Is Change Possible? Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ as a Map for Personal Transformation
It seems obvious to say that the Christmas of modern times has lost touch with the underlying meaning, but what is that meaning really? It is not simply religious. Christmas is one of those times that we can see who we are and what we value. This is true for society at large, and the individual in particular. Perhaps more notably for a Christmas occurring during a pandemic, where families and friends cannot gather as they usually would, we see that the rituals we engage in at this time bring and bind us together. Many of us develop ‘family traditions’ - the types of food we might cook, the timing of gift-giving, the places we visit, and so on - that we work hard to keep going as a link to our past. Even those of us who find Christmas difficult, preferring to spend it alone, or feeling inadequate in the face of others’ merriment, might note that what hurts is that sense of exclusion and the wish to belong.
Christmas therefore is a chance to see what matters to us. Should we realise that things are not how we would wish them to be, what are we to do? In a tale that has deep resonance, and relevance beyond the festive season, Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ lays out a template for real change. The Scrooge we encounter as the story opens is at once enthralling and odious, a “squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!”. Yet what fascinates is how Scrooge moves from where we find him to where we leave him, transformed into “as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew”. In this tale of redemption, Dickens has captured the essence of coming to terms with our life and how we live it, and what needs to happen for us to change.
Firstly, let’s consider this ‘old sinner’. It may seem obvious, but how do we know he’s not living a good life? Well, as much money as he has we recognise that Scrooge is in fact poor: no friends; no romantic involvements; almost completely estranged from his family; very little concern for his community, nor it for him. There is no warmth, neither in his counting house nor in his world. Scrooge has locked himself up, his entire being saying “go away”. This suggests that Scrooge is hurting, and in some sense the miserly persona he has developed is how he copes with this hurt. If he does not get close to others he is not vulnerable, and he cannot be hurt again.
The confrontation with Marley, a character so similar to Scrooge that we are told they were often mistaken for one another, could be thought of as Scrooge confronting himself. This is the starting point of change for anyone - think of addiction, or being stuck in grief or depression - as painful as it is, I must begin to see the truth of how I am living. Scrooge sees where his life is headed: despair and damnation. Whether we believe in an afterlife of judgement or not, this point should resonate with all of us: we have a life to lead, and must take it seriously. Such a burden can be terrifying, as Scrooge experiences. Yet this anxiety is actually a good start. It prepares us for what must come.
The Ghost of Christmas Past reveals what really ails Scrooge. Looking at the real reasons for our hurt can be incredibly painful; like Scrooge, we can work very hard to avoid this pain, and doing so can mean we live unfulfilling lives that generate more hurt for ourselves or others. Since confronting and working through these past hurts can be so challenging, sometimes we need someone to act as a guide or companion, and the Ghost does this for Scrooge.
As we witness the abandoned boy of his youth we feel compassion for Scrooge’s terrible sadness, and perhaps wonder about an unexpressed rage at being left by his parents. Why did they not care? What sense did he make of this abandonment? It is important to recognise that pain can be inflicted in the most commonplace ways, and so passed over as something to simply “deal with” and “move on” from. Being cast adrift from one’s family, ignored and uncared for; do we not see this again in how the older Scrooge has walled himself off? In early adulthood, Scrooge finds an intimate, romantic relationship somehow difficult. Do those old childhood wounds still haunt him? As one abandoned, the seemingly desired closeness and dependency may feel threatening, so Scrooge flees into money and power. Still affected by the loss of this love, the older Scrooge cannot contain his rage at its reminder. Yet, perhaps opening this feeling up is necessary; no longer shut-up and ignored as in childhood, but witnessed as a meaningful expression of deep hurt. Scrooge is on his way to liberation.
The Ghost of Christmas Present, far from promoting some perfect picture of life, actually shows Scrooge the richness of his world that, through walling himself off, he chooses to pass over. Upon visiting his nephew Scrooge finds it painful to hear what others think of him, yet that pain can provoke change. Through Bob and his family, Scrooge sees that wealth and possessions are not the secret to happiness. With Tiny Tim’s story comes an awareness that, even in suffering, we can not only endure but be merry; that through accepting our situation and being there for others we might find joy. This entire passage is an exploration of Scrooge’s world, a realisation of possibilities that were right before him yet he could not see. I would suggest the willingness to confront and accept the pains of his past allows Scrooge’s eyes to open to greater possibilities for living in the present.
Scrooge famously confronts his own death at the end of the story. Various philosophers have suggested that confronting our own mortality is the pathway to a more fulfilling life. There is one philosopher in particular, Martin Heidegger (whose work informs much of my views on Scrooge’s journey), who thought that it’s because we know implicitly that we will die, and find this terrifying, that we run away into things that distract us: shopping, eating, work, exercise, drugs and so on and so on. We get busy with life in order to avoid the terror of death. Yet in doing so we don’t really face up to our own death at all. Death (or illness, or even old age) is something that happens to someone else, or something we seek to explain away so we can control it. In this way, the personal terror of death, of our own death, gets covered up. Yet Scrooge confronts the terrible truth: how little others thought of him; how small and impoverished his life had become. This is the power that death holds: the anxiety it brings throws us back upon the life we blindly and resentfully plod through and asks us: how are you living? Are you living well? What is in your power to change? The Ghost of Christmas Future of course illuminates Scrooge’s ultimate, terrible fate, but the two ghosts that precede him and the work they do have prepared Scrooge for this realisation. Yes he is terrified, but he is by this point ready for real change. As such, upon waking he does not return to his old ways, but is reborn.
Importantly, we are shown that this means entering a life with others. Christmastime can of course feel very lonely for many of us, or be a stark reminder of grieved losses or hurts inflicted. The Scrooge at the start of ‘A Christmas Carol’ would not have thought that friendship was a possibility for him; he would probably deny it as a desire or need he held. Yet through the Ghosts’ visitations Scrooge is shown genuine companionship. His hurt, his struggles, his desires and rages, they are all witnessed, borne, survived. Scrooge realises he is not alone; and through this finds the courage to go out into the world, with others.
‘A Christmas Carol’ speaks to that need for a companion on our journey of self-rediscovery, whether that be a friend, family member, counsellor or someone from our religious community. We may not all have someone close to turn to, but there are many options available to us for communion if we have the courage to open our hearts to them. Being vulnerable is the highest form of courage - perhaps we need someone to witness our hurt, to hear that we are not okay, before we can fully embrace the rich possibilities before us.
Through starting to heal old wounds, and rekindling a sense of love and care for himself, Scrooge is more able to accept and take action, to bring himself out into the world. This opens him up to new possibilities for living fully. Scrooge has seen that which is to be feared most: not death, but a life unlived. Scrooge chooses instead to accept what has been and will come, and in the face of that to love, and to live. For that reason, Ebenezer Scrooge is an example to us all in how to live more meaningfully, with a deeper sense of fulfilment.
Note - originally written in December 2019, this article has been updated in December 2020.