Week 15

EMMA (1815)
"A few minutes were sufficient for making her

acquainted with her own heart. A mind like hers,
once opening to suspicion, made rapid
progress; she touched, she admitted, she
acknowledged the whole truth . . . Mr. Knightley
must marry no one but herself!"
EMMA (1815)
“She saw it all with a clearness which had
never blessed her before. How improperly
had she been acting by Harriet! How
inconsiderate, how indelicate, how
irrational, how unfeeling, had been her
conduct!”
EMMA (1815)
In the novel, Mr. Elton thinks he’s courting Emma, who
thinks he’s courting Harriet. Emma thinks Harriet is fond
of Frank Churchill because of a kindness he did her,
when in fact Harriet is fond of Mr. Knightley because of a
kindness he did her. Mr. Knightley and the Westons think
Emma is fond of Frank, who has seemed to be courting
her; but it is really Jane Fairfax whom Frank loves, and
Emma cares not for Frank but for Mr. Knightley. This
means that characters often seem to be in the place of
someone else and subject to extraordinary
exchangeability.
Charles John Huffman Dickens (1812-1870)
Dickens was one of the most

popular writers of the Victorian Era.
He created some of the world's most
memorable fictional characters and
is generally regarded as the
greatest novelist of the Victorian
Period.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1843)
Though Dickens wrote five ''Christmas

books,'' the first, A Christmas Carol, is the
most popular one. It is a story of the
transformation of a miserly, hard-hearted
misanthrope to a kindly philanthropist. The
book was written in the early years of
Dickens' literary career and consequently
lacks the complexity of his later works.
The Christmas season is a time of

expansion, and the ‘carol’ is a song of
celebration for a Christmas birth that offers
hope; it is the reawakening of a Christian
soul. Dickens’ concept of Christmas was
related to the childlike sensibility which
ignored the mask of adulthood. For
Dickens, childlike sensibility is present in
every human and waiting to be revealed.
CHRISTMAS THEME
“A Christmas Carol” emphasizes family,
goodwill, and compassion over
communal celebration. He reinvented a
charitable and pleasant time which was
needed during the severe economic
depression of the 1840s when men and
women should think of the poor and
weak.
Goblins and ghosts become the real elements in

“A Christmas Carol”. In the novel, Scrooge is
visited by four ghosts: his former partner, Jacob
Marley, and the Ghosts of Christmas Past,
Present, and Yet to Come. Dickens believed
that happiness could be best expressed by ugly
figures because in beauty there is sadness.
Within the fairy-tale structure, Dickens aims at
conveying his view of life: people, like Scrooge,
can advance from the prison of self to the
paradise of community.
Ebenezer Scrooge
The story is based on an old and bitter miser,
Ebenezer Scrooge who undergoes an
experience of redemption over the course of one
evening. He is the protagonist of the story and
his last name refers to misanthropy and
miserliness. The freezing cold invades both his
environment and his inner self. Scrooge is a
financier (money-changer) who has spent his life
concentrating on money and wealth ignoring
love, friendship and the Christmas season.
Published in 1843, the structure of the novel is

basically linear and involves five staves. The period of
time covered by the novel is a few hours between
Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. Written from
the perspective of third person p.o.v., the narrator is
heterodiegetic. What Dickens emphasizes in the novel
is that the transformation of society can be effected by
the change of heart of the individuals. A Christmas
Carol contains social criticism, the importance of
domestic harmony, and the responsibility of the
empowered toward the powerless.
MARLEY was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt
whatever about that. […] Old Marley was as dead as a
door-nail. […] Scrooge knew he was dead? […]
Scrooge was his sole executor, his sole administrator,
his sole assign, his sole residuary legatee, his sole
friend, and sole mourner. And even Scrooge was not
so dreadfully cut up by the sad event, but that he was
an excellent man of business on the very day of the
funeral, and solemnised it with an undoubted
bargain. […] There is no doubt that Marley was dead.
This must be distinctly understood […]
"The cold within him froze his old features, nipped

