New York Times Op-Ed: Why ‘A Christmas Carol’ Endures, by Roger Rosenblatt:
Since its publication in December 1843, “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens has been a cherished presence during the holiday season. The novella — which Dickens wrote to make money when he was broke — has not gone out of print once in more than 180 years and has been adapted into dozens of movies, stage productions, musicals and mini series, attracting stars from Alastair Sim to the Muppets. Today one can hardly think of Christmas without thinking of Scrooge, the Cratchits and Tiny Tim’s “God bless us, every one.”
In some ways, the story’s enduring appeal is easy to account for. “A Christmas Carol” is, first and foremost, a ghost story — a genre that never seems to go out of fashion. But what’s less easy to account for, and more interesting, is how this 19th-century tale has continued to speak to modern readers, offering moral lessons that have only grown more relevant over the decades.
Why does such a figure appeal to us today? Why, despite his depravity, do we still root for his redemption? Guilt, I think. Scrooge speaks to us because in many ways, he is us. …
Entire religions are based on what Scrooge experiences and on what he vows.
There is no doubt that we have become an increasingly self-concerned society. But there is something counterfeit and insincere at the center of our self-involvement. Like Scrooge, we may behave worse, but we know better. We do not ask ourselves what more we can do for others, and we suffer for our selfishness because it is when we live our lives for others that we are most satisfied.
This is what Dickens sought to teach us nearly 200 years ago, and it is why his message resonates all these years later. “A Christmas Carol” has endured both because it is a great story and because it offers us an eternal example of the joy that is possible when we turn toward our better angels.
We will take to “A Christmas Carol” in this season, as have the millions before us, but with a special thump of the heart. Because the story believes in our better, more generous inner selves. And the actions of those inner selves are the only way we will be truly blessed. Every one.
At its core, it is a story about the forces that exist within all of us: greed and generosity, hatred and love, repentance and forgiveness. It doesn’t hurt that it concerns one of literature’s most compelling characters: Ebenezer Scrooge.
The name Scrooge has become a synonym for a misanthrope. He treats his employee terribly, disdains those less fortunate than him and turns away those collecting donations for the poor. His sole concern is his own material enrichment.
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