season, for it does

versionoftheholi­ contain references to the Christian ; its themes are day evoked the not exclusiveto and it inspireda traditionfor childhoodmemo­ decades in Christmas books and celebrations that ap­ riesof peoplewho pealed to manynon-Christians. had moved to the cities as adults.

The firstreaders of A ChristmasCarol were able to see

.· .. .. themselvesin the peopleshown to Scrooge by the Spiritof ---.:...��---· . Christmas Present. While today the most remembered character of the story is Scrooge, Dickens's first readers lliustration fromThe Book of Christmas, by T. H. Hervey, 1837,with which identified moststrongly with the Cratchit family. Dickens wasprobably familiar.

20 21 The Cratchit family, althoughquaint and sentimental ''Who can listen to objections regarding to modern readers, was a familiar portrait of the lower­ such a book as this? seems to me a middle class families who read the Carol,familiar in fact It to Dickenshimself, who modeledthe Cratchits' lifestyle nationalbenefit, and to every man or on his own childhoodexperience. Dickens demonstrates woman who reads it a personal kindness. that even in poverty,the winterholiday can inspire good The last two people I heard speak of it will and generosity toward one's neighbors. He shows were women; neither knew theother, or that the spirit of Christmas was not lost in the race to the author, and bothsaid, by way of industrialize, but can live on in our modem world. criticism, 'Godbless him."' Great debates overthe plight of the poor and other social issues were beginning to be the focus of much William Makepeace Thackerey, 1844 political discussion during the 1840s. When the Spiritof ChristmasPresent warns of impendingdoom for ''Man's ''Though no one claimed in 1843 that Children,"the symbolic''Want and Ignorance,"Dickens's Dickensinvented Christmas-that hyper­ readerscould instantly identifythese symbols. They were the offspring of a new industrial society, who filled the bolicsuggestion would surfacelater on­ new industrial cities. many seemed tofeel he had redisrovered it and freed it from puritan constraints." Paul Davis, The Lives and Times of , 1990

22 23 "Thetale has prompted more positive 'There is no doubt that, by reasonof his acts of beneficence... than can betraced to Books, Dickenshad dis­ all the pulpits and confessionals in tinctly identified himselfwith the festive Christendom, since Christmas 1842" season, to which he thus imparteda touch Lord Jeffrey, in a letter to Dickens a week of jovialityand good-feeling of theold­ after publication of the Carol, 1843 fashioned English kind, so much so that theomission of a Yule-tide story,around which his magic pen could weave such "All personssay how differently this delightful fancies, was regarded as a real season was observed in their fathers' days, public loss." and speak of old ceremoniesand old Frederic Kitton, 1890 festivities as things which are obsolete. The G. causeis obvious. Inlarge towns the popu­ lation is oontinually shifting; a new settler neither continues the customs of his own provincein a placewhere they would be strange, nor adopts those whichhe finds, becausethey are strange to him, and thus all local differenceswearing are ou t." Robert Southey, 1807

24 25 r �mut.r . tW. Clft� , Dickens took greatcare in the appearance of A Christ­ � at, mas Carol, calling for the production of four full-page • hand-<:olored steel engravings and four wood engrav­ IN PROSE. t l1 ings. He employed as his illustrator John I...eech, who was ! ! one of the best known "comic illustrators" of the time. I From existing correspondence, we know that Dickens l I discussed the illustrations with l...eech very carefully. ! Though we know he approved them, we don't know if Dickensexplicitly told Leechwhich scenesto illustrate. It CHARLES DICKEt'S is interesting to note which scenes are illustrated, and I which are not. Scenes which are often omitted from adaptations, such as the chained haunting the dark I night, are emphasizedby their illustrationin theoriginal. I! i The followingpages contain reproductions of alloriginal I illustrations, with the passage which describes them. i I i I l ! 1 LONUON· ST i bCHAPMAN RAND� 86, The original title &page. = 111

26 27 His colour changed though, when,

without a pause, it came on through the

heavy door, and passed into the room

before his eyes. Upon its coming in, the

dying flame leaped up, as though it

cried, ''I know him; Marley's Ghost!" and fell again. ' ...

