Wealth in A CHRISTMAS CAROL

[ConnieAnnKirk]

How does Dickens treat wealth in his holiday novel? Is it a blessing or a curse to those who have it? Why?

[johns]

I think he is trying to say that wealth, in and of itself, isn't a bad thing. It is what you do with it. From Scrooge's eyes, Fred is not wealthy, because he spends money on gifts, entertaining, and Christmas. But, Fred is apparently doing pretty well, because he can afford to entertain, has a "harp" (which I'm guessing is like a spinnet piano), etc. Then, Fred has a "wealth" that goes beyond money. Fred has two kinds of wealth.

Scrooge is wealthy, but doesn't even spend money on himself. He could make his own life a bit more comfortable without being selfish. He has only one kind of wealth, at first.

Bob Crachit has the family kind of wealth, but not the money kind.

So we get to see different kinds of wealth and the impacts. By the end of the story, all three have a blend of "wealth".

[kiakar]

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johns wrote:
I think he is trying to say that wealth, in and of itself, isn't a bad thing. It is what you do with it. From Scrooge's eyes, Fred is not wealthy, because he spends money on gifts, entertaining, and Christmas. But, Fred is apparently doing pretty well, because he can afford to entertain, has a "harp" (which I'm guessing is like a spinnet piano), etc. Then, Fred has a "wealth" that goes beyond money. Fred has two kinds of wealth.

Scrooge is wealthy, but doesn't even spend money on himself. He could make his own life a bit more comfortable without being selfish. He has only one kind of wealth, at first.

Bob Crachit has the family kind of wealth, but not the money kind.

So we get to see different kinds of wealth and the impacts. By the end of the story, all three have a blend of "wealth".

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I like that summation of the whole weath thing. That does it up pretty good.

[JesseBC]

I don't know if I agree or not.

Christmas Carol has become such a part of pop culture that the polemical aspects of it get lost. It's mostly remembered now as a feel-good story of personal transformation, yet Dickens drew Scrooge and the Cratchits as pretty stark caricatures which seem to suggest that wealth creates evil while the poor are pure of heart.

We've injected more contemporary shades of grey into it now, but Victorian writing was often much more black-and-white this way and Dickens was certainly an advocate for the poor and quite critical of the aristocrats who ignored their plight.

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johns wrote:
I think he is trying to say that wealth, in and of itself, isn't a bad thing. It is what you do with it. From Scrooge's eyes, Fred is not wealthy, because he spends money on gifts, entertaining, and Christmas. But, Fred is apparently doing pretty well, because he can afford to entertain, has a "harp" (which I'm guessing is like a spinnet piano), etc. Then, Fred has a "wealth" that goes beyond money. Fred has two kinds of wealth.

Scrooge is wealthy, but doesn't even spend money on himself. He could make his own life a bit more comfortable without being selfish. He has only one kind of wealth, at first.

Bob Crachit has the family kind of wealth, but not the money kind.

So we get to see different kinds of wealth and the impacts. By the end of the story, all three have a blend of "wealth".

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