Advent Calendar 2011: Day Twenty-Four

WHY A CHRISTMAS CAROL LIVES ON TODAY
How is it that a novel published in 1843, over one hundred and fifty years ago, can have had such a profound influence on our Christmas culture? That's exactly the case with Charles Dickens' wonderful piece A Christmas Carol, and yet when you read inbetween the lines (pun fully intended) it shouldn't really come as any surprise that this festive story has stood the test of time so diligently. In Carol, we follow the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a crabby businessman who has hated December 25th ever since he was a teenager. Scrooge has inherited the legacy of Robert Marley, helming a business franchise that dominates a fair portion of London's population, and as such he couldn't be happer with his stance in life. Except, this stance is what will ultimately drive him towards his death, and see him unmourned by those who knew him simply because he never showed any compassion towards them to warrant it. To show this tragic benefactor the error of his ways, three Ghosts of Christmas time must appear to him, taking him to various points in his life (and death) to shock him enough that he will change his ways in time for Christmas Day. This immensely uplifting tale of time travel would have been seen as amongst the most innovative yarns of Dickens' time, vastly different to any works by Allan-Poe, Bronte, Austen or any other authors in the nineteenth century. Indeed, the unique way in which the narrative is presented by Dickens has inspired countless literary works to this day, not to mention a host of equally striking adaptations of the novel. Yes, from parodies like The Muppets Christmas Carol to modern reinterpretations like Doctor Who's casting of Michael Gambon as the evil Kazran Sardick, forced by our favourite Time Lord through complete shifting of his past timelines to fall in love and save the lives of hundreds of people when he would never have dared do so on the Christmas Eve night before. Each new version of A Christmas Carol still owes a debt of gratitude to Dickens for its overall storyline, based around the original novel to an extent as its plot was so strong on its own, and remains so today. I find Jim Henson's Muppets take particularly memorable in its second act, portraying the Ghost of Christmas Present as the most jovial of fellows, a spirit who utterly warms Scrooge's heart, reigniting passions and loves the loathed scorn had not felt for too long, and in doing so opening the door for his final transformation into a man bent on helping everyone who he came across, knowing that this was the only way to truly repent for his sins. Michael Caine is perfect in his role as the protagonist(?), bringing across Scrooge's moral transformation over the course of the It Feels Like Christmas number, only to save his best moments for last as the Ghost of Christmas Future beckons to remind Ebenezer just what fate awaits him beyond the grave should he not become the man he needs to be. The Marley brothers- you've got to love the script writers' daring to change the plot to suit the hilarious, mocking Statler and Waldorf- had done this earlier, showing Scrooge the chains forged to cast him into the pits of hell should he not make amends, but this was a mere shock tactic, a foreboding message to weaken his barred defenses and allow the spirits to weave their way into his sleep and force him to accept the beauty of Christmas. I think that as soon as the Ghost of Christmas Present departs, Scrooge realises what he must do if he is to be redeemed, as we see him in the concluding Thankful Heart of Henson's musical, but Dickens (and Henson) pulls one further twist in the tale when we believe all might be saved, throwing in one more Ghost to allow Scrooge a glimpse of the man he could have become had he continued down the path of 'Bah, hambug'. By the time Scrooge sees his name on the tombstone in the graveyard, the realisation of the consequences of his past life shatters any possibility of going back, sealing his fate as a loved, charitable hero in the eyes of Londoners, and thus finally confirming his ultimate redemption. I don't think I can possibly recall a more poignant story than this to tell at Christmas, or quite possibly on any day of the year. The author of this wonderful festive treat could not have known that he had stumbled onto such a literary masterpiece when the novel was in fact one of his most brief, and yet on the bicentenary of his birth, next year A Christmas Carol will be one of an infinite number of reasons that we should commemorate and always remember the life and works of Charles Dickens forever more. And on that note, I wish you all a good night, and a very Merry Christmas!