Marl�-y's Glwst

28 29 The air was filled with phantoms, wan­ dering hither and thither in restless haste, and moaning as they went. Every one of them wore chains like Marley's Ghost; some few (they might be guilty governments) were linked together; none were free. Many had been person­ ally known to Scrooge in their lives. He had been quite familiar with one old ghost, in a white waistcoat, with a monstrous iron safe attached to its ankle, who cried piteously at being unable to assist a wretched woman with an infant, whom it saw below, upon a

" door-step. The misery with them all was, clearly, that they sought to inter­ fere, for good, in human matters, and had lost the power for ever.

30 31 A positive light appeared to issue from ' Fezziwig's calves. They shone in every part of the dance like moons. You couldn't have predicted, at any given time, what would have become of them next. And when old Fezziwig and Mrs.

Fezziwighad gone all through the dance; advance and retire, both hands to your partner, bow and curtsey, cork­ screw, thread-the-needle, and back

again to your place; Fezziwig 'cut'-cu t so deftly, that he appeared to wink with his legs, and came upon his feet again without a stagger.

32 33 "Leave me! Take me back. Haunt me no longer!"

In the struggle, if that can be called a struggle in which the Ghost with no visible resistance on its own part was undisturbed by any effort of its adver­ sary, Scrooge observed that its light was burning high and bright; and dimly connecting that with its influence over him, he seized the extinguisher-cap, and by a sudden action pressed it down upon its head. The Spirit dropped be­ neath it, so that the extinguisher covered its whole form; but though Scrooge pressed it down with all his force, he could not hide the light, which streamed from under it, in an unbroken flood upon the ground.

34 35 It was clothed in one simple green robe, or mantle, bordered with white fur. This garment hung so loosely on the figure, that its capacious breast was bare, as if disdaining to be warded or concealed by any artifice. Its feet, observable beneath the ample folds of the garment, were also bare; and on its head it wore no other covering than a holly wreath, set here and there with shining icicles. Its dark brown curls were long and free; free as its genial face, its sparkling eye, and its joyful air. Girded round its middle was an antique scabbard; but no sword was in it, and the ancient sheath was eaten up with rust. ''You have never seen the like of me before!" exclaimed the Spirit.

37 "They are Man's," said the Spirit, look­

ing down upon them. 11And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. Deny it''! cried the Spirit, stretching out its hand towards the city. "Slander those who tell it ye! Admit it for your factious purposes, and make it worse. And bide the end!" "Have they no refuge or resource?" cried Scrooge? "Are there no prisons?" said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. IIAre there no workhouses?" The bell struck twelve.

38 39 }

"Before I draw nearer to that stone to which you point," said Scrooge, "an­ swer me one question. Are these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of things that May be, only?" Stillthe Ghost pointed down­ ward to the grave by which it stood. "Men's courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead," said Scrooge. "But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what you will show me!" The Spirit was immovable as ever. Scrooge crept towards it, trembling as he went; and following the finger, read upon the stone of the neglected grave

his own name, EBENEZER ScROOGE.

40 41 "A merry Christmas, Bob!" said Scrooge, with an earnestness that could not be mistaken, as he clapped him on the back. "A merrier Christmas, Bob, my good fellow, than I have given you for many a year! I'll raise your salary, and endeavour to assist your struggling family, and we will discuss your affairs this very afternoon, over a Christmas bowl of smoking , Bob! Make up thefires, and buy another coal-scuttle before you dot another i, !"

