Explore how Dickens presents ideas about happiness in A Christmas Carol, both in this extract and in the novel as a whole. [30]
Extract:
Scrooge’s nephew revelled in another laugh, and, as it was impossible to keep the infection off, though the plump sister tried hard to do it with aromatic vinegar, his example was unanimously followed.
“I was only going to say,” said Scrooge’s nephew, “that the consequence of his taking a dislike to us, and not making merry with us, is, as I think, that he loses some pleasant moments, which could do him no harm. I am sure he loses pleasanter companions than he can find in his own thoughts, either in his mouldy old office or his dusty chambers. I mean to give him the same chance every year, whether he likes it or not, for I pity him. He may rail at Christmas till he dies, but he can’t help thinking better of it – I defy him – if he finds me going there in good temper, year after year, and saying, ‘Uncle Scrooge, how are you?’ If it only puts him in the vein to leave his poor clerk fifty pounds, that’s something; and I think I shook him yesterday.”
It was their turn to laugh, now, at the notion of his shaking Scrooge. But, being thoroughly good-natured, and not much caring what they laughed at, so that they laughed at any rate, he encouraged them in their merriment, and passed the bottle, joyously.
After tea they had some music. For they were a musical family, and knew what they were about when they sung a Glee or Catch, I can assure you: especially Topper, who could growl away in the bass like a good one, and never swell the large veins in his forehead, or get red in the face over it. Scrooge’s niece played well upon the harp; and played, among other tunes, a simple little air (a mere nothing: you might learn to whistle it in two minutes), which had been familiar to the child who fetched Scrooge from the boarding-school, as he had been reminded by the Ghost of Christmas Past.
In this extract from A Christmas Carol, Dickens presents to the readers the warm and happy atmosphere of Fred’s household and the joviality of its members, which when reading the book as a whole can be contrasted with Scrooge’s cold and dark abode and the sullenness of his personality. In this essay I will endeavour to show how, through this sharp juxtaposition, Dickens highlights how generosity, and not profit, is the key to happiness.
Fred’s household is presented right from the beginning of the extract as a jovial and merry one, as he “revelled in another laugh,” the “infection” of which proves irresistable among his companions. Indeed, laughter is portrayed as an indication of genuine happiness throughout the novella: from when Fred greets Scrooge merrily in Stave One, to when Scrooge’s “own heart laughed” at the end of his journey to redemption. It even becomes apparent that Fred doesn’t even care if his companions are laughing at his own expense, so long as they are laughing (he even “encouraged them in their merriment”). In this way he is presented as genuinely good-hearted and kind. Throughout the rest of the extract, Fred’s family continue to treat themselves to the simple pleasures of music and drink, showing that happiness can be found in even the smallest of things, when in the company of loved ones.
In the second paragraph of the extract, Fred appears to suggest that it is Scrooge’s own fault that he is so unhappy, implying that had Scrooge not always declined Fred’s yearly offer to celebrate Christmas with him, he might not have “[lost] some pleasant moments” which would have caused him to pass the holiday happily. Fred describes how Scrooge opts to sit alone in his “mouldy old office” rather than partake in the festivities offered to him – “mouldy” being an interesting word choice here, connoting rot and neglect, and perhaps even acting as a metaphor for the self-inflicted rot and neglect of Scrooge’s soul. However, Scrooge’s determined avoidance of any human interaction does not stop Fred, the good-heartedness of whom is brought out once again when he proclaims his intent to continue to “give him the same chance every year” to spend some time with family and friends. Perhaps this is even Dickens’ way of reminding readers of the true meaning of Christmas, with the magnanimity and generosity of Fred serving as a metaphor for the unconditional love of Jesus at Christmastime. Just as Fred doesn’t give up on Scrooge, providing him every year with the opportunity to accept his invitation whenever he is ready, so too do Christians believe that Jesus offers his unconditional love every year, waiting patiently for us to accept it, despite the derision and contempt he may at first be met with.
Dickens shows throughout the novella that, perhaps surprisingly, it is the poor and vulnerable characters who are truly happy, not Scrooge, who has all the money he could ask for. If not wealth, then, what is it that induces genuine happiness in a person? One way that Dickens answers this question is by presenting a stark contrast between Scrooge and the Cratchits in A Christmas Carol. Besides wealth, the only other difference between Scrooge and Bob Cratchit is that the latter is always surrounded with friends and family, while Scrooge chooses to spend his time alone. In this way Dickens presents the argument that happiness cannot be bought: it can be found only in each other, and rarely when alone.
And yet, Scrooge is constantly surrounded by family and the opportunity to spend time with them. The fact that he is still very unhappy suggests that Dickens believes it is not simply the opportunity to be with loved ones, or even the taking of it, that leads to happiness, but one’s attitude to socialising and life in general. Scrooge could quite easily take Fred’s offer to spend Christmas with him, and sit in the corner sulking and counting his money, but it would require a change of outlook for him to actually enjoy the event. It is Scrooge’s spirit that is impoverished: the Cratchits are emotionally very wealthy. And this kind of wealth, the kind that really matters and leads to fulfillment and happiness, is not the kind that can be minted.
Throughout A Christmas Carol, there are instances in which Dickens makes clear the importance of selflessness especially at Christmastime, when people are supposed to come together as a community and when financial gain is neither here nor there. In fact, Scrooge’s gradual journey to redemption is characterised throughout by his lessening concern with profit. When he is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past in Stave Two, Scrooge tells the Ghost, “if you have aught to teach me, let me profit by it.” Here we see that he has not yet learnt his lesson: he is still obsessed with money and personal gain. However, we do see signs of his changing perspective during the Ghost’s visit. When he is taken to experience again the merrymaking of the Fezziwigs, back when he was a young apprentice to Mr Fezziwig, Scrooge says, in reference to his employer’s good nature, that “the happiness he gives, is quite as great as if it cost a fortune.” Here it is clear that he is starting to recognise that the source of happiness is genuine kindness, not the pursuit of personal gain. This sentiment is encapsulated perfectly in Fred’s words in Stave One, when he tells Scrooge that “there are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited.”
And so it can be seen that Dickens, by contrasting characters like Fred and Scrooge, makes the point that happiness cannot be bought: it can be found only through selflessness, generosity and company, and only by those truly willing to feel it. He also shows the importance of genuine generosity and the irrelevance of personal profit in finding happiness, and demonstrates that it is the spiritually – not materially – impoverished who will ultimately endure sadness and desolation.