DICKENS OLDER PEOPLE: The Portrayal of Older Adult Characters in his Novels 

Novel Five

BARNABY RUDGE: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty ( 1841)

PART ONE:  BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT

                               J. Yaeger, engraving of Barnaby Rudge. 1841. Illustrated in Simon

                                Jarrett: " Those They called IDIOTS." Reaktion Books. 2020. p170

ARGUABLY Barnaby Rudge, at its serialization ( in Master Humphrey's Clock 13. Feb -27.Nov.1841) and ever since, "is both the least loved and the least read" of all his novels. (1) It was Dickens's first of two historical novels. A Tale of Two Cities (1859) continues to outstrip Rudge in popularity with the general public. However, they both received mixed reviews from critics then and now. What was Dickens's intention and motivation for embarking on this project? Was it an attempt to build on his very successful writing to date? He wanted Rudge to be considered a serious historical novel (2), following in the footsteps of Sir Water Scott, whom he greatly admired, especially in his novel Ivanhoe, which remains relatively popular, unlike Rudge.  

Remembering that Rudge was initially published in serial form, the angst Dickens had in putting his handwritten scrawl on paper, he disclosed to his then publishers Bently in 1836  embarking on this intended serious work of literature it was designed to "build his fame and was frustrating."(3) Later Dickens writes to John Forster ( his close friend and subsequently biographer) that it was "hanging over him like a hideous nightmare." (4) I shared the feeling when I was reading the book! But it is important to note that Dickens, professionally and personally, at the same time was still working on Nicholas Nickleby, Oliver Twist, Pickwick, and The Old Curiosity Shop, which had already considerably enhanced his fame. Money was always a motivator for him, though not for its own sake( he was always generous), but increased fame was his crucial motivation. Once he got into the plot and chapters, completing it in late 1841 and writing again to Forster, he said, " I think you'll find it comes out strong to the last word" (5). This blog is not the place to go into Dickens's convoluted and complex contractual history with his publisher. Still, it had considerably drained his energy and patience, changing from Bently to the publishers Chapman and Hall. 

In his personal life, it was a period of activity and distraction. He became a father again, holidayed in Scotland, travelled backwards and forwards from a family stay in Broadstairs to London, planned a visit to America with his wife Catherine in early 1842, was forced to undergo surgery for a fistula and had to rest for a month, had difficulties with his feckless father, and, to top it all off, his pet Raven Grip 'fell off its perch'. 

Returning to the novel itself in terms of its genesis and conception, Dickens originally intended Gabriel Varden to be the central character and title. His portrayal is noteworthy, 'a round, redfaced, sturdy yeoman with a double chin and a voice husky with good living, good sleeping, good humour and good health.'(6) Varden was in a 'Green old age' - slowed down but active and fit, today classed as 'the young old'. Philips and Gadd point out that Dickens was skilled in portraying "hearty, kindly characters"- especially in this period of their life course, and his novels are peppered with them. Whilst Dickens could not then be in the same literary class as Water Scott, certainly not in producing informed historical novels either in quantity or quality, he undoubtedly remains a significant and outstanding Victorian author of contemporary life. (7)

                            

                         Breakfast at Mr. Varden's/. Hablot Knight Browne (Phiz). Woodcut

                         first published in weekly parts by Chapman and Hall 1840-1.

So why did Dickens decide on the historical setting of the Gordon Riots ( 1780), which was, in fact, in the relatively recent past? It was very 18th-century. Chesterton posits that Rudge and the much later  A Tale of Two Cities were unconsciously connected, especially regarding the aristocrats. (8) Chesterton points too out that both the themes were about revolutions; Rudge dealt with 'ignorance and obscurantist Protestism' and A Tale of Two Cities, a revolt in favour of 'enlightenment and liberation' (9). These were always to occupy Dickens. Scholars differ in their view about whether Dickens was a historian; he, however, was a keen observer. The failure of Rudge against the success of  A Tale is, in part, a reflection of Dickens's anxiety and insecurity from his childhood and early young adulthood set against the maturity of his older self. Chesterton adamantly rejects the notion that Dickens became sadder in his later years, given he was only in his forties when writing his second historical novel and that he, in fact, never reached old age and was never " a victim of elderly disenchantment."  He was rather worn out by his "unremitting rapidity"; thus, he was not "wearied by his age; rather, he was wearied by his youth" (10). Perhaps Chesterton confused chronological age with life course experiences and his psychological ageing process. This would include Dickens's feelings about getting or being old, his age identity, anxiety about his perception of cognitive decline and general physical and mental health, underlying psychological issues, life events and especially his continuous goals,  beliefs, values, principles, and how he behaved to others. In my view, it was not fundamentally about his workload.

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Dickens was acutely aware of the danger of mob violence, particularly in the context of the Chartist Movement, and his fascination with criminality, criminal and "abnormal" minds. A murder had a particular fascination, as did general violence and brutality. (11) I would also add intellectual disabilities, commonly phrased in the 19th Century as "idiots." These all intersect, and at the very heart of Rudge Dickens's striking prejudice against the Roman Catholic Church is evident. (12)

I share the opinion of Philip Hobsbaum that "Barnaby Rudge is hard to discuss as a novel. "The characterisations do not live, move or generally have their being in the fabric of the events. There are too many strands of action, and they are not satisfactorily interwoven"  (13). For good or ill, Dickens was greatly influenced by Thomas Carlyle, resulting in an "emphasis shifting from the individual lives disrupted by the Gordon Riots as a social phenomenon in themselves." (14) If Dickens's portrayal of the Green-aged Gabriel Varden is sympathetic to ageing, we are confronted by the character of the 18th-century politician Lord Chesterfield. Hobshaum writes "if the old man is objectionable villainess, we get no flavour of his sense that union between Protestant and Catholic is miscegenation". (15). Old Sir John Chester is described as a "staid, grave, placid gentleman, past the prime of life  (16); he is 'cold and calculating and scheming" who, in true Dickensian fashion, is killed off during an angry encounter with Geoffrey Heredale a Catholic squire and younger brother of the murdered Reuben Haredean. (17) Again, as we have seen in Dickens's earlier novels, the association between older characters eventually getting their violent comeuppance for failing to reflect on their wickedness and repent. A very Victorian notion.

