A Christmas Carol

Character Guide

Spoiler-free — fuller detail (with spoilers, if you want them) lives in the reader's Guide tab.

Ebenezer Scrooge

A cold, miserly old businessman who despises Christmas and cares only for money, dismissing warmth, charity, and goodwill wherever he encounters them.

Jacob Marley (Marley's Ghost)

Scrooge's deceased business partner, dead seven years, whose ghost appears in chains to warn Scrooge that he will be visited by three more spirits.

Bob Cratchit

Scrooge's poorly paid, good-natured clerk who works in a cold little office and struggles to support his large family.

Fred (Scrooge's nephew)

Scrooge's cheerful nephew who visits his uncle's counting-house to wish him a merry Christmas despite Scrooge's rudeness.

Tiny Tim

Bob Cratchit's small, frail, crutch-using son, beloved for his sweet nature and simple blessing 'God bless us, every one.'

The Ghost of Christmas Past

A strange, candle-like spirit with a fluctuating form who leads Scrooge back through scenes of his own childhood and youth.

The Ghost of Christmas Present

A large, jovial giant spirit surrounded by feasting imagery who shows Scrooge the current Christmas celebrations of others, including the Cratchit family.

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

A silent, shrouded, hooded phantom who points wordlessly at visions and fills Scrooge with dread about the future.

Mrs. Cratchit

Bob's wife, who resents Scrooge for how he treats her husband but still keeps a warm, loving household on very little money.

Fezziwig

Scrooge's cheerful former employer, seen in a Christmas Past memory, known for throwing a warm and generous Christmas party for his apprentices.

Belle

A young woman from Scrooge's past, shown ending her engagement to him as she recognizes that money has replaced her in his heart.

Glossary

Door-nail

An old phrase ('dead as a door-nail') used to emphasize with certainty that Marley is completely dead.

'Change

Short for 'the Exchange,' the London business/trading hub, used to indicate Scrooge's good financial reputation.

Bishop (smoking bishop)

A hot, spiced mulled wine drink Scrooge offers to share with Bob Cratchit as a Christmas treat.

Comforter

A long knitted scarf, worn here by Bob Cratchit for warmth in the cold office.

Counting-house

An office where a merchant or businessman like Scrooge kept his accounts and conducted business.

Ruler (referring to a stick)

A wooden measuring/writing-desk implement Bob Cratchit briefly imagines using defensively against Scrooge.

Laocoön

A classical statue depicting a man wrestling with serpents, used as a comic image for Scrooge tangled in his own stockings.

Surplus population

A callous economic phrase of the era (echoing Malthusian ideas) that Scrooge uses to dismiss concern for the poor and dying, which the Ghost sharply rebukes.

Twice-turned gown

A dress that has been unpicked and resewn (turned) twice to extend its wear, showing the Cratchits' genteel poverty.

Bah! Humbug!

Scrooge's dismissive catchphrase expressing contempt for Christmas cheer and sentiment.

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