Like many Christmas novels by prominent authors such as 'Sharpe's Christmas', 'When Santa Fell to Earth', 'A Jolly Good Fellow', etc., 'A Christmas Carol' is a must tell Christmas story. A well-known work by Charles Dickens, this novella was published during early Victorian era when new traditions like greeting cards and Christmas trees were being introduced. The story speaks of the character Ebenezer Scrooge who was very selfish, stingy and insensitive. After he met the three spirits, the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present and Yet To Come, Scrooge's ideas and character undergo a huge transformation. Scrooge also figures out how he became a heartless moneylender and re-examines the way he has lived his life. He then regrets his rude behavior and each of the Christmas ghosts leave him a little changed. Scroll further and figure out how the Ghost of Christmas of Past meets Scrooge and what changes in Scrooge after this encounter.
Appearance And Synopsis
Appearance Of Ghost Of Christmas Past
Among the three ghosts which haunted Scrooge, Ghost of the Christmas Past was the first to meet him and took him to his past. It reminded him of the events of his past Christmas celebrations and takes the reader through the life of Scrooge and shows how Scrooge changed from a Christmas loving young man to a cynical and lonely old man. The Ghost of Christmas Past appeared to Scrooge as an androgynous middle-aged figure clad in a spooky white robe. It carries a metal cap in the shape of a fire extinguisher and has a blazing head light to symbolize candle light. In most of the dramatic adaptions, this character is displayed as a woman, whereas in the story, Dickens describe the Ghost as 'it'.
Synopsis
Scrooge is a person who hates to celebrate Christmas and lives a lonely life. The story begins on the Eve of Christmas in 1843, which was exactly seven years after his business partner, Jacob Marley passed away. Scrooge does not possess any feelings of kindness, compassion, charity or sympathy and calls Christmas a 'humbug'. After he returns home one night, Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of Jacob Marley. Following this, the Ghost of Christmas Past makes an appearance and takes Scrooge on a journey along memory lane. The Ghost asks Scrooge to come along and takes him to his old boarding school where he wasn't even bothered to go home for Christmas vacation, but substitutes his celebration with books. Followed by this, he is shown the scene when his younger sister, Fan picks him from the school to go home and spend Christmas together.
Further in the story, the spirit also shows Scrooge how Belle, Scrooge's fiancee, was desperate for love and could not stand Scrooge's growing obsession for money. Although Scrooge does not ask Belle to break the relationship, he does not even protest her decision of separation. The Ghost also shows him how Belle found her true happiness with her husband. After going through this scene, Scrooge, maddened with anger, uses his cap to make the Ghost disappear and is seen lying in his bedroom in the very next scene. Following this, Ghost of Christmas Present and Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come also take Scrooge through various stages of his present and future life to show him what his attitude is really doing to people around him. On seeing the turn that his life is deemed to take if he follows the path he has been following, Scrooge undergoes a change of heart.
'A Christmas Carol' was a great success and many films and TV serials were also based on this novel. Hope you enjoyed reading the story. Merry Christmas!
Ghost of Christmas Past is the first of three spirits which visited Scrooge on Christmas. Read further and find out more about the appearance of the Ghost of Christmas Past and synopsis of his message.