42 43 5Waptations was a business-based celebration of ':Sotlie. figure itself j[:uct1l/Jtd capitalism. A forward-looking 1928 stage version of A ChristmasCarol called Mr. Scroogecontained a "critiqueof in itstness distinc • capitalism" and portrayed a Cratchit with "the begin­ nings of a revolutionaryconsciousness." Adaptations of A ChristmasCar ol fallinto three rough The olderthe storygets the looser the interpretations categories. The first of these is a straight adaptation,or become. Many of latetwentieth-century adaptations are interpretationofthe storyfor the of the story,with an sake based on eitherthe events or the charactersin A Christmas attemptto keepas closeto the Dickenstext as is possible. Carol,rather than onthestoryasawhole.Forexample,Dr. The secondis the of the storyas a mediumthrough use Seuss's How the Stole Christmas echoes the hard­ which to make an oftenunrelated point. A ChristmasCarol hearted who learns to love the Christmas season. hasoften been adapted in this manner to political com­ The Frank Capra film,It's A Wonderful life depicts the mentaryor satire.The third isan exploitationofthestory's personaltransformation followinga man's observations popularityor cultural importanceas a sureway to make of his lifeas ifhe wereabsent from it. money. The adaptations mentionedso far all havea Christ­ Even faithful adaptations varyslightly becausethey mas setting.There have also similarbeen adaptations for contain the opinions and priorities of the writers. J. Ed­ other holidays. A recent Roseanne episode showed wardParrott explained the changes in his adaptationof A Roseanne losing her Halloween spirit, being byvisited Christmas Carol by explaining that, because he recom­ ghosts of Halloween past,present, and future,and then mended the playfor youngpeople, certain scenes were regaining her love of Halloweenpranks. Therehas also "tootragical in their intensity,and tooharro wing in their been aversion of theGrinch' s story,adapted to Halloween. unpalliating realism." Like folklore�perceptions of A Christmas Carol have Cyclical politicaland moralattitudes also affect adap­ changedas the storyis passeddown fromone generation tations.InmostoftheadaptationsthatstrayfromDickens's to another.Most peopleare familiar with Dickens's Carol original text,many of the changes representative of are have never read the original book. Though A Christmas the erain which thatadaptation was done. Forexample, Carolis a literarywork written long af terthe timeof oral beforethestockmarketcrash of1929,anadaptation called storytellinghad passed,its historyis verymuch thatof a

44 45 Dickens enjoyed performing because he loved his folktale. Anyone who studiesthe Carolsoon sees thatthe "public." Writingof hisfirst audiences at a readingof the storychanges as its audience changes, and it will continue Carol, he said, 'They lostnothing. misinterpreted noth­ to changein yetto come. ing.followed everything closely, laughed and cried... and

animatedme to that extentthat I feltwe were all bodily going up into the clouds together."

From 1857 until the end of his life, Charles Dickens performedpublic readingsof his books.A ChristmasCarol was hismost popularand favorite� ding. It was the first piecehe performed,and the last beforehis death.Dickens adapted the Carol forperformance, shortened it first to threehours, thenev entually to an hour and a half.Dickens seldom referred to the prompt copy of A ChristmasCilrol that he carriedonto the stage with him, and eachreading was a littledifferent, because he addedto and changedthe Cilrolwhen he read. '1 got things out of the old Carol­ effects Imean-so entirely new and strong that I quite amazed myselfand wondered whereI was going next," he wroteto a friend.The ManchesterExaminer in 1867said of his readings, 'Thereis always a freshnessabout what

Mr. Dickens does--one reading is neveranything like a mechanical following of a previous reading. even of the samework." Another newspaperof the timewrote, "He gave to everycharacter a differentvoice, a different style, a different face."

47 46 In 1867 and 1868,Dickens performed in the United 110 A COaiSTliA� CAROL. States. His readings were sopopular that peoplecamped overnight in the streets to buy tickets at box offices, or foundtickets sold by scalpers. In Washington D.C., Presi­ ------·-- dent Andrew Johnson had tickets for his family every After lea, thoy had oomu nauoic. For lht·y w night. The tour was incredibly lucrative. Dickens made & !nuoical £amily, "'"' knew whmt they Wt'f•• �••• $140,000 on the tour, an immense sum for the time. He wh""' \huy 8\lDg' ;a. Glee or Catch., I t•an a.!&Urc yu refused to pay taxes on this income-in protest to a . .. p<..,ially Toppe<,who co11ld growl nway in tlw 1, governmentwhich fordecades had not takenup hiscause _ like a goo.l Onl·, und nCTcr e�U t.lao large n·iu!l of internationalcopyright-and was physically protected .4 � J:J"f.,{ f..#fl bilfon>hcad, or g could hav4 listened t.> it often, f1. �ight ha�c 41ti..-atod th kiadn ·��L�h-���·�--. "�L�--�......

