Takeaways from A Christmas Carol (2023 #Dickenschallenge)

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Hello Readers, 

The 2023 #Dickenschallenge went from June 9th, 2023 to June 16th, 2023 with the aim to read one (or more) novella. 

The novella that I am sharing about today is A Christmas Carol.

Below are key takeaways from my experience with this year’s challenge.

FRED (Fred SCROOGE or Fred HONEYWELL)

The nephew, Fred, is still one of my favorite Dickens’ characters and this year’s reading confirmed that. The nephew has joy, he married for love, he laughs a lot, and he offers grace and relentless outreach to his uncle. So much wellness is modeled through the nephew – about priorities in life (laughter, love, and connection with others).

The word Scrooge has come to mean miserly, grumpy, and cheap. And so when I think of Fred having the same last name as his Uncle Ebenezer, it reminded me that not all Scrooge’s were mean and miserly. It is like this in family’s too. For example, my Father-n-law was a lot like Ebenezer and my spouse is a lot like Fred. This reminds me that people can be “cut from the same cloth” yet have very diverse wiring and personality traits. (Side note – thanks to RR who shared that Fred’s last name was likely Honeywell and not Scrooge) 

Anyhow, my point is that people from the same family can be nothing alike! I have mentioned before that Dickens has such high social intelligence and his psychological tips for wellness, which came through characters, continue to enlighten me as I read his works each year. 

“It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour.” ― Charles Dickens

I know many folks think that Fred is an advertisement for Christmas, but I think the holiday was different back then. It was less commercialized and had less fanfare. It was still a big deal, but in my mind I visualize it being more like Thanksgiving with dinner and then with the exchanging of gifts. And so while I know the theme of A Christmas Carol is the Christmas holiday, I do not see Fred Scrooge as being a Christmas fanatic; instead, the author has the story take place at Christmas and so the details of this holiday are what Dickens uses to build, or stave, his story about humanity and changing for the better. 

STAVE

Dickens was sometimes creative with labeling chapters, or sections, in his books. For example, in The Cricket on the Hearth, chapters are called chirps.

Dickens used “staves” for the five chapters in A Christmas Carol, which comes from the musical term for a set of verses or stanzas. Stave also refers to one of the slender pieces of wood that make up part of the sides of a barrel or bucket. Perhaps with this use of stave, Dickens hints at how each section of this story is building, stave by stave, and coming together just like the chain links that engulfed Marley’s ghost. The staves are one more subtle connection to the overall theme of how we build the invisible layers in our life; the many things that become part of our human existence (and carry over into the afterlife):

“I wear the chain I forged in life,” replied the Ghost. “I made it link by link and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it. Is its pattern strange to you?”

Stave can also mean to be broken or crushed inward, or to break or crush something inward (more here). 

This wonderful novella, A Christmas Carol, is about the transformation of Ebenezer as he was crushed inward, scared, and shaken up from supernatural experiences, which changed him for the better. Such a quick change could only come from a supernatural shakeup! I think some people do have these experiences, where they seem to have a fast change and they turn their life around to give rather than take or withdraw. For example, Scott Harrison had a major life change that led to an outreach called Charity Water (here). The Charity Water website noted: “After a decade of indulging his darkest vices as a nightclub promoter, Scott declared spiritual, moral, and emotional bankruptcy. He spent two years on a hospital ship off the coast of Liberia, saw the effects of dirty water firsthand, and came back to New York City on a mission.” I am not sure how you all feel about the word stave, or about the way humans can be crushed inward to then grow and develop generativity. Generativity refers to developing concern for people besides just a focus on self, it can include wanting to serve, give, or pour into others to make society better. If you are reading this right now, maybe you should think about your own generativity. 

DICKENS AS A PERSON 

During this year’s challenge I learned a lot more about Charles Dickens. I knew he was considered a literary genius, a social critic, and excellent orator. I learned that he was also human and he experienced stress, mood swings, and setbacks.

 I read that Dickens was teased about being overly dramatic during his live readings while on tour in the United States. It reminded me that people can be cruel and sometimes moreso when they meet someone famous – it is almost as if they want to flaw find.  Or perhaps they have such a limited image in mind and when they find that the real life version is just another flawed human – it could lead to snarky comments.

