English resources/A Christmas Carol/Stave Two
A Christmas Carol, Stave Two
The first spirit shows Scrooge his past. A lonely boy. A kind boss called Fezziwig. The woman who left him for his love of money.
A Christmas Carol has 5 chapters, which Dickens called staves. Stave Two comes after Stave One and before Stave Three. The 7 key lines here come from Ghost of Christmas Past, Scrooge and Belle.
This stave in five words
FirstspiritshowsScrooge'spast
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What happens, in more detail
The clock strikes one and the first spirit appears. The Ghost of Christmas Past looks like a child and an old man at once, with a bright light shining from its head, and it carries a cap that can put the light out.
It takes Scrooge back to the countryside where he grew up. He sees himself as a boy left alone at school over Christmas, reading, and then his younger sister Fan arriving to take him home. He sees the Christmas party thrown by his first employer, Mr Fezziwig, who made everyone happy at very little cost. Then he sees Belle, the young woman he was going to marry, breaking off their engagement because he now loves money more than her.
Last, he sees Belle years later with a husband and a house full of children, and hears that her husband saw Scrooge alone in his office while Marley lay dying. Scrooge begs the spirit to stop, and presses the cap down over its light.
Why it matters: this stave explains how Scrooge became so cold, and it shows the first signs of change, when he wishes he had been kinder to a boy singing carols at his door and to his clerk.
The quotes
7 big quotes in this stave.
I am the Ghost of Christmas Past.
Ghost of Christmas Past · Stave Two · time · the supernatural
The first spirit. It shows Scrooge his own past.
A solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left there still.
Ghost of Christmas Past · Stave Two · isolation · family
Young Scrooge, alone at school at Christmas. We see why he became cold.
I should like to be able to say a word or two to my clerk just now
Scrooge · Stave Two · redemption · responsibility
After seeing Fezziwig's party, Scrooge thinks of Bob. The first crack in him.
He has the power to render us happy or unhappy
Scrooge · Stave Two · responsibility · family
Scrooge sees that a boss can make his workers happy or miserable. It costs almost nothing.
Another idol has displaced me
Belle · Stave Two · greed · isolation
His young love leaves him. Money has taken her place.
Show me no more!
Scrooge · Stave Two · time · redemption
The past hurts. Scrooge cannot bear to look. He is starting to feel.
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