                  Old Mr. Chester. Hablot Kight Browne (Phiz). Woodcut was first published 

                in the weekly parts by Chapman & Hall. 1840-1

The Intersection of The Gordon Riots of 1780 and The Chartists of 1836

The Gordon Riots of June 1780 "occasioned a mob rampage through London for eight days attacking private homes and public property." (18). They became, for Victorians and Dickens himself, a "most terrifying example of public disorder and violence" (19). Anti-Catholic prejudice that existed in the Eighteenth Century and the rhetoric of Lord George Gordon triggered by The Catholic Relief Act (1778), granting increased Civil Rights, was the torch that lit the flame.  

Gordon was the leader of the Protestant Association, and he used this platform to generate opposition, which was rejected by the Government.  The Association fed anti-Catholic feelings, culminating in riots, which reached their climax in July 1780. Martial Law was proclaimed, and the army called in, killing and wounding hundreds of rioters. Dickens was familiar via the writings of Thomas Carlyle (1839), whereby Chartism was "a manifestation of an inner fury latent in popular consciousness." Dickens had also read Carlyle's History of the French Revolution (1837), which later would shape Dickens's narrative in A Tail of Two Cities (20). The notion of mob rule, violence and cruelty was to be feared, but it was also fascinating to the young Dickens. It energised him as he penned the storming of Newgate prison and the burning down of Lord Mansfield's home. (21)  Uncontrolled violence and mayhem again intersect with both his fears and anxieties about such; his compulsive interest with murder, death, retribution, anti-Catholic feelings, social reform and Chartism. Barnaby Rudge was the result.  Jon Mee, however, points out that Dickens needed to 'offer a clear sense of a new order emerging from this conflagration.' which he ultimately failed to do (22)

 

        

           The Rendezvous of the Mob: Hablot Knight Browne (Phiz) 

                                       The real Lord George Gordon ( 1751 - 1793)

The consequences of inadequate and poor criminal laws, penal conditions, and policing of the 1830s and 40s did Dickens think to demonstrate the lessons from 1780 precisely the same issues would be learnt? (23) However, Dickens's reading of Scott and Thomas Carlyle appears not to have led him to explore the socio-economic causes of the riots in Rudge. There is little sense of reform, but as Mee points out, he does not "provide its readers with a single, comfortable vantage point from which to view the past."  Instead, he re-enforces Victorian England's superiority (24). The riots of 80 were a reflection of, at best, ambivalence and, at worse, a denial of the consequences of poor social order and appear not to have grasped the different phases of the riots - who were the rioters?  In addition, he fails to explore its relationship to Chartism and the parallels or correlations between past and present. (25) 

The characters, settings, and multiple plot lines could have been more explicit for many readers then and the few now, but they have provided Dickensian scholars with rich pickings since their publication. How far are those characters a reflection of the phases of the Gordon riots?  This is important in understanding Dickens's mindset and self-perception of which social class he came from and his desperation to secure an enhanced one. He was not born into absolute poverty, but it is fair to say that his father's social position and family during his childhood were sometimes precarious. That precariousness was mainly a result of John Dickens spending well beyond his means and constantly moving house to avoid his numerous debtors'

The renowned social historian  E.P. Thompson argues that the initial 'revolutionary crowd" which presented the Petition to Parliament was, in the main, "the better sort of tradesmen ...exceedingly quiet and orderly and very civil" (26), reflecting the dissent of the lower middle class. The second followed the Parliament's rejection, which attracted journeymen, apprentices, and servants, as well as a minority criminal element motivated by antipathy, again to the rich (the middle class). The final phase was one of indiscriminate violence, orgies of drunkenness, arson and pickpocketing, whereby arguably, the mob was less about protest and more about thuggery and violence for its own sake (what's new). The conflation of the Gordon riots with the Chartist movement, comprised of radicals and reformers in peaceful and organised demonstrations, led to Victorian anxiety about Chartism, reform, and the ghost of mob rule. Dickens's position and ambivalence in the Rudge novel were how far the " unrepresented, and/or their organisations faced with persecution and repression to affect their objectives ?" (27) At what point do radicals and reformers ( of which it is argued Dickens was one) turn into a real threat to law and order and usurped into a violent mob?  Dickens was no Chartist; he did not support their Movement or Trade Unionism (28). He reflected the Establishment. Some have argued that his attitude was paradoxical. Rudge was a critique of mob rule. His earlier published novels show a young adult exposing various social issues but with an antipathy to reform. He supported many "good causes." as we would define them today. Still, as I explored in a blog previously in A Christmas Carol, he remains perplexing. He believed poverty, injustices, abuses, ignorance, want, and exploitation within society and families could be addressed through existing middle-class morals and values and by being charitable, kind, and compassionate. He could indeed be riding two horses and fell off in Barnaby Rudge. Barbara Hardy writes that he was "interested in the conditional character, but includes in his fiction a continuing fantasy about the ideal, the unconditional virtue" (29). The character Barnaby was 'pure' in a society of darkness, poverty, exploitation, aristocratic privilege, entitlement, abuse and riot, but he was, above all, a survivor. This was the essence of Dickens.  

The older adult characters will be explored in Part Two. The principal is, in fact, "a round, redfaced, sturdy yeoman with a double chin and voice husky with good living." He was living a good young, old age. 

References

1. RICE.T.J. (1987) Barnaby Rudge: An Annotated Bibliography. Routledge Revivals

2. The Dickens Page: (undated) Charles Dickens Barnaby Rudge. 

3. SCHLICKE. P. (Ed) (2011). 'Barnaby Rudge: Inception and Composition. The Oxford Companion to Charles Dickens. Anniversary Edition. Oxford University Press. 

