H
HabemusFrancis
Guest
Not sure which topic this should go in, so I am open to suggestions.
I know the Christmas season is well past, but I paid particularly close attention the the Christmas Carol story by Charles Dickens.
I was particularly moved by the 1984 George C Scott version and then read the book itself. The '84 version is perhaps as close to the letter and spirit of the book and characters as exists in media.
Watching the film it made me realize what a Catholic story a Christmas carol really is.
The character of Jacob Marley strikes me as a soul in Purgatory, perhaps seeking to expiate the wrongs he did in life by warning scrooge to change his ways.
I think we know Marley is not damned because he still loves and cares for Scrooge and desires his reformation and betterment. When Scrooge reminds him that he was always good at business he replies “Charity,decency, love for my fellow man was my business. My tasks at the counting house were but a drop of water in the ocean that was my business!”
He further said " I never moved far from my counting house during life. Those who do not go beyond themselves to others in life are condemned to do so in death."
I don’t know if this is how purgatory works, but the idea of Jacob’s punishment seems strikingly similar.
It was so moving and profound, and made me pity Marley all the more. He realized how great his failings in life were and sought to atone for them in his death. He warned Scrooge that his chains might be heavier than his own.
It is never really stated who or what the “ghosts” of Christmas are, but it strongly suggested that they were not people who had lived but maybe angelic figures who adopted their forms for Scrooge to contemplate.
In the movie the ghosts of past and present seemed so ethereal and otherworldly but very humorous warm and powerful as well. It almost seems they were sent by God as a means to inspire Scrooge’s betterment.
The ghost of Christmas future was not evil in my opinion even though he or it had a frightening appearance. I think he just adopted that form to drive it home to Scrooge how horrible his choices were and the awful fate that awaited him if he did not amend his life. Scrooge’s weeping and sorrow at his tombstone seem to imply that Scrooge knew he wasn’t going to heaven if he kept up his act.
The Ghost of Christams present was more frightening some ways. In spite of his joviality and bigness of character he made his scorn and dissapointment of Scrooge well known, throwing Scrooge’s unkind words about the poor and destitute back in his face more than once.
This is of course a stretch on my part. Charles Dickens was an Anglican not a Catholic and I don’t know how attached to conventional organized religion he was.
Certainly there are universal Christian themes in the story: care and concern for societies most disadvantaged, the futility and uselessness of greed, and the hope and possibility that even the most hardened soul can turn back to God.
Still I thought there were enough paralells that merited a topic .
Please let me know your thoughts
I know the Christmas season is well past, but I paid particularly close attention the the Christmas Carol story by Charles Dickens.
I was particularly moved by the 1984 George C Scott version and then read the book itself. The '84 version is perhaps as close to the letter and spirit of the book and characters as exists in media.
Watching the film it made me realize what a Catholic story a Christmas carol really is.
The character of Jacob Marley strikes me as a soul in Purgatory, perhaps seeking to expiate the wrongs he did in life by warning scrooge to change his ways.
I think we know Marley is not damned because he still loves and cares for Scrooge and desires his reformation and betterment. When Scrooge reminds him that he was always good at business he replies “Charity,decency, love for my fellow man was my business. My tasks at the counting house were but a drop of water in the ocean that was my business!”
He further said " I never moved far from my counting house during life. Those who do not go beyond themselves to others in life are condemned to do so in death."
I don’t know if this is how purgatory works, but the idea of Jacob’s punishment seems strikingly similar.
It was so moving and profound, and made me pity Marley all the more. He realized how great his failings in life were and sought to atone for them in his death. He warned Scrooge that his chains might be heavier than his own.
It is never really stated who or what the “ghosts” of Christmas are, but it strongly suggested that they were not people who had lived but maybe angelic figures who adopted their forms for Scrooge to contemplate.
In the movie the ghosts of past and present seemed so ethereal and otherworldly but very humorous warm and powerful as well. It almost seems they were sent by God as a means to inspire Scrooge’s betterment.
The ghost of Christmas future was not evil in my opinion even though he or it had a frightening appearance. I think he just adopted that form to drive it home to Scrooge how horrible his choices were and the awful fate that awaited him if he did not amend his life. Scrooge’s weeping and sorrow at his tombstone seem to imply that Scrooge knew he wasn’t going to heaven if he kept up his act.
The Ghost of Christams present was more frightening some ways. In spite of his joviality and bigness of character he made his scorn and dissapointment of Scrooge well known, throwing Scrooge’s unkind words about the poor and destitute back in his face more than once.
This is of course a stretch on my part. Charles Dickens was an Anglican not a Catholic and I don’t know how attached to conventional organized religion he was.
Certainly there are universal Christian themes in the story: care and concern for societies most disadvantaged, the futility and uselessness of greed, and the hope and possibility that even the most hardened soul can turn back to God.
Still I thought there were enough paralells that merited a topic .
Please let me know your thoughts
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