his pointed nose, shriveled his cheek, stiffened his
gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and
spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty
rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and
his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature
always about with him; he iced his office in the
dog-days; and didn’t thaw it one degree at
Christmas."
“A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!” cried a cheerful voice. It
was the voice of Scrooge’s nephew, who came upon him so quickly
that this was the first intimation he had of his approach.
“Bah!” said Scrooge, “Humbug!”
He had so heated himself with rapid walking in the fog and frost, this
nephew of Scrooge’s, that he was all in a glow; his face was ruddy and
handsome; his eyes sparkled, and his breath smoked again.
“Christmas a humbug, uncle!” said Scrooge’s nephew. “You don’t
mean that, I am sure?”
“I do,” said Scrooge. “Merry Christmas! What right have you to be
merry? What reason have you to be merry? You’re poor enough.”
“Come, then,” returned the nephew gaily. “What right have you to be
dismal? What reason have you to be morose? You’re rich enough.”
"I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time [...]
as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable,
pleasant time [...] and the only time I know when men
and women seem by one consent to open their shut-
up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as
if they were really fellow passengers to the grave and
not another race of creatures bound on other
journeys."
Scrooge “had let two other people in. They were portly
gentlemen, pleasant to behold, and now stood, with their
hats off, in Scrooge’s office. At this festive season of the
year, Mr. Scrooge,” said the gentleman, taking up a pen, “it
is more than usually desirable that we should make some
slight provision for the Poor and destitute, who suffer
greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of
common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want
of common comforts, sir.”
Scrooge is a firm supporter of the Poor Law of 1834, a law Dickens
abhorred. Scrooge believes, as in Dickens's eyes did the framers of the
Poor Law, that the poor were responsible for their plight and that the
workhouses were a viable solution for the destitute. Using the sort of
Malthusian reasoning that Dickens detested, Scrooge asserts that the
death of poor people is no real tragedy as it reduces the ``surplus
population.'' Scrooge views the poor as a nebulous mass of social irritation,
not as suffering individuals.
“Are there no prisons?” asked Scrooge.
“Plenty of prisons,” said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.
“And the Union workhouses?” demanded Scrooge. “Are they still in
operation?”
“They are. Still,” returned the gentleman, “I wish I could say they were
not.”
“The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?” said
Scrooge.
“Scrooge took his melancholy dinner in his usual
melancholy Tavern […] He lived in chambers which
had once belonged to his deceased partner. […] It
was old enough now, and dreary enough, for
nobody lived in it but Scrooge, the other rooms
being all let out as offices. […] He fastened the
door, and walked across the hall, and up the stairs;
slowly too: trimming his candle as he went. […]
Darkness is cheap, and Scrooge liked it. […]
“After several turns, he sat down again. As he
threw his head back in the chair, his glance
happened to rest upon a bell, […]. It was with
great astonishment, and with a strange,
inexplicable dread, that as he looked, he saw
this bell begin to swing. It swung so softly in
the outset that it scarcely made a sound; but
soon it rang out loudly, and so did every bell in
the house. This might have lasted half a minute,
or a minute, but it seemed an hour.”
“Why do spirits walk the earth and why do they
come to me?” Marley explains his mission:
“It is required of every man […] that the spirit within
him should walk abroad among his fellowmen, and
travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in
life, it is condemned to do so after death. It is
doomed to wander through the world—oh, woe is
me!—and witness what it cannot share, but might
have shared on earth, and turned to happiness!”
“The same face: the very same. Marley in his pigtail, usual
waistcoat, tights and boots; the tassels on the latter
bristling, like his pigtail, and his coat-skirts, and the hair
upon his head. The chain he drew was clasped about his
middle. It was long, and wound about him like a tail; and it was
made (for Scrooge observed it closely) of cashboxes, keys,
padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses wrought in
steel. His body was transparent; so that Scrooge, observing
him, and looking through his waistcoat, could see the two
buttons on his coat behind.”
The name of Marley has Biblical meaning: a ladder up to
heaven. As Scrooge converts into a better person, Marley
becomes a dear old partner: like his Biblical namesake, he
has brought a ladder, up which Scrooge may climb to
Heaven. While he did not have that opportunity, Marley
acts as the angel to Scrooge, offering him a chance to
escape his miserable fate. Marley bears tidings of great
joy, offering a chance at salvation, drawing parallels to the
hope of the arrival of the savior.
Marley comes to warn Scrooge that his miserliness will result
in the same fate Marley himself suffers in death. Marley’s
torture is symbolized with heavy chains round his form:
ledgers, money boxes, keys and the like. Marley explains