4. Ibid (p 29)

5. Ibid (p 30-31)

6. PHILIP, P. & GADD.L. (1989 ed) The Dickens Dictionary. Bracken Books. London. (p 302)

7. CHITTICK.K. (1990) Dickens and the 1830s. Quoted in SCHLICKE.P Ibid. (p 32)

8. CHESTERTON. G.K. (1911) Appreciations & Criticisms of the Works of Charles Dickens, Moncrieff Press. (2022 ed) (p 59-60)

9. Ibid (p 59)

10. Ibid ( p134-135)

11. GLANCY. R.F. (1999) Student Companion to Charles Dickens: Student Companions to Classical Works. Greenwood Press. Westport. Connecticut. London (p 37) 

12. WAGENKNECHT. E. ( 1970) The Man Charles Dickens: A Victorian Portrait  (2nd Edition) University of Oklahoma Press. Norman. (p 224)

13. HOBSBAUM.P. (1998 ed) A Reader's Guide to Charles Dickens. Syracuse University Press. (p 63)

14. Ibid (p 63)

15. Ibid  ( p63)

16. Ibid. Philipps &  Gadd (54)

17. HOWE .D. (1998) Whos Who in Dickens. Routledge & Taylor. Francis Group. London & New York. (p 102-3)

18. GARDINER. J. ( 2011) Dickens and the Uses of History (Chapter 16) in Paroissien, D.(Ed) A Companion to Charles Dickens. Wiley-Blackwell (2011) (p249)

19. MEE.J. (2011) Barnaby Rudge (Chapter 33). Ibid  Paroission. D (p 338)

20. Ibid (p 340)

21. Ibid ( p340) Quoting Dickens's letter to Forster ( Letters 2:385)

22. Ibid. MEE (p340)

23. Idid (p341)

24 Ibid ( p341)

25 Ibid ( 341)

26. THOMPSON. E.P. ( 1968 Edition) The Making of the English Working Class. Penguin. London  (p77)

27. Ibid (p 176)

28. Chartist Charter: (I). A vote for all males over 21: (2). A secret ballot. (3). No Property qualification. (4). Payment for MP's (5). Equal Constituencies (6). Annual Parliaments

29. HARDY. B. (1985 edition)  The Moral Art of Dickens The Athlone Press 

30. BROWN. J.M. ( Date unknown) A Sociological Analysis of the Novels of Charles Dickens. (PhD Thesis) London School of Economics 

 

 

 

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THE PORTRAYAL OF OLDER ADULT CHARACTERS IN CHARLES DICKENS'S EARLY NOVELS: DICKENS OLDER PEOPLE

"A CHRISTMAS CAROL" NOVELLA (1843) 

PART TWO: EBENEZER SCROOGE IN TIME AND PLACE (1)

                                 Scrooge encounters the ghost of Jacob Marley. Illustration

                              by John Leech ( 1843)

Stuart Pryke and Amy Staniforth, both English teachers and published authors, recently produced a seminal Compendium on  A Christmas Carol (2) targeted to those teaching students. 

Reviewers unanimously consider it a tour de force. I agree. What, however, can it tell us about the portrayal of older characters such as Scrooge, Marley, and Fezziwig through the lens of literary gerontology, Victorian ageism, and Dickens's own approach to old age?

Not surprisingly, the issue of the novella 'Mirroring our own modern times' is emphasised in that we have a "responsibility towards our fellow citizens, the need for societal change and embracing values of kindness and empathy( being) lessons in need of teaching today"(3) Furthermore 'Dickens's tale, ignorance is still widespread and prevailing' and ' put simply, Dickens's political diatribe, his blistering attack on 19th Century inequality, echos into the 21st.'(4)We explored this as an important context to understand Dickens's intention in Part One. His intention is readily acknowledged and understood, highlighting the values of empathy and charity and 'the importance of community'(5). Scrooge is the primary protagonist; his life course represents his past, present and future and " as an allegory for the fate of society in Dickens's real London"(6). Pryke and Staniforth assert that whilst he takes a sledgehammer to the societal issues and challenges of his time, he does so not through hectoring but via whimsy, masque, allergy and symbolism designed to facilitate a Scroogian transformation, a changed mindset and hence readers "finding their own meaning and make changes based on what they have read"(7) 

Two Miserly 'Peas in a Pod'

                         

Let us start not with Scrooge but with Jacob Marley in transforming his squeezing, wrenching and grasping business partner. "Why is Marley," asks Tim Marshall, a retired teacher himself, "willing to help change Scrooge's disposition from a selfish old miser to a Father Christmas-type figure"? (8) Both Marshall, Pryke and Staniforth emphasise the critical importance of the relational co-dependency between Scrooge and Marley. Marley may well be dead, but for his partner, he never died. Emotionally, Scrooge's very character was embedded into that of Marley's. Interestingly, many amateur quizzers answer three when asked how many ghosts there are in the book! The memory of  Marley is overlooked when, in fact, he is the most important. Marley was forgotten, ignored and discounted as he is in literary gerontology. 

Andrew Blaikie, at a seminar in 1999, 'Writing Old Age,'  questioned how "can we resolve the tension between the ageing individual and the social structure, when the life course can no longer be represented as an ordered sequence of stages"(9) He goes on to challenge by further questioning "what constitutes an ageing novel ...A better question he poses is " how might we better understand ageing through fiction and other forms of creative writing, and what tools for analysis does such literature furnish us with"? (10) Given that Dickens was perhaps the greatest of Victorian writers and portrayed countless older characters, gerontologists have made little serious attempt to address these questions. Scrooge and, for us ( by association, Marley) is perhaps the most famous and well-known of all his older characters. The dominant Scrooge and the invisible Marley make a good case study. 

                          

                      By Caanan_White @ comicartconnect. FortWayne 

Jacob Marley "Understood (Scrooge) most and understood his ambitions and drive intrinsically," concluded Pryke and Staniforth (11). If we accept Dickens's claim that his own childhood was lonely, Scrooge's childhood was depicted equally. Scrooge sees the face of his deceased partner, his role model, his influencer and his "catalyst for the start of Scrooge's redemption"(12). Quoting the Compendium again, " There is also the sense that Scrooge does not know what else to do with his time. He is desperately isolated and knows nothing other than work. Despite losing his only friend, he does not know how to mourn. He does not appear to process the emotional range or ability to allow himself time to feel his feelings"(13). Marley had only been dead for seven years, but their co-dependency is clearly evident. Drawing on Dickens's portrayal of the physical and behavioural aspects of Scrooge, "Marley's death triggered the first flicker of redemption in Scrooge; the moment it was subconsciously realised Scrooge had something precious inside; the capacity to change"(14). This observation is important as it appears to re-enforce the view that he is potentially far more than an ageing miser; his personality and behaviour and his cruelty are simply a product of his upbringing and life course experiences: the influence of Marley ( not Fezziwig) and his death, that despite all "he holds something precious, he is capable of change ....a glimmer of redemption is already there"(15). In essence, Dickens's portrayal is not one of an old man incapable of self-redemption, self-awareness, or hopelessness, set in his ways, introverted, risk-averse, and mentally infirm with diminishing brain power. These negative old-age myths remain prevalent even today. We also must remember Dickens's intent, which was discussed in Part One. Nevertheless, Scrooge starts off in the story as old, displaying age stereotypes, but becomes young at its conclusion, not in terms of chronological age but displaying energy, exuberance, humour and generosity of heart. In Transactional Analysis speak, he has become a Free Child rather than simply childish. A Nurturing Parent rather than a critically demanding one.

