Inspirations and earlier themes
1. Washington Irving's essays on Christmas
published in his Sketch Book (1820) The Sketch Book of Geoffrey
Crayon
2.
Davies
Gilbert's Some Ancient Christmas Carols (1822)
Dickens'
humiliating childhood experiences are indirectly responsible for
the dual personality of the tale's protagonist, Ebenezer Scrooge. In 1824, Dickens'
father was imprisoned in the Marshalsea and
twelve-year-old Charles was forced to take lodgings nearby, pawn his collection
of books, leave school, and accept employment in a blacking factory. The boy
entirely uncomfortable in the presence of factory workers. He developed nervous
fits. When his father was released at the end of a three-month stint, young
Dickens was forced to continue working in the factory, which only grieved and
humiliated him further. He despaired of ever recovering his former happy life.
The devastating impact of the period wounded him psychologically, colored his
work, and haunted his entire life with disturbing memories.
Dickens both loved and demonized his father,
and it was this psychological conflict that was responsible for the two
radically different Scrooges in the tale – one Scrooge, a cold, stingy, and
greedy semi-recluse, and the other Scrooge, a benevolent, sociable man whose
generosity and goodwill toward all men earn for him a near-saintly reputation.
It was during this terrible period in Dickens' childhood that he observed the
lives of the men, women, and children in the most impoverished areas of London and witnessed the
social injustices they suffered
How Christmas used to be
Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's German-born husband, became instrumental force to popularize the
German Christmas tree in Britain
after their marriage in 1841, and the first Christmas card in 1843 and a revival in
carol singing in Britain.
After the
book was released
Dickens' Carol
was one of the greatest influences in rejuvenating the old Christmas traditions
of England, but, while it brings to the reader images of light, joy, warmth and
life, it also brings strong and unforgettable images of darkness, despair,
coldness, sadness and death.Scrooge himself is the embodiment of winter, and,
just as winter is followed by spring and the renewal of life, so too is
Scrooge's cold, pinched heart restored to the innocent goodwill he had known in
his childhood and youth
A small sample of Past Reviews
In 1843 and
years and years later critics pour their heart to say
1.
A tale to
make the reader laugh and cry – to open his hands, and open his heart to
charity even toward the uncharitable
2.
"If Christmas, with its ancient and
hospitable customs, its social and charitable observances, were ever in danger
of decay, this is the book that would give them a new lease
3.
God bless him
4.
finely felt, and calculated to work much
social good"
5.
The religious press generally ignored the tale
but, in January 1884, Christian Remembrancer thought the tale's old and hackneyed subject was treated in an original
way and praised the author's sense of humour and pathos
6.
Other critics - in the days of its first
publication it was regarded as "a new gospel" and noted that the book
was unique in that it actually made people behave better
7.
The New York Times published an
enthusiastic review in 1863 noting that the author brought the "old Christmas …
of bygone centuries and remote manor houses, into the living rooms of the poor
of today"
8.
The tale has
been viewed by critics as an indictment of 19th-century industrial capitalism.
It has been credited with restoring the holiday to one of merriment and
festivity in Britain and America after a
period of sobriety and somberness. A Christmas Carol remains popular,
has never been out of print, and has been adapted to film, stage, opera, and
other media.
Carol spreads
into various art forms and begin influence the society – pen becomes an
instrument of reform
1. By the close of February 1844, eight rival Carol
theatrical productions were playing in London.
2. Stirling's version played New
York City's Park Theatre during the Christmas season of 1844 and
was revived in London
the same year.
3. Other media adaptations include film, a radio play,
and a television version. In all there are at least 28 film versions of the
tale. The earliest surviving one is Scrooge; or Marley's Ghost (1901)
4. In the spring
of 1844, The Gentleman's Magazine attributed a sudden burst of
charitable giving in Britain
to Dickens's novella;
5. in 1874, Robert Louis Stevenson waxed enthusiastic
after reading Dickens's Christmas books and vowed to give generously;
6. Thomas Carlyle expressed a generous hospitality by
staging two Christmas dinners after reading the book
7. In America, a Mr. Fairbanks attended a reading on
Christmas Eve in Boston, Massachusetts in 1867, and was so moved he
closed his factory on Christmas Day and sent every employee a turkey
8. In the early
years of the 20th century, the Queen of Norway sent gifts to London's crippled children signed "With
Tiny Tim's Love"
9. According to
historian Ronald Hutton, the current state of observance of Christmas is
largely the result of a mid-Victorian revival of the holiday spearheaded by A
Christmas Carol. Hutton argues that Dickens sought to construct Christmas
as a self-centred festival of generosity, in contrast to the community-based
and church-centred observations, the observance of which had dwindled during
the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In superimposing his secular vision of
the holiday, Dickens influenced many aspects of Christmas that are celebrated
today in Western culture, such as family gatherings, seasonal food and drink, dancing,
games, and a festive generosity of spirit
10. While the 'Merry Christmas' was popularized
following the appearance of the story, and the name "Scrooge" and exclamation "Bah! Humbug!" have entered the English language,
Ruth Glancy argues the book's singular achievement is the powerful influence it
has exerted upon its readers
11. Crooks were not far away to profit from its popularity. Parley's Illuminated
Library pirated the tale in January 1844,and, though Dickens sued and won
his case, the literary pirates simply declared bankruptcy. Dickens was left to
pay £700 in costs, equal to £56,364 today
12. Dickens later noted that he received "by every
post, all manner of strangers writing all manner of letters about their homes
and hearths, and how the Carol is read aloud there, and kept on a very little
shelf by itself".
13. Disney's A Christmas Carol ( 2009) – the latest release
Dickens’s
social message
Dickens asks,
in effect, for people to recognise the plight of those whom the Industrial
Revolution has displaced and driven into poverty, and the obligation of society
to provide for them humanely. Failure to do so, the writer implies through the
personification of Ignorance and Want as ghastly children, will result in an
unnamed "Doom" for those who, like Scrooge, believe their wealth and
status qualifies them to sit in judgement of the poor rather than to assist
them
No comments:
Post a Comment