that Scrooge can escape from such a fate through the
visitation of three more spirits that will appear one by one.
“You will be haunted,” resumed the Ghost, “by Three Spirits.”
[…]. Expect the first tomorrow, when the bell tolls One.” […].
“Expect the second on the next night at the same hour. The
third upon the next night when the last stroke of Twelve has
ceased to vibrate.”
“It was a strange figure—like a child: yet not so like a child as
like an old man, […]. Its hair, which hung about its neck and
down its back, was white as if with age; and yet the face had
not a wrinkle in it, and the tenderest bloom was on the skin.
[…]. Its legs and feet, […] were […] bare. It wore a tunic of the
purest white; and round its waist was bound a lustrous belt […].
It held a branch of fresh green holly in its hand […]. But the
strangest thing about it was, that from the crown of its head
there sprung a bright clear jet of light, by which all this was
visible; and which was doubtless the occasion of its using, in its
duller moments, a great extinguisher for a cap, which it now
held under its arm.”
When the clock strikes announcing the arrival of the first
Spirit, light suddenly flashes up in Scrooge's chambers
and the Ghost appears with a bright jet of light springing
from his forehead. The light represents the Ghost's
energy and his power of recalling the past. Scrooge first
begins his re-involvement with the world when he joins
the Ghost of Christmas Past on the country road of his
boyhood and recognizes by name all his fellow travelers.
“They walked along the road, Scrooge recognising
every gate, and post, and tree; until a little market-
town appeared in the distance, with its bridge, its
church, and winding river. […]. “The school is not
quite deserted,” said the Ghost. “A solitary child,
neglected by his friends, is left there still.” Scrooge
said he knew it. And he sobbed. […]. The Spirit
touched him on the arm, and pointed to his younger
self, intent upon his reading.”
“It opened; and a little girl, much younger than the boy, came darting in,
and putting her arms about his neck, and often kissing him, addressed him
as her “Dear, dear brother.”
“I have come to bring you home, dear brother!” said the child, clapping her
tiny hands, and bending down to laugh. “To bring you home, home, home!”
“Home, little Fan?” returned the boy.
“Yes!” said the child, brimful of glee. “Home, for good and all. Home, for
ever and ever. Father is so much kinder than he used to be, that home’s
like Heaven! He spoke so gently to me one dear night when I was going to
bed, that I was not afraid to ask him once more if you might come home;
and he said Yes, […] but first, we’re to be together all the Christmas long,
and have the merriest time in all the world.”
When his young sister, Fan, comes to take him
home, she tells Scrooge that their father is so much
kinder than he used to be and that home is like
heaven. As he remembers his uncaring father who
did not visit Scrooge at boarding school, not even
on Christmas times, Scrooge realizes his unhappy
childhood. These memories soften Scrooge who
was an isolated individual in his past. As the spirit
shows him the past, Scrooge realizes that he has
forgotten what it is to be child; he has forgotten the
basic feelings of a child.
When the dance concludes, the Ghost asks if this small
celebration was worth the admiration clearly shown by
Fezziwig’s employees, as he spent a mere few pounds on
the occasion. This recollection suddenly makes Scrooge
regretful of his harsh treatment of his own employee, Bob
Cratchit, and makes him realize that Bob could never speak
in such glowing terms of him. “I should like to be able to say
a word or two to my clerk just now! That’s all” Scrooge comes
to see the power he has over Bob’s happiness and the
responsibility he has as an employer.
“He was not alone, but sat by the side of a fair young girl in
a mourning-dress: in whose eyes there were tears, which
sparkled in the light that shone out of the Ghost of
Christmas Past.
“It matters little,” she said, softly. “To you, very little.
Another idol has displaced me; and if it can cheer and
comfort you in time to come, as I would have tried to do, I
have no just cause to grieve.”
In the later scene, the spirit shows Scrooge Belle who is
married and has several children and Scrooge views the
family that might have been ‘his’. Scrooge begins to
transform from a villain to a man with deeper emotional
feelings. Remembering the past is seen as the first step in
his conversion when he has recovered the spirit of
childhood. When he sees Belle’s daughter, he realizes with
sadness that “such another creature quite as graceful and
full of promise, might have called him father and been a
spring-time in the haggard winter of his life”. Regret for the
choices he has made become unendurable as he is
powerless to change them.
In the visit of the second spirit, Dickens emphasizes the
importance of humanity, sympathy towards each other and
compassion to reach the good. The second spirit, The Ghost of
Christmas Present shows him the meager celebrations of
Christmas by the Cratchit family, their crippled son, Tiny Tim, and
his possible early death, miners and sailors. In the scenes about
the Cratchits, the virtuous poverty and childish celebration of
Christmas are introduced. Scrooge is interested in the little boy
and feels affection towards him. When Scrooge asks the Spirit
whether Tim will die or not; the Spirit repeats Scrooge’s former
words about the population: “If he be like to die, he had better do
