DRAMATURGY

Rediscovering A Christmas Carol & Rediscovering Ourselves

BY SHEILA HWANG, PH.D. DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH, WEBSTER UNIVERSITY

Charles Dickens’ 1843 story, A Christmas Carol, has been beloved for generations. The story’s 6,000-copy first printing sold out in less than a week, it went through 13 additional printings in its first year, and it continues to be a mainstay of the holiday season, now not only as a story to be read but also as one that has been frequently adapted to be enjoyed both on screen and on stage. Many people embrace A Christmas Carol for its quintessential optimism: in this story even the most bitter, most mercenary person may overcome loneliness, isolation and cynicism to learn to celebrate the spirit of Christmas by embracing kindness and compassion. We as audience members delight in how Ebenezer Scrooge transforms almost magically from a curmudgeonly misanthrope grunting “Bah, Humbug!” to a

joyous and generous well-wisher shouting “Merry Christmas!” in a matter of hours. And yet, if we view A Christmas Carol solely as the story about one person’s transformation from one extreme to another, we might miss its larger impact. Instead, we should appreciate Ebenezer Scrooge not as a mere caricature—a flat figure whose signature “Bah, Humbug!” we can easily laugh at or reject outright—but rather as a multifaceted character living in a complicated world of both light and darkness. A Christmas Carol offers its audiences a chance to witness a personal journey that might at first seem foreign to our own experiences but can ultimately show us insights about ourselves.

It is essential to note that Scrooge himself once embodied the financially needy people he now scorns. In his early life, he endures poverty and privation. As he focuses on bettering his living situation, the young Scrooge forgets to continue to better himself. Thus tragically, while prioritizing putting his former poverty and pain behind him, Scrooge neglects his relationships and ultimately forfeits his own humanity. Over the course of A Christmas Carol, we witness a process of

re-connection to others and a re-affirmation of a forgotten self. Moreover, when we keep Scrooge’s past in mind, we see that A Christmas Carol emphasizes a deeply felt recuperation more than a simple transformation.

In recognizing the story’s complexity, we deepen our understanding of Dickens’ story and our understanding of ourselves. Indeed, Dickens’ classic tale rebukes those who judge the less fortunate harshly, challenging us to confront our own blindness to the plight of others and to open both our eyes and our hearts to the world around us. Dickens’ personal circumstances are helpful in understanding this perspective. The author himself had firsthand knowledge of the stress and pain of poverty: his father John Dickens was often in debt. Sometimes their family had to sell their own personal belongings and everyday household goods such as their silverware and furniture to pay their creditors. Near Charles’ 12th birthday, the situation became dire, and his father was sent to debtors’ prison. John Dickens had many debts, but notably, it was money he owed to a baker—thus, significantly, a debt for food—that put him over the edge.

Most of the family joined John Dickens in debtors’ prison, but young Charles was sent to work in a factory to earn money to pay off the family’s creditors. Although the family was released from prison after a few months when John received a small inheritance, and although Charles subsequently stopped working in a factory, this early experience marked Dickens for life: he was constantly in fear of debt. In fact, A Christmas Carol was written in six short weeks under the spectre of mounting financial pressure.

As many know, spectres are literalized and play a centrally important role in Dickens’ original A Christmas Carol. Perhaps less widely understood is that just as people and characters embody versions of themselves, so do adaptations, which face the challenge of retelling a story in a way that retains its essential qualities while adding original elements. The adaptation of A Christmas Carol written by Michael Wilson that we see performed at The Rep today highlights and expands upon Dickens’ existing themes, and seems particularly apropos for a 21st century world that continues to struggle through the social and economic consequences of a global pandemic.

In this adaptation of A Christmas Carol, Wilson ingeniously adds three vendors: a seller of antique dolls, a purveyor of fruit and cider, and a watchmaker. All three characters owe Scrooge money. We discover oneby-one that business has been bad, so none have any cash on hand when Scrooge comes to collect the money that is due. Instead, Scrooge collects an antique doll, a sparkling bottle of cider and a steam-powered clock. As you watch the show, I invite you to think deeply about these vendors, their lasting impact on Scrooge, and their thematic significance to the story as a whole. How do these figures haunt Scrooge? We know the vendors owe Scrooge money, but what does Scrooge owe to his fellow humans? How do we look beyond our own experiences? What can others teach us? How do we develop empathy? How do we remember our difficult pasts, and still move forward into the light? How can we best honor and enjoy the giving spirit of Christmas?