A page of Dickens's ownprompt copy of A Christmas Carol

48 49 1901 Scrooge, or, Marley'sGhost. Silent film fifffaptationsof 5'l CliristmasCaro{ 1905 ''The Awakeningof Scrooge."Sound recording The follow ing is only a selection of the hundreds of 1910 A Christmas Carol.Silent film by Thomas versions, parodies, and adaptations of A ChristmasCarol. A. Edison In many cases the adaptation listed is the first work 1912 "Bob Cratchit's Speech: Supposedto be created in that medium. For example, the first sound DeliveredAfter the Events Depictedin A recording was in 1905, there havebeen many after. Christmas Carol." US newspaper story 1921 A ChristmasCarol. Suitefor piano in two 1844 A ChristmasCarol; or Past, Presentand parts Future. Dramaticadaptation 1922 "An Epilogue to A ChristmasCarol: Stave 1850 ChristmasShadows. A Tale of theTimes. VI, TheLast ofthe Four Spirits" Story derivative 1928 Mr. Scrooge. A dramaticfantasy with some of 1867 A ChristmasCarol. As Condensed by theoriginal illustrations by John Lynch [sic] Dickens for his readings. 1928 Scrooge. Black and white sound film 1878 TheMiser. 1928 A Christmas Carol:The Story of aSale. With 1885 A Christmas Carol.Being a fewSCilttered marginalnotes for sales men. Edition which stavesfrom a famililucomposition, rear- usedevents in the Carol to teach prin- rangedfor performance by adistinguished ciples of salesmanship. musicalamateur, during the Holiday Season, 1930 A Christmas Carol.Marionette play at H-rw-rd-n. 1934 Frrst performanceof LionelBarrymore's 1893 'TheSpirit of ChristmasPresent (Passages radio production froma politiall 'Christmasearor ofthe 1946 A Christmas Carol.Television play period descriptive of a slumbering 1947 Men of Goodwill: Variations on "A Christ- Statesman's YuletideDream.)" Political mas Carol"for Orchestra adaptation 1955 A Christmas Carol. Operettain Two Acts 1896 Jobkin'sChristmas Eve. Illustrated parody

50 51 1956 TheStingiest Man in Town.TV Musical 1962 Mr. Milgoo's ChristmasCarol. Animated film Possibly because of its strong moral message,A 1967 A ChristmasCarol. Television parody. ChristmasCarol has used in satire almostsince first Tom Smothers as Scrooge, Jack Bennyas been publication, notably by . Marley. By 1901Punch's editorswere well awarethat readers 1970 Scrooge. Color musical film were amused by pieces ridiculing what had become 1975 ThePassions Carol. of Pornographic film known as the "Dickens Christmas:" 1978 A Christmas Carol.Oassics Comics (Marvel Comics Group) The 1979 A ChristmasCarol. Illustratedby puppets Old Style Nothing could have beenmore cheerful than the well 1983 Mickey'sChristmas Carol. Disney ani­ lighted streets Theholly and the glistenedthe in mated film . 1983 "A ReggaeChristmas Carol" in The green-grocers' windows. Toys were everywhere, and NationalLampoon scoresofhappychildrentoddled beside theirrosy-cheeked parents fullof the gleeof the joyf ul season,and soon, and 1985 God BlessUs EveryOne! Being an Imagined Sequelto A Christmas Carol so on, for a dozen pages. The family party assembledtogether in the old ances­ 1986 John Grin'sChristmas. African-American tralhall was a right merryone. The armourreflected back adaptation by RobertGuillaume. the redglareofthe blazingyule log . Dancing and flirtation 1986 '1t's a WonderfulJob." Television parody and all the brightest side of life were in evidence on all on Moonlighting sides. What couldhave moredelightful? Whatcould 1988 . Featurefilm been From TheLives and Times of EbenezerScrooge, by have beenmore in keepingwith the goodtraditions? And Paul Davis, 1990. so on, and so on, foranother dozen pages. "Ah," saidthe host, as he bid adieuto the last guest for the last time, smiling, "what a pity it is that Christmas comes but once a year!"