                       

The Relevance of Masculinity in Time and Place

We now need to step back and ask a number of questions about Victorian maleness, masculinity, reputation, roles, and gender stereotypes. The key issues are social class and, broadly, understanding Scrooge in the context of time and place. In addition, was there an enlightened view of ageing? Our go-to source again is Katren Chase and her "streaky bacon of mixed traits" (16), referred to in Part One. Dickens's commentators have written extensively about his portrayal of females. It is interesting to note that very few dominant females are in this Carol. All the major characters, ghosts included, are male, whilst the Charity Collectors and Tiny Tim have pretty marginal roles in terms of their presence. In Dickens's typical intentions, they are proxies for major and significant messaging on various political and social issues. If a social class is important to address, so is the Enlightened view of ageing. The early Victorian era is the Time in which the novel is located, and the Place is both geographical and literary. Again, our go-to author regarding the enlightened view of ageing is Karen Chase and her "steaky bacon of mixed traits". A Christmas Carol evidences her point that "age might come too soon" through emotional anxiety, leading Dickens to assert such will lead to "wrinkles and grey hairs with no uninspiring hands"(17). Case specifically references the 'haunting images of Ignorance and Want' " where graceful youth should have filled their features out and touched them with its freshest tints, a stale and shrivelled hand, like that of age, had pinched and twisted them and pulled them into shreds" (18). Decay through age haunted the Victorian middle-aged male, and whilst women were primarily seen in the context of marriage, childrearing and keeping a good domestic environment, men were expected to keep their women and families safe in a home providing comfort, being financially secure, holding a good reputation by his peers and above all be seen as respectable. (19) This is all very middle class. Dickens, it's absolute epidemy. Lower-class males worked, earning sufficient to get by and avoid their children or partners to work. This is all very generalized, but their position was extremely precarious. Bob Cratchit was not poor, but his family would be economically vulnerable if he lost his employment, making his relationship with Scrooge one of dependency and compliance. Nevertheless, he would have the same male anxieties regarding his social class. Dickens understood this from his childhood and family experiences, which he never emotionally recovered. These are gendered stereotypes. Men belonged to the public space, which included being in employment ( legal or illegal), engaged in commerce or public positions and knew their place within their respective class structures. For an unmarried man was not in and of itself a stigma ( look at Scrooge). Being homeless, a vagrant or in a workhouse or in prison was.

                                

                  
                                    Depicting an economically precarious family

The adult male characters, especially the reclusive Scrooge and Marley, are both emotionally stunted; their success in wealth creation and hoarding did not personally worry them about becoming old and frail. Bob Cratchit and Scrooge's nephew Fred and Fezzilwig were respected, meeting the Victorian test of maleness and masculinity, but nevertheless, they lived at a time and place when growing old represented the spectre of future dependency, fragility, and socioeconomic deficit, thus undermining their status in both public and private places.

 On Old Age, Ageing and Ageism

 Karen Chase rightly concludes, "Dickens did not set out to investigate or describe the situation of the aged, but they intrude awkwardly and revealingly in his accounts"(20). This is absolutely true in A Christmas Carol, and his portrayal of older adults evidences this, but his journalistic and personal narrative descriptions of older people in workhouses are brutal and reflect the environment in which their final years were lived out. Terms and descriptions include " weird old women, ugly old crones, both male and female" (21). The New Poor Law of 1832 gave birth to the mushrooming of workhouses, which was familiar territory for him. The descriptions are uncomfortable and disconcerting, and the intersection of old age and his portrayal of the policy intentions, the incarceration of them reflect a certain ambivalence, a certain othering, and even fear for this 43-year-old author. 

Though mental incapacity and physical fragility were perceived as inevitable consequences of ageing, this seems to be contradicted in the person of Scrooge. Loss of esteem, isolation, and vulnerability are not. Dickens presents the dilemma. On the one hand, his narrative descriptions appear to be ageist by today's understanding, but on the other, as Chase argues, "he advocates the retention of youth throughout older years, it is that he describes a condition of age in which the mind continues to be flexible and elastic in its own manner ( not in the manner of youth) and in the pursuit of its own aims and objectives. Is this a second childhood?"(22) Dickens acknowledges that lacking mental stimulation can lead to mental infirmity. He, in his novels, did not offer schemata for old age - there was "no systematic or coherent understanding of the place of age" (23). In the early 1840s was Dickens fully aware that the discourse about old age was, or becoming a "conspicuous public topic and problem and also an intensely private occupation?" (24) Given his co-morbidity and obsession with his health, which will become a lifelong obsession, can we determine or suggest from his portrayals of older characters he did indeed "fashion the stories of their lives"?(25)  Our exploration of his first four novels and now his first Christmas novella begins to suggest he was aware and that his descriptions, including that of Scrooge, of ageing and old age were highly individualized. He was aware of the public and private debate and the pathologizing of old age, which was the Victorian way. That said, he did, at the same time, give many of his older characters, including Scrooge, agency, even though it was often described pejoratively. Scrooge, Marley, and Fezzilwig, regardless of their place and literary purpose, remain powerful male figures despite the fact that two of them are repeatedly given scant regard.

