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A Christmas Carol: the plot
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Dickens's novella, published in 1843, follows a miser's transformation over one Christmas Eve night. It is split into five chapters called staves.
Staves 1 and 2
Stave 1: Ebenezer Scrooge is a cold, mean moneylender. He refuses to give to charity and sneers at his nephew Fred. The ghost of his dead partner, Jacob Marley, warns him to change and says three spirits will visit.
Stave 2: The Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge his lonely childhood, kind old boss Fezziwig, and his lost fiancée Belle.
Stave 2: The Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge his lonely childhood, kind old boss Fezziwig, and his lost fiancée Belle.
Staves 3 and 4
Stave 3: The Ghost of Christmas Present shows the poor but loving Cratchit family and sick Tiny Tim. Under its robe are two children, Ignorance and Want.
Stave 4: The silent Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows people celebrating a dead man's death. It is Scrooge. Tiny Tim has also died.
Stave 4: The silent Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows people celebrating a dead man's death. It is Scrooge. Tiny Tim has also died.
Stave 5
Scrooge wakes on Christmas morning, changed. He sends a prize turkey to the Cratchits, gives to charity, visits Fred and raises Bob Cratchit's salary. Tiny Tim does not die.
Why do you think Dickens uses three different spirits?
- Each shows a different time: past, present and future.
- The past explains how Scrooge became cold; the present shows the effects on others; the future shows the consequences.
- Together they build a step-by-step case for change.
Answer: They show the causes, effects and consequences of Scrooge's behaviour.
Five staves: Marley's warning, then the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come, then Scrooge's joyful transformation.
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