52 53 Long before Murphy Brown vs. Dan Quayle, literary characters have been adtlpted to illustrate political opinions. TheNew Style Nothing could have been more dismal than the fog­ Here are three twentieth-century examples, and a Victorian hidden streets. The green-if there were any-could not cartoon. be seenin the fruiterers'windows. The customarycheap presents in the toy shops were hidden by the prevailing gloom.Children by thescore shiveredand whimperedas Scroogeas Ylffaptd :Meese 6yU they listenedto the querulousvoices of theirparents. And so on, and so on, for a dozen pages. In 19&3Ed winMeese, counselor to President Reagan, The family party assembled in the largedining room defendedEbenezer Scroo ge, after Reagan had beencom­ quarrelled with the utmost heartiness.They had been so pared to the fictional miser. intent upontheir bickeringsthat theyhad quite forgotten "Let me say that because it's the Christmas season, to keepup the fire.The coals werea scold as the biting frost somehistorical research has revealeda greatinjustice that without. The hall table was covered with unpaid bills. I would liketo rightat this time. As a matter of fact, I found County Court summonses had been left early in the that actually Scrooge had bad press in his time. If you afternoon and were well in evidence. What couldhave reallylook at the facts, hedidn't been more in keeping with the sadness of the dismal exploit Bob Cratchit. As a mat­ season? What could have been more wretched? What terof fact, BobCratchit was paid could have beenmore in keeping withthe bad traditions? 10 shillingsa week,which was a And so on, and so on, foranother dozen pages. verygood wage at that time. "Ah!" saidthe host, as he bid adieu to thelast guestfor ''Furthermore,the freemar­ the firsttime, smiling, ''how fortunateit is thatChristmas ket wouldn't allow Scrooge to comes but once a year!" exploitpoor Bob. Englanddidn't allow free public schools until after Dickens was dead.So that the fact that Bob Cratchit could

54 55 read and write made him a very valuable clerk and as a resultof that he was paid 10 shillings a week. Bob, in fa.ct, had a good cause to behappy with his situation. He lived in a house, not a tenement. His wife didn't have to work and only one of his children had not had much of an education,but he stillhad a job. He was able to affordthe traditional of and plum pudding. So after all folks, I think we have to change our views. Solet's be fairto Scrooge. He had his faults, but he wasn't unfair to anyone." (As reported in ,December 15, 19&3)

.9lCfiristmas Caro{ as tolif6y 'tlncie1{_onaft[ • by Richard Lingeman in TheNa tion,December 1985

"All right, children, is everybodysett led? Good.Stay quiet now, and Uncle Ronald will tell you A Christmas Carolby CharlesDickens. Onceupon a time, in the city of London, England, there was an honest, hardworking businessmannamed Ebenezer Scroo ge. With his partner,

Jacob Marley, Scrooge founded a small but profitable clerk, a man named Bob Cratchit. This Cratchit fellow blacking company in Cheapside. Then Marley died and wasn't mu�h help. He was a lazy, worthlessagitator type Scrooge was leftto run the businessalone, assistedby his who was always tryingto organize the other workersinto