In 1983, Dr Thomas Cole challenged the move to the concept of positive ageing, arguing that professionals and gerontologists spent too little time reflecting on whether ageism was a useful concept, especially when applied to Victorian morality, age assumptions, and an enlightened view of ageing. He'd love this blog series! Our understanding of ageism has come a long way since the 80s, but nevertheless, the cautious Dr Cole makes a fair observation that "as a conceptual tool, ageism suffers the same parochialism that plagues social gerontology. It is neither informed by broader social or psychological theory nor grounded in historical specificity....This naive empiricism, however, cannot explain why people continue to believe in such false stereotypes, nor can it explain why, until recently, so much biomedical and social science research re-enforced and legitimized negative stereotypes" (26)

 Fear Of  An "Unknown Old Age and Death"

                           

                  The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come - Original 

                                  illustration by John Leech (1843)

Be that as it may, we return to Scrooge and the importance of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, which made him "shudder and feel very cold" in complete contrast to the spirit of Christmas present. Pryke and Staniforth helpfully summarize his attitude to each of them. To Marley, he is off-hand, dismissive, and cold; to Christmas Past, confident and polite; and to Christmas Present, more introspective, even timid, and finally, subordinate and even penitent. (27) Like many Victorians, Dickens was always fascinated by death. Notwithstanding the association between old age and death, religious connotations and last judgments, Scrooge sees the consequences of his younger adult years, and now, in his later life, his behaviour without redemption is exposed. The ghost becomes a finger-pointing signpost. Dickens introduces a small group of 'businessmen' whose attitude to a recently deceased colleague (Scrooge?) is brutal, harsh and unforgiving. The second group are equally dismissive but of a different social class where he is unmourned and robbed in death of his possessions. Dickens uses a chairwoman, laundress, and undertaker to enter Joe's old shop to sell the items stolen from the isolated and alone man. They are equally uncaring, brutal and harsh - not what a wealthy miser wants to experience in death. Dickens, the narrator, like a conductor, orchestrates and directs the Carol  ( hence the term Staves rather than chapters). Scrooge is taken from one scene to another, and in typical Dickensian style, Tiny Tim, the poor, vulnerable, disabled, innocent child, dies, a proxy for all poor, innocent children, as with Little Nell bringing Dickens and, hopefully, readers to tears.  Scrooge's epiphany is now very close as he sees the error of his adult lifelong ways, which is then re-enforced and completed by his own gravestone. A climax not of death but of self-realisation of the personal and masculine consequences of the life he has lived, the attitudes he has held' his obsession with hoarding wealth ( rather than spending it) and the effect on his family and employee(s) - note he has no friends and Marley for him now is dead! Students have fun learning when Scrooge changes from an old, ugly and tightfisted moneylender into "a baby." There may be no right or wrong answer: The story is a process, not an event; it is a dance rather than a ladder. 

We often consider Scrooge's 'dance' in the context of the lessons the four spirits taught him, but there are, in fact, five teachers. If we view them through our life course perspective, we can understand Dickens's approach as an individual life trajectory and as a social institution, including age-graded roles and life changes. (28) It is predicated on an awareness of the ageing process as understood generally and Dickens specifically; the notion of "ongoing social dynamics, contingency and cumulative advantages and disadvantages" over Scrooge's life course and transitions (29) The "concepts of cohort location and cohort effect are central " writes Dannefer (30) Here both Dickens and hence Scrooges life course "intersect with the Victorian economy of ageing, sociocultural, economic and political arrangements and hence life chances" (31) The childhood and early adulthood of Dickens ( at the time of writing aged 31years) and obviously Scrooges', of much later years, we can possibly tease out the following related to the spirits and their key messages:

• Marley: the catalyst without whom Scrooge would never have made the journey of self-discovery to its conclusion.
• The Ghost of Christmas Past: the innocence, the pain, and the fond memories of his apprenticeship years with Mr Fuzzelwit help him to become more self-aware 
• The Ghost of Christmas Present embodies generosity and the abundance that existed in Victorian society, as well as its culture and attitude to wealth, ignorance, want, and greed. Here, Marley's influence cannot be underestimated. The rigid class structures and attitudes to children.
• The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: evidence of Victorian and Scrooge's fear of death and judgment
• Ebenezer Scrooge ( the 5th Ghost): If we acknowledge that he, during his journey, was, in fact, a spirit! 

              [Adapted from Stack & Quill's Annotated Guide to a Christmas Carol (2023).p 127]

"A Capitalist Oppressor"?

Scrooge's character offers much in our understanding of Dickens as a writer and young adult. Some commentators have written about Scrooge being an "absent Jew", reflecting Dickens's antisemitism and evidenced in Scrooge's dialogue with his nephew Fred. (32) The novella itself has also been seen as a criticism of Christmas, and following his transformation, he "plays the role of a capitalist oppressor, commanding underlings to fetch him luxuries", hinting that Dickens's resentment for an industrial society's corrupted notion of the Christmas spirit...Even when Scrooge becomes altruistic...his philanthropy still operates under the guise of capitalism, measured in economic terms and ultimately providing himself with pleasure"(33).   The intersection between the character of Scrooge and the value base of Dickens is worth some attention, especially in the context of currently held beliefs that the older one becomes the more conservative ( small and capital C). Scrooge was upper middle class, as was Dickens; the difference is that whilst the Malthusian Scrooge hoarded wealth for its own sake, the Utilitarian Dickens was generous with his. This is worth exploring further.

Whilst researching this aspect of Scrooge and Dickens, I came across an Honours Prograve Thesis by Christina Oliveira, who analysed three novels, including A Christmas Carol (34). She argues that two critical points exist when exploring Dickens's career trajectory: his " increased scepticism with capitalism" and his " refusal to abandon capitalist principles despite this scepticism"(35). Scrooge is the personification of Mathusian and laissez-faire economics, being part of the emerging Victorian upper middle class. Dickens, however, rightly exposed the plight of the poor. He, at the same time, "highlights the superiority of middle class values and lifestyles." On the one hand, "he admonishes modern capitalism's polluting industry, he praises the middle class lifestyles and capitalist values that are the cause and product of the new economic order."(36). According to Olivera, there is a bias in the portrayal of Scrooge, reflecting Dickens's longing to see an increase in middle-class values and power rather than " equality and liberation for the poor". The story of Scrooge is focused on his transformation into a benevolent, social, moral and economic middle class norm. While Cratchit was part of the lower middle class, at the time of writing, Dickens himself, though comfortable, was not wealthy or had power but certainly 'had a higher social class than the lower middle class.'(37) The debate among Dickensian scholars and commentators continues asking what his view actually was. (I face the same question when applied to his view of old age and older adults). On the one hand, he is considered a reformer and advocate of the poor and alienated, yet on the other, he "supported a system and held a mindset that favoured the bourgeoisie." He certainly was not a Malthusian economist, but some argue he was "more interested in establishing his middle class value system over the poor rather than focussing on abolishing the circumstances that disadvantaged the poor and enriched the middle classes." (38) The debate says Oliveira needs to be more nuanced.

