How does Dickens present the importance of family throughout the novella ?
Through his allegorical novella- A Christmas Carol- Dickens pushes forth his message on the importance of family not only as a source of joy,
strength and solace, but also as a pivotal factor to personal, social and spiritual development.
At the start of the novella in stave one, Dickens uses Fred- Scrooge’s nephew to establish family as a significant moral guide. Fred is depicted as
“all in a glow”, “ruddy and handsome”. This suggests that he is unaffected by “fog and frost” of London’s winter, and thus perhaps the
influences of the Industrial Revolution such as the dehumanising Malthusian ideology. Moreover, Dickens introduce the motif of light and
warmth through the noun “glow”; By contrasting his warmth with Scrooge’s previously established “frosty rime”, he paves way for his eventual
redemption as he metamorphs into a penitent, generous philanthropist under the guidance of the spirits. Additionally the noun “glow” links to
Dickens’s presentation of the Ghost of Christmas Past “with a bright clear jet of light”streaming from his head- evidently to symbolise Fred as a
moral guide to be learnt from. Perhaps Dickens urges the Victorian readers to look upon those among them for true happiness and guidance,
and to recognize that the virtues of growth do not stem from obsession with monetary gain.
Later, in Stave two, Dickens reinforces the importance of family when the Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge the love and family he had
pushed away. Belle declares “another idol [”a golden one”] has displaced me” when explaining why she decides to end their relationship-
implying Scrooge’s avarice has pushed Belle away- reflecting the love he once had being replaced by his greed. Alternatively, the noun “idol” also
has biblical references of misdirected worship- suggesting his covetousness is sacrilegious. Dickens’s use of religious connotations is particularly
effective on the Christian Victorian society in reminding the readers that even spiritually, familial intimacy (in addition to practical values found
from Scrooge’s family such as joy, charitability and humility) should dominate accumulation of wealth. Dickens further underlines the
detriments of isolation as Scrooge is shown Belle’s daughter, who “might have called him father”, and “been a springtime in the haggard winter
of his life” . The contrast between seasons is again part of Dickens’s motif of warmth- symbolising family as “springtime”- a source of life, solace
and hope that would’ve cut through Scrooge’s melancholy. Furthermore, Dickens by describing Scrooge as growing “dim-sighted”, suggests his
tearful remorse at ruining his prospect of having a family that could’ve improved his life. This stresses to the Victorian readers the detriments of
being a rapacious miser- therefore encouraging them to be more philanthropic- starting from their own family.
These ideas are again further developed in Stave three, Dickens uses the universality of warmth within family units to portray it as a source of
strength- and to educate the readers to acknowledge and act upon social responsibility. The Cratchit family is depicted as “happy, grateful,
pleased with one another” despite there being “nothing high mark in this”. Dickens employs the series of simpler adjectives, the negative
“nothing” and his previous characterization of the impoverished but content Cratchits to highlight that the joy they have in each other’s
company is extravagant but solid and empowering. In addition to this portrayal, through establishing them as a large family, Dickens contrasts
their exuberance with the affluent but “melancholy” Scrooge. He could even be subtly associating the Cratchits to larger family units that were
idealised during the Victorian era to not only instil sympathy for the Cratchits- who ultimately are the emblematic of working class Victorians.
Therefore, he attempts to bridge the huge class division within the Victorian society with the pathos of universal familial joy. Subsequently, he
demonstrates the the readers the importance of social responsibility, particularly emotively motivating them to be generous towards the
impoverished, because the actions of Upper classes could mean the difference between life and death for the lower classes (exemplified through
Tiny Tim).
Through his allegorical novella- A Christmas Carol- Dickens pushes forth his message on the importance of family not only as a source of joy,
strength and solace, but also as a pivotal factor to personal, social and spiritual development.
At the start of the novella in stave one, Dickens uses Fred- Scrooge’s nephew to establish family as a significant moral guide. Fred is depicted as
“all in a glow”, “ruddy and handsome”. This suggests that he is unaffected by “fog and frost” of London’s winter, and thus perhaps the
influences of the Industrial Revolution such as the dehumanising Malthusian ideology. Moreover, Dickens introduce the motif of light and
warmth through the noun “glow”; By contrasting his warmth with Scrooge’s previously established “frosty rime”, he paves way for his eventual
redemption as he metamorphs into a penitent, generous philanthropist under the guidance of the spirits. Additionally the noun “glow” links to
Dickens’s presentation of the Ghost of Christmas Past “with a bright clear jet of light”streaming from his head- evidently to symbolise Fred as a
moral guide to be learnt from. Perhaps Dickens urges the Victorian readers to look upon those among them for true happiness and guidance,
and to recognize that the virtues of growth do not stem from obsession with monetary gain.
Later, in Stave two, Dickens reinforces the importance of family when the Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge the love and family he had
pushed away. Belle declares “another idol [”a golden one”] has displaced me” when explaining why she decides to end their relationship-
implying Scrooge’s avarice has pushed Belle away- reflecting the love he once had being replaced by his greed. Alternatively, the noun “idol” also
has biblical references of misdirected worship- suggesting his covetousness is sacrilegious. Dickens’s use of religious connotations is particularly
effective on the Christian Victorian society in reminding the readers that even spiritually, familial intimacy (in addition to practical values found
from Scrooge’s family such as joy, charitability and humility) should dominate accumulation of wealth. Dickens further underlines the
detriments of isolation as Scrooge is shown Belle’s daughter, who “might have called him father”, and “been a springtime in the haggard winter
of his life” . The contrast between seasons is again part of Dickens’s motif of warmth- symbolising family as “springtime”- a source of life, solace
and hope that would’ve cut through Scrooge’s melancholy. Furthermore, Dickens by describing Scrooge as growing “dim-sighted”, suggests his
tearful remorse at ruining his prospect of having a family that could’ve improved his life. This stresses to the Victorian readers the detriments of
being a rapacious miser- therefore encouraging them to be more philanthropic- starting from their own family.
These ideas are again further developed in Stave three, Dickens uses the universality of warmth within family units to portray it as a source of
strength- and to educate the readers to acknowledge and act upon social responsibility. The Cratchit family is depicted as “happy, grateful,
pleased with one another” despite there being “nothing high mark in this”. Dickens employs the series of simpler adjectives, the negative
“nothing” and his previous characterization of the impoverished but content Cratchits to highlight that the joy they have in each other’s
company is extravagant but solid and empowering. In addition to this portrayal, through establishing them as a large family, Dickens contrasts
their exuberance with the affluent but “melancholy” Scrooge. He could even be subtly associating the Cratchits to larger family units that were
idealised during the Victorian era to not only instil sympathy for the Cratchits- who ultimately are the emblematic of working class Victorians.
Therefore, he attempts to bridge the huge class division within the Victorian society with the pathos of universal familial joy. Subsequently, he
demonstrates the the readers the importance of social responsibility, particularly emotively motivating them to be generous towards the
impoverished, because the actions of Upper classes could mean the difference between life and death for the lower classes (exemplified through
Tiny Tim).
