Though the Christmas season is far from perfect, it presents those of us in the West with an annual opportunity to make merry with, and feel grateful for, our loved ones. Yes, the commercialization of the season has drained away some of Christmas' simple joys, and certainly we all have relatives we'd rather avoid during this yearly celebration, but the fact remains that there is no other time of year in which, for a matter of weeks, we all, collectively and simultaneously, are in the mood to smile, to express our affection for those dearest to us, and to revisit memories of years past in which merriment was had, traditions laid down and bonds forged in a common desire to be happy. This universal joy has value; life is, after all, hard. Without the calendar's reminder to slow down and to appreciate what we have, it's doubtful we ever would. Beyond the social criticism, this is the message of universality encoded in Mr. Dickens' Christmas classic. It should never be forgotten.
Having inspired countless films and stories, A Christmas Carol, originally published in 1843, is the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a pugnacious and miserly businessman who, in spite of his many successes, is determined to be a crass and cheerless man. Despite having a family to delight in and a prosperous business to take pride in, Scrooge cannot shake his pettiness which drives him to shun the poor, to overlook the worthy and to revel, even celebrate, the selfishness that has made him a cold-hearted loner. Not content with holding these corrosive opinions, Scrooge willingly voices them to everyone he encounters, doing his best to infect them with his dour cynicism.
However, for all of Scrooge's efforts at darkness, this Christmas, the seventh since the unmourned death of his business partner, Jacob Morely, is going to be unlike any he has experienced before. For this year, Scrooge is plagued by restless ghosts who entrap him and force him to revisit his misspent life. Pulling him into his own past, the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future show him those he failed to love, those his cruelty harmed, and, most importantly, those who will not mourn his passing. Chastened and frightened by the prospect of dying alone, Scrooge endeavors to mend his ways before it is too late.
Though Mr. Dickens was a talented author and an effective humorist, his best works are those in which his social criticism is sharpest. In this, A Christmas Carol is as subtle as a sledgehammer. With Scrooge, Mr. Dickens makes no bones about his contempt for the tight-fisted and unsympathetic upperclasses, their superiority, their smugness and their unwillingness to take responsibility for both their own actions and the suffering of the masses it is within their power to sooth. Instead, the wealthy tend to credit themselves with their successes and to devalue the contributions of others so that they might proudly stand alone, sneering down upon the struggling masses.
We all are entitled to live as we choose, to be as miserly and as cruel as we wish, but actions have consequences. At the end of life, when a poor, happy man and a rich, miserly man are dying, when they are about to leave behind all the pleasures and the pains of this world, they must know that none of their life's possessions can go with them, none of their baubles, none of their fortunes. If nothing materialistic can journey with the soul to face whatever is to come, then all that matters, in life, is the legacy we leave behind: the deeds we do, the lives we change, the promises we keep or break. At the extremity of life, this is how the dying are remembered by the living, the relationships, not the stuff. And this is what makes Christmas and Mr. Dickens' fable so powerful. They both force us to see what is important and what is materialistic, what is sacred and what is profane. They make us see that the celebration of our loved ones is far more valuable and lasting than the life of a scrooge.
Lovely work. As pointed as it is delightful. (4/5 Stars)
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