A Christmas Carol, not surprisingly, reflects the young Dickens's somewhat contradictory or ambivalent beliefs around capitalism and the bourgeoise - though it bordered on the optimistic whereby Scrooge's transformation is personal rather than pessimistic about Victorian social structures. Know your place, but be kinder to those of a lower class. Dickens became clearer about unchecked capitalism - not socialism. Capital is fine but would increasingly become conflicted over his life course. However, in A Christmas Carol, he reveals that the greed of capitalism and bourgeoisie apathy can be "cured through the utilization middle class values."(39). Scrooge is defined by his social class and capital, as was Dickens.

Ignorance and Want, portrayed as two children, indicate an understanding that a Victorian systemic social policy issue needs to be addressed. Dickens has yet to resolve his contradictions related to capitalism and its oppression, namely his " attempt to reconcile his desire to praise capitalism with his distaste for what capitalism has resulted"(40) 

           

                                           Ignorance and Want. John Leech (1843)

Scrooge and Dickens remained capitalists in later years, but Scrooge discovered benevolence and charity, and Dickens's brand, then and now, is predicated on benevolence and gifting. The transformation of Scrooge was, as we have seen, personal and arguably paternalistic and patronising, as was the Victorian way. However, Dickens maintained a view of the world in terms of his middle-class values. He, in addition, was wedded to "rationalism, social action and the inherent goodness of humans," i.e. Unitarianism, but without the religious trappings (41) 

Alan Humm, writing about his forthcoming novel The Sparkler, writes that Dickens was complex, and his life was complex. Dickens was also circumspect regarding relationships and "afraid to bring things to life" (42). The character of Scrooge, the unresolved ambivalence and conflict towards capitalism could be applied to old age, his own ageing and his characterizations. Not always explicit and may just reflect unconscious ageism. His approach reflected a journey on a number of relationships, not just with individuals but also with social structures and even his portrayal of older characters. 

Humm implies, rightly,  in my view, that despite his writings and his letters, he never really gave a complete picture, and we cannot know everything. Humm writes of his own novel he " can only hope that rather than put people off, it will inspire the kind of discussion that, in his own time and place, Dickens could never hope to have"(43)

The Fezziwig Factor 

               Mr Fezziwig's Ball. A Gallery of John Leech's Illustrations (1843)                                                The Victorian Webb

"The employer to whom Scrooge was apprenticed as a young man . He is 'an old gentleman in a Welsh wig' full of benevolenece and joviality, and with a 'comfortable, oily,rich ,fat jovial voice'. He, his wife, and three daughters happily and vigorously join thein the Christmas ball he organises for his employees . Scrooge's former self and his fellow apprentices, Dick, pour out 'their hearts in praise of Fezziwig' ".

                                                  Taken from Donald Hawes. Who's Who in Dickens ( 2002ed) p77 

     

                                  Mr Fezziwig, as envisioned by Sol Eytinge Jr. 1843

                              Victorian Webb

Charles Dickens loved to dance. He also composed songs which were recited in some of his early novels, including The Pickwick Papers and Old Curiosity Shop. Writing a "savage satirical Ballard" to be sung at 'all Conservative Dinners' for the liberal journal The Examiner (44), Dickens used his songs and music to express his thoughts and feelings on various issues using humour and performance. On one occasion, however, in his later life, he disowned a comic operetta he had written (1836) and, when asked if he still had it in his possession, replied, "If I knew it was in my house and could not get rid of it in any other way I would I'd burn the wing of the house where it was" (45) He loved a bonfire! A particularly popular and favourite country dance tune at the time ( which he did not compose) concluded final sets and did so at the Fizziwig's Christmas party. Dickens delights in telling John Forster, "We were tremendous last night, though rather slack at first. We had two very long Sir Roger de Coverley's and after supper about eight charades" (46). He delighted, too, in creating the character and sociability of Fizziwig, the generous, jovial, anachronistic employer of the young apprentice Scrooge. Dickens writes of Fiziwig that he "laughed  all over himself"

Though he is often regarded as a minor character, this does not mean his role in transforming Scrooge should be minimized at various literary and personal levels. The Spirit of Christmas Past ( Stave Two) puts Scrooge in reluctant touch with his former boss, but also the workplace and warehouse environment, the business and management culture and in complete contrast to Scrooge, the compassion, kindness and generosity afforded to him and fellow apprentices. None of this is sacrificed on the altar of capitalism, wealth creation, and the profit of upper-middle-class businessmen (47).  Furthermore, the 'Pickwickian' Fizzilwig is not just a 'comfortable, oily, rich, fat and jovial' older adult, but his employees and apprentices were valued and respected, including the young Ebeneezer, all of whom were invited to the annual Christmas party. Some commentators suggest Scrooge's revisiting Fizzilwig "starts to regret how he himself treats Bob Cratchit"(48). Food, music, dancing and a sing-a-long with Fizzilwig completely contrast Scrooge's lifestyle and employment HR practice. This walk on part steals the Carol's show. One is reminded, however, that whilst Cratchit was precariously positioned in his lower middle class, he was not poor in relative Victorian terms. Did Fizzilwig actually make Scrooge guilty? I think not. However, he acted as an upper class businessman role model in the context of Dickens's intention to highlight the experience of poverty. Scrooge, despite how much wealth he accumulated, always felt economic vulnerability. As some would say, he was 'haunted' by it. 