it, and decrease the surplus population”.
“there sat a jolly Giant, glorious to see;
who bore a glowing torch, in shape not
unlike Plenty’s horn, and held it up, high
up, to shed its light on Scrooge, as he
came peeping round the door. […]. “I am
the Ghost of Christmas Present,” said the
Spirit. “Look upon me!””
Scrooge finally sees Fred and the Cratchits as real human
beings, not merely part of the masses for whom he can
easily feel aloof and detached. When the spirit shows him the
children called Ignorance and Want and tells him that they
mean the end for mankind, Scrooge comes to recognize his
own responsibility for these children as a member of the
human race. Dickens implies that people like Scrooge must
not leave the disadvantaged to the mercy of state institutions
like the infamous workhouses and must extend the generous
spirit of Christmas to them.
The allegorical twins, ‘Ignorance’ and ‘Want’ appear and are
the symbols of children, who do not believe in God, in
miserable and wretched conditions. The Ghost of Christmas
Present shows them wretched and almost animal in
appearance. In 1839, it was estimated that nearly half of all
funerals in London were for children under the age of ten.
Those who could survive grew up in poverty without
education. Dickens felt that education could save many lives
and became interested in the Ragged Schools in London.
When Scrooge asks the Spirit whether they have any refuge
or resource, the Spirit echoes Scrooge’s earlier words: “Are
there no prisons? …Are there no workhouses”.
As Scrooge departs company with the Ghost of
Christmas Present, he encounters the third and final
ghost as Marley predicted: “the bell struck twelve.
Scrooge looked about him for the Ghost, and saw it
not. As the last stroke ceased to vibrate, he
remembered the prediction of old Jacob Marley, and
lifting up his eyes, beheld a solemn phantom draped
and hooded, coming, like a mist along the ground,
towards him. ”
"The Phantom slowly, gravely, silently approached.
When it came near him, Scrooge bent down upon
his knee; for in the very air […] it seemed to scatter
gloom and mystery. It was shrouded in a deep black
garment, which concealed its head, its face, its
form, and left nothing of it visible save one
outstretched hand. […] He felt that it was tall and
stately when it came beside him, and that its
mysterious presence filled him with a solemn dread.
He knew no more, for the Spirit neither spoke nor
moved. “I am in the presence of the Ghost of
Christmas Yet To Come?” said Scrooge."
This transformation occurs at the moment in which Scrooge seems to
have lost all hope, fearing that the future that he is shown cannot be
undone. Scrooge makes an impassioned speech to the Ghost, crying
“hear me! I am not the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been
but for this intercourse. Why show me this if I am past all hope?” (Dickens
150). Scrooge seems to understand that while the current path he was
treading would lead to the disastrous future he witnessed, his repentance
for his sins and vow to observe the holiday with greater reverence would
provide the chance to gain forgiveness and redemption. Scrooge
proclaims his devotion saying, “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try
to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.
The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons
that they teach. Oh tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!”.
Scrooge gets more of an understanding of the Christmas
spirit when he spends time observing celebrations at his
nephew’s and employee’s houses. At the Cratchit home, he
sees the hectic bustle and enjoyment of a simple Christmas
dinner shared by a loving family. He also comes to form an
attachment toward the ailing Tiny Tim and comes to regret
his earlier thoughtless comment about decreasing the
surplus population. At Fred’s house, Scrooge finds his
nephew and his guests playing games in such a lively
manner that he longs to join them himself.
YES! and the bedpost was his own. The bed
was his own, the room was his own. Best and
happiest of all, the Time before him was his
own, to make amends in! “I will live in the Past,
the Present, and the Future!” Scrooge
repeated, as he scrambled out of bed. “The
Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. Oh
Jacob Marley! Heaven, and the Christmas Time
be praised for this! I say it on my knees, old
Jacob, on my knees!”
The three spirits function as the stages of psychotherapy
because the pattern starts with past, deals with present
and focuses on future. Scrooge is taken back to his
unhappy childhood which he has tried to forget. At this
point, the first spirit forces “Scrooge to observe what
happened next”. With the second visit, Scrooge observes
his present mistakes upon the Cratchits and his own
family; finally Scrooge is anxious about the future and
begs to the last spirit to show him all. Although he rejects
to observe his past life at the beginning of the session, he
accepts his situation and tries to complete his awakening.

Week 15

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Week 15

Uploaded by

Copyright:

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EMMA (1815)

"A few minutes were sufficient for making her

Dickens was one of the most

Though Dickens wrote five ''Christmas

The Christmas season is a time of

Goblins and ghosts become the real elements in

Published in 1843, the structure of the novel is

"The cold within him froze his old features, nipped

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