What did Jacob Marley say to Scrooge in a Christmas Carol?
A Christmas Carol – Jacob Marley visits Ebenezer Scrooge Scrooge fell upon his knees, and clasped his hands before his face. “Mercy!” he said, “Dreadful apparition, why do you trouble me?” “Man of the worldly mind!” replied the Ghost, “do you believe in me or not?”
What is the purpose of the Ghost's visit to Scrooge?
The purpose of his visit is to warn Scrooge of some impending visitors, as Marley explains, "You will be haunted,'' resumed the Ghost, "by Three Spirits.'' According to Marley, the first spirit will appear the next night "when the bell tolls one."
How long did it take Marley to get to Scrooge's house?
It's not explicitly stated in the source novel, but the implication is that such was the weight of the chain he'd forged, it took Marley a considerable amount of time (seven years?) to convey himself from the counting house to Scrooge's house in order to give him the warning that he was making the same mistakes.
What did Scrooge say to the ghost of Christmas Future?
It is doomed to wander through the world—oh, woe is me!—and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared on earth, and turned to happiness!” The spectre raised a cry, and shook its chain and wrung its shadowy hands. “You are fettered,” said Scrooge, trembling. “Tell me why?” “I wear the chain I forged in life,” replied the Ghost.
What does Scrooge say to Jacob?
Don’t be flower y, Jacob! Pray!”. “How it is that I appear before you in a shape that you can see, I may not tell. I have sat invisible beside you many and many a day.”. It was not an agreeable idea. Scrooge shivered, and wiped the perspiration from his brow. “That is no light part of my penance,” pursued the Ghost.
What did the spectre raise?
The spectre raised a cry , and shook its chain and wrung its shadowy hands.
Did Scrooge put his hands in his breeches?
It was a habit with Scrooge, whenever he became thoughtful, to put his hands in his breeches’ pockets. Pondering on what the Ghost had said, he did so now, but without lifting up his eyes, or getting off his knees.
Who is the ghost in A Christmas Carol?
In the first stave of A Christmas Carol, the ghost of Jacob Marley visits Scrooge. The purpose of his visit is to warn Scrooge of some impending visitors, as Marley explains,
What is the purpose of the Scrooge visits?
The purpose of these visits is to ensure Scrooge does not experience the same fate as Marley, who is now carrying out "penance" in the afterlife. It is to demonstrate to Scrooge that the business of "charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence" are far more important than the financial business conducted in the counting-house. In other words, the visits seek to reform Scrooge's character before it is too late and he is forced to wander the world in the afterlife, just like Marley must.
Overview
Importance to the story
By early 1843 Dickens had been affected by the treatment of the poor, and in particular the treatment of the children of the poor after witnessing children working in appalling conditions in a tin mine and following a visit to a ragged school. Originally intending to write a political pamphlet titled, An Appeal to the People of England, on behalf of the Poor Man's Child he changed his mind and …
Marley's punishment
It becomes clear that Marley's punishment is not to be condemned to Hell, a place of eternal torment from which there is no release and no escape, but that he is in Purgatory, as he has been constantly wandering the earth in the seven years since his death. This is evidenced by his remorse and his desire to do good for the poor and needy, those he had ignored in life, but he is in torment h…
Possible origins
One theory for Marley's origin put forward by the film-writer and author Roger Clarke and the historian Daisy Dunn is that Dickens was influenced by the writings of Pliny the Younger, who related a celebrated account of a haunted house from the ancient classical world (c. 50 AD). In 1825 the young Dickens was sent to Wellington House Classical and Commercial Academy where in 1…
In popular culture
Marley is the subject of the novel Jacob Marley's Ghost by Michael Fridgen (2019), Marley by Jon Clinch (2019) and Jacob T. Marley by R. William Bennett (2011). The song "Jacob Marley's Chain" appears on Aimee Mann's first solo album, Whatever (1993).
The American bluegrass band Marley's Ghost is named for the character. It has existed since the mid-1980s and has recorded 12 albums.
Notable portrayals
• Harry Carter in The Right to Be Happy (1916)
• Leo G. Carroll in A Christmas Carol (1938)
• Michael Hordern in Scrooge (1951)
• Basil Rathbone in A Christmas Carol (1954)
See also
• Ghost of Christmas Past
• Ghost of Christmas Present
• Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
Citations
• Callow, Simon (2009). Dickens' Christmas: A Victorian Celebration. London: Frances Lincoln. ISBN 978-0-7112-3031-6.
• Childs, Peter; Tredell, Nicolas (2006). Charles Dickens. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-4039-1919-9.
• DeVito, Carlo (2014). Inventing Scrooge (Kindle ed.). Kennebunkport, ME: Cider Mill Press. ISBN 978-1-60433-555-2.