So here we have Mr Fizzilwig and his family: a patriarch, happily married with children, living a good Victorian old age, independent, a provider, and well respected in the business and the wider community. And there is Scrooge: lonely, isolated, cruel, living in an under-occupied rambling house, undernourished, self-absorbed, rejecting even the reaching out of his nephew. Pryke and Staniforth remind us that the readers' introduction to both characters has them "sitting behind..a high desk", busy in their place of work and by that placement  " shows just how alike the two are and how they could be further alike if Scrooge changes his ways" (49) Their analysis of Fizzilwig/Scrooge - similar, yet dissimilar in attributes and their life courses and Dickens's intentions in the portrayal of these older men, the Compendium cannot in my view be bettered. The comment that Fizzilwig is paternalistic towards young Ebeneezer and "a physical manifestation of the father Scrooge wishes he had and completely antithetical to the elusive, but no less ominous, presence of a man who presents as extremely unkind"(50). In addition, the relationship between Tiny Tim and his father is also referenced, as is that of the young Dickens and his father, John, who, whilst finding him frustrating and irritating throughout his growing up and early adulthood, even banishing him to another part of the country it always remained one of familial love and concern for his welfare. (51)(52) The point here is that Dickens's personality shines through Fizzilwig (53), and thus the 'Fizzilwigs' do not deserve to be overlooked! (54)

A Very Victorian Time and Place! 

When Dickens penned The Pickwick Papers, particularly the portrayal of Samuel Pickwick, he was writing with the memory of the Georgian era, a time of stagecoaches and the tranquillity of rural life, but now, just a few years later, a time of increased industrialization and capitalism. The position of older adults within their various social classes and families affected their and society's image and self-image. Scrooge and Fezzilwig demonstrate, on the one hand, a zest for life but, on the other, a sad, emotionally stunted and fearful old age and death. It is worth noting, as did Thomas Cole and Claudia Edwards in their contribution to a specialist in the history of Old Age, Pat Thane, that growing old in the 19th Century, "the social and economic realities...were diverse and changing, but a common thread was the precariousness of people's existence and most probably, their preference for independence and thus the continued importance of income from work." (55) Cole and Edwards were, however, focused on the 'elderly poor.' The upper middle class ( Scrooge and Fezzilwig ) and the lower middle class ( Cratchit) may have feared increased dependency, sickness and social, relational and economic deficit, as did Dickens himself as he moved into his middle age.

We must place the Carol and its protagonist(s) in a broader literary gerontological context. The iconic Simone de Beauvoir quotes Felicite de Lamennais's 'violent attack upon the very elderly' when, at the age of thirty six wrote, " I  have never seen an old man whose age has not weakened his mind, and I have seen very few who were sincerely persuaded that this was so...what is an old man in this world? A tomb that moves. The crowd opens: few come near to read the epitaph" (56). Scrooge indeed!  De Beauvoir immediately follows this reference with one from Dickens, which is very telling for our purpose - who "strongly protected against the coupling of old age and childhood. Speaking of old age, he wrote, ' We call it a state of childhood, but it is the poor, hollow simulacrum of it, as death is a simulacrum of sleep. Where in the eyes of a senile man is a light and the vivacity that laugh in the eyes of a child?... Put a child and a man who has fallen into his dotage side by side and blush at the emptiness which libels the happy beginning of our life by giving its name to this horrible and convulsive imitation'" (57). Neither Scrooge nor Fezziwig was 'weakened in mind,' but the quote does indeed couple old age and childhood, but differently in that the narrative and principal portrayals we have noted in previous blogs demonstrate an approach towards children of pity and vulnerability, however, so far, with older characters, empowerment, independence and control. It is not always, but it is sufficient to evidence Dickens's ambivalence and even conflict. Scrooge's portrayal initially was not seen as a victim, but via his nighttime excursions, showed an increased vulnerability and a pathway to redemption. He became childlike. Fezziwig, on the other hand, was a role model of personal and business responsibility and an unfailing 'zest for life'  - youthfulness and playfulness. (58) He was in touch with his Free child ego state. Again, we see Dickens in both.

Ageism Revisted

In conclusion, we must again remind ourselves of 19th-century ageism and age discrimination. Alice Crossley and Amy Culley, writing in Age Cultures Humanities, are helpful in this regard (59). They acknowledge that studies of 19th-century ageing have traditionally been dominated by youth, particularly imaginative investments in the figure of the child, but latterly, the broader spectrum of life stages, including old age. Dickens is referenced in terms of his midlife and, obviously, post dates Carol's publication. 

What is relevant is the 19th Century Western concepts of old age emphasised chronological definitions and the association of decline, the emergence of gerontology and the increased medicalization of old age. The skin was a powerful signifier of ageing, social class status, intergenerational relationships, afterlife and legacies (60). Professor David McAllister is quoted as he situates the "correspondence and fiction of Dickens in relation to demographic data and adverts for hair dye" (61). He argues that Dickens's late fiction repeatedly associated midlife mostly with these concerns. Additionally, he explored "Dickens's innovative narrative perspective .. by depicting ageing protagonists who wish to become in narratives by contingency, unled lives and counterfactual speculation" (62). "Dickens's middle-aged men become haunted by the unrealized hopes of their younger selves, as his late constructions of midlife (is) a period in which his characters seek to diagnose life's disappointments and indulge themselves in optative considerations of contingent past events."(63) The 19th Centry shapes our contemporary conceptions of ageing and hence our interpretation of ageism, but also "the potential for later life creativity, agency, resilience and cross-generational transformation...rooted in the 19th Century"(64)

In this novella, women are invisible as major characters, having basically a walk-on role. Mrs Cratchit and Mrs Fizzelwit are not even supporting characters. Dickensian scholars have discussed the role of women in Dickens's novels at length. This issue will be further addressed in discussing Dickens's later novels. The intersection between ageism and sexism will be critically important when discussing Dickens in time and place.

The origins of ageism can be related to several sources, and Professor John Macnicol references three in particular: psychological, sociobiological, and human capital (65). These are relevant to our understanding of Victorian assumptions and presumptions and, hence, Dicken's novels. Post-industrial times, older adults have become increasingly marginalized in economic terms, but arguably, the New Poor Law (1832) also evidenced to some extent " a more negative perception of the economic value of older people who are frequently portrayed as a fiscal burden with regard to their... health and social care costs" (66) John Macnicol rightly asserts that today "ageism in all its forms is a complex and convoluted topic to analyse" and given that Dickens at the time of writing, the term was not even conceived yet alone labelled and hence conceptualized, can we reasonably apply our present understanding of social relations and attitudes, labour, alienation, social care policy, institutionalization, elder abuse, (domestic violence), hate crimes and negativity towards and about age and ageing?  