56 57 a union. He keptCratchit on purelyout ofthe goodness of days. Like father, likeson. Cratchit was what was known hisheart, beca useCratchit had a crippledson named Tiny as an 'almshouse chiseler,' which means he was always Tim. Far from showing his gratitude, however, Cratchit getting money from poorhouses under the problem of accused his employer of violating child labor laws and socialism that was prevalent in England before Mrs. threatened to take him to court. Even though Scrooge Thatcher turned the country around. At any rate, when patiently explained that nobody else would hire 8-year­ Cratchit refused to work on ChristmasDay, Scroo ge just old children, Cratchit just sneered 'Bah, Humbug!' blew his top and fired him. 'ThisCratchit had no team spirit whatsoever; he was "Well. Cratchit stormed out, vowing to get revenge. always trying to shirk his duties and constantly nagged Using money he'dcadged from the almshouse,he went to Scrooge for days off. Reminds me of Federal certain a pub and had some drinks withan out-of-workactor he employees who are too lazy to work on knew. This fellow used to play ghosts in Shakespearean King's birthday. Nowadays, of course, Cratchit would plays until he was kicked out ofthe StageActors Guild for have calling for government boondoggles like the been un-British activities. The two of them hatched a plot Legal Service Corporation and Aid to Families with De­ wherebythe actor would dressup like a ghost, sneak into pendentChildren and forcuts in defensespending to pay Scrooge's roomat midnight and frightenthe old man out for them. of his wits. "Now, wherewas I? Oh, yes, the strawthat brokethe '1' m afraidthis bit of blackmail worked all too well, camel's back was Cratchit' refusals to work onChristmas because poo r Scrooge had a cardiac condition and was Day, even though Scrooge was swamped by end-of-the­ under doctor's orders not to get excited. The ghost told year inventory. I should think that it would have the been him in a deepscary voice to bring a turkeyand two bottles essence of the Christmas spirit for him to help poor of ginto the Cratchit place on Christmas Day orsomeone Scrooge keep his hours down. But no. Cratchit saidhe'd would tell the police that he'd been dumping blacking promised Tiny Tim he'd be home for Christmas dinner, into the Thamesand polluting the royal swans.So the next and if he didn't come home the boy's heart would be morninghe sentthe Cratchitsa basketfulof food, and they broken. Now, Scrooge had seen this Tiny Tim and he all got high on plum pudding. Cratchit was so elated by suspected he was faking a gimpy leg so he could collect his success that he persuaded his co-workers to go on disability payments, or whatever they called it in those strike, and Scrooge finally had to move his blacking 58 59 business toIndia, wheret he w rk ethic was still strong. . : "So that's my story, childre . Hap PY holidays to you all, and by golly, ev�if I"t Is" illegalto t ea ch young people , about the Man Upstarrs, I m goin g to sayit: Godbless us, every one!"

60 "[The Spirit Christmasof Present] will show Scroogethe most horrible sight of all-Scrooge. And having shown, smash Translations arethe most commonadaptation. Like him and hispower for evilonce for all. most of Dickens's books, A Christmas Carol has been Rebuild theworld. translated into manylanguages. Already they aredoing it, Scrooge. Afrikaans Japanese Your days arenumbered. Arabic Korean And they arenot waiting. They are Braille Lithuanian Bengali Norwegian gathering in theirthousands, and their Bulgarian Portuguese millions. Chinese Polish Demanding work and wages. Czech Persian Fighting hunger. Catalan Rhaeto-Romanic Demanding therelease of their com­ Dutch Russian rades. Hunger has not crushed, not will Danish Rumanian Esperanto Serbo-Croatian prisons daunt them. Eskimo Spanish Theyare gathering,Scrooge ... . French Slovack I hope you had arotten Christmas, Ftnnish Slovene Scrooge! German Swedish And I hope nextyear sees you Greek Turkish warmer-in hell-than this. Georgian Tamil " Hungarian Welsh Mr. Scrooge-1932," The london Daily Italian Zulu Worker Irish

62 63 Paul Davis, The Livesand Times ofEbenezer Scrooge, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1990. Charles Dickens, A ChristmasCarol in Prosebeing A Ghost Storyof Christmas, H. S. Nichols,New York, 1914. Charles Dickens, TheAnnotated Christmas Carol, A Christ­ masCarol by Charles Dickens, with introduction,notes, andbibliography by Michael Patrick Hearn, Avenel, New York. 1976. Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, The Public Reading Version, A Facsimile ofthe Author's Prompt-Copy, with Introduction andNotes by Philip Collins, New York Public Library, 1971 . EdwardGuiliano and PhilipCollins, The Annotated Dickens, vol I, , , A Christmas Carol, HardTimes, Potter, New York. 1986. ThomasK. Hervey, TheBook of Christmas, descriptive the of Customs,Cerem onies,Tr aditions,Superstit ions,Fun,Feel­ ing, and FestWities of The Christmas Season, Roberts Brothers, , 1888. Fred Kaplan,Charles Dickens,Biography A , Morrow,New York. 1988.

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