Scrooge certainly felt old, and Marley's message to his ex-business partner and friend was to not leave it too late to transform - to, in fact, have a good old age. I began during the course of researching and writing about Scrooge's past, present and future to realize that what Dickens had produced was a carol of the utmost importance. A character of immense depth, as was Dickens himself! In understanding ageing and old age through the prism of Dickens's novels, especially A Christmas Carol, we might also, in the process, write about our own life course and old age. It is a pity that the general public only gets to know Scrooge and Dickens through TV and film adaptations rather than taking the time to read the novella, which would, in my personal view, be a great introduction to the writing of Dickens.

                                     Charles Dickens: By Daniel Maclise. Look &Learn                      
 

References and Sources: 

 1. "Time and Place" relates to the literary and historical context in which the novella and Charles Dickens are positioned. 

 2. PRYKE. S & STANIFORTH.  A.  A Ready to Teach. A Christmas Carol. A Compendium of Subject Knowledge, Resources and Pedagogy. A John Catt Publication (2022)

3. Ibid p19 

4. Ibid p 19

5. Ibid p 32

6. Ibid p 33

7. Ibid p 33

8. MARSHALL. T. B. "Marley and the Transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge" Published by Marshall (Amazon) (2020) p5

9. BLAIKIE. A. 'Aging and Popular Culture', Cambridge University Press (1999) quoted by JOHNSON.J. (Ed)  "Writing Old Age'. Centre for Policy Ageing & The Open University.Nos 3 'Presentations of Older People in Ageing Research Series. (2004) p1.

10. Ibid p3

11. Ibid. PRYKE & STANIFORTH. p 33

12. Ibid p37

13 Ibid p 37

14. Ibid p45

15 Ibid p 45

16. CHASE. K. ' The Victorians & Old Age' Chapter 1. 'Faces and Spaces: Locating Age in Dickens World' Oxford University Press (2009)

17. Quoted by CHASE: 'Barnaby Rudge' (ch 81)

18 Ibid - referring to A Christmas Carol/ Stave 111)p 13

19. https: //digitalcommons.iv.ed) cgi7

20. Ibid CHASE p 22

21. Ibid CHASE. Taken from DICKENS.C. 'A Walk in a Workhouse'Selected Journalism, 239,242, 239,240,242

22. Ibid CHASE. p41

23 Ibid. CHASE K. Abstract (June 2009)

24. Ibid p48 

25 Ibid p 48

26. COLE. T. R. 'The Enlightened View of Ageing: Victorian Morality in a New Key' in Historical Roots of a New Methodology. The Hasting Centre Report.June (1983) p34

27. Ibid PRYKE & STANIFORTH p 496

28 ESTES. C. L ( with Di Carlo.N.): Ageing and Society: Ageing A-Z Concepts Towards Emancipatory Gerontology. Routledge (2019)p 203

29. Ibid p203

30. DANNEFER. D. Aging as intracohort differentiation, Accentuation, the Matthew effect and the life course. Sociological Forum. 2(2) 211-236. Quoted by ESTES.C.L.

31. Ibid p 203.

32. LOFT. K.  Nineteenth-Century Studies: Negative Reviews and Critisms( or lack thereof) on Dickens and the Christmas Carol. SUNY GENESEO. Posted Uncategorised. (8. Oct 2014)

33. Author not identified: Taken from  " A Criticism of Christmas by a Capitalist in A Christmas Carol. (https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/charles-dickens ) A source referenced in the text is named GENETTE GERARD. Narrative Discourse.Translated. Jane E LEWIN. Ithaca: Cornell. up, (1980)

34. OLIVEIRA.C. "Dickens Changing Perspective Towards Capitalism and the Bourgeoisie. Rollins Scholarship on Line. Chapter 1. A Christmas Carol. p16-31. (2021)

35. Ibid p73

36. Ibid p3

37. ibid. p 6. 

38. McBRATNEY. J. 'Reluctant Cosmopolitan in Dickens's 'Great Expectations'Victorian Literature and Culture. Vol 38. no 2 (2010) p529-546. JSTOR> Quoted in OLIVEIRA.C p 8

39. Ibid OLIVERIA P 14 

40. Ibid p31

41. Ibid. PRYKE & STANIFORTH  p83

42. HUMM. A. ' The Sparkler' blog. "Why I Have Written a Novel about Charles Dickens "? (2024) 

43. Ibid HUMM 

44. HEALEY. T. "The Music of Dickens and his Time". The Seven Dial Band. Copywrite: Beautiful  Jo Records. CD. Accompanying booklet (1996)

45. Ibid

46. Ibid 

47. Astreadeam.org uploads> (2021/05)

48. Cliff Notes.com. A Christmas Carol. 

49. Ibid. PRYKE & STANIFORTH. p 241

50. Ibid p 244

51. Ibid. p 244

52. Reference to Dickens Mary, "My Father As I Recall Him (1896) in PRYKE &STANIFORTH. 

53. Ibid. PRYKE & STANIFORTH. p 250. The source is taken from NEWEY. V. 'The Scripture of Charles Dickens'. Abingdon:  Routledge (2019)

54. Ibid PRYKE & STANIFORTH.p 251

55. COLE. T.R. & EDWARDS. C. 'The 19th Century'. Chapter 6. in THANE. P. (Ed) 'The Long History of Old Age'. Thames & Hudson. (2005). p 234

56. Referenced in DE BEAUVOIR . S . "Old Age". Andre Deutsch Ltd. ( 1972) p201.

57. DICKENS. C. Referenced Ibid. p201

58. The term 'Zest for Life' is taken from THANE. P. 'Old Age in English History: Past Experiences. Present Issues. The heading of Chapter 13, 'Images and self-images of Older People in the 19th C  & early 20th C. p 259

59. CROSSLEY, A. & CULLEY, A.  'Narratives of Ageing in the Long 19th Century: An Introduction. Issue 5. 'Age Culture Humanities. A Special edition based on a Conference held at the University of Lincoln. July 2019.

60. Ibid p5

61. Ibid p5

62. Ibid. CROSSLEY & CULLY. p7

63. Mc ALLISTER quoted in CROSSLEY & CULLY. p9

64. Ibid. CROSSLEY & CULLEY. p 11

    

                                                            ooooOOOoooo