I read here that Ralph Waldo Emerson attended one of Dickens’s Boston readings and Emerson laughed at how dramatic Dickens was during the reading. Side note – anyone who has done a lot of public speaking can relate to what Dickens might have experienced – it can be easy to fall into character and up the intensity because it is so natural to be reading or presenting. I have done this when I used to give science demonstrations. Anyhow, after Emerson laughed at Dickens’ performance, he later noted that “Dickens possessed too much talent for his genius; it is a fearful locomotive to which he is bound and can never be free from it nor set to rest. . . . He daunts me! I have not the key.”

TRAIN CRASH & TRAUMA (PTG) 

The Dickens challenge this year led me to a side trail of reading about Dickens’ being involved in a train crash when he was 53 years old. (Dickens died of natural causes five years to the day after the train accident – Mental Floss has a nice article about it here). During the last five years of his life, Dickens dealt with trauma from the train accident (and maybe he also still had to heal from some of the experiences during the American Tour). Dickens avoided traveling by train and he said, “to this hour, I have sudden vague rushes of terror” from the train accident. 

I paused a few times to imagine Dickens dealing with this train accident trauma. I thought about my own traumas, maybe not as harsh as the near-death experience on the train and seeing so many people die in front of you, but I did have to recover. And I did grow! I thought about my dad and how he likely had post trauma, from the Korean War, but our culture still did not know much about recovering from traumatic experiences.

Our culture is doing much better with exploring trauma and recovery. 

This reminded me about Post-Traumatic Growth. Not all trauma experiences have to lead to disorder. If we cope and process the trauma, we can recover. We can heal, grow, and thrive. 

“Post-traumatic growth (PTG) is the process of change involved in developing beyond previous levels of functioning, and it can help us make sense of our world and our lives.” (More info here) Experiencing trauma is an almost inevitable part of life and, typically, outside of our control. Ultimately, even the harshest, most traumatic events can lead to growth and a reevaluation of what is vital and meaningful (Schubert et al., 2015). PTG requires a significant but not excessive degree of stress. It is also a process rather than an outcome that results in the individual passing through several stages before achieving potential positive changes to mind, body, and spirit.

Schubert, C. F., Schmidt, U., & Rosner, R. (2015). Posttraumatic growth in populations with posttraumatic stress disorder: A systematic review on growth-related psychological constructs and biological variables. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 23(6), 469–486.

  • Now it is time for Marsha, Trent, and I to chat about the challenge and raffle off some gift cards. We will be back in touch to let everyone know the raffle winners. 
  • If you did not have a chance to join the challenge, I want to encourage to read something from Dickens this summer. Your list of books to read might already be quite full, but his novellas will not take too long and you might be delighted with what you take away. Charles Dickens felt humanity and his talent for writing allowed him to use story to teach, entertain, and change us!
  • Please let me know what you think of this post and I apologize for not being around too much this month. I have been busy with a few projects and we also have some “family news” to share a little later this summer. In the meantime, please bare with me as I check in on posts. Thanks for reading. 

Marsha’s Posts

I have closed comments on these posts. Between June 9-June 16th, leave all your comments for my posts on this master page.

Trent’s Posts

Priorhouse Posts

Contributer’s Posts

CO-HOST POSTS

Check out cohost Trent’s Posts:

trentsworld.blog/2023/06/16/the-2023-dickens-chal…x
192.0.100.201

trentsworld.blog/2023/06/15/dickens-challenge-5-t…x
192.0.99.231

Check out cohost Marsha’s Posts

alwayswrite.blog/2023/06/09/2023-dickens-challeng…x
192.0.99.118

#DickensChallenge 2023 The Christmas Carol

 

RAFFLE WINNERS COMING SOON

 If you want to know more about the challenge – this post has information. 

 

22 thoughts on “Takeaways from A Christmas Carol (2023 #Dickenschallenge)”

  1. Fascinating post. Also the Mental Floss article. What an experience. And A Christmas Carol is such a good story with perfectly defined characters. Interesting to see the characters in your own life.

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    1. Hi – I really appreciate you joining me for this post, Dan. I was not sure how I would go about my takeaways and then I kept a few notes and this is what unfolded. And I think A Christmas Carol is just a unique story all around and I am glad Dickens wrote it

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  3. I do like Fred and think he is much more than Christmas,but is his name “Scrooge”? I thought he was Ebeneezer’s sister’s son, so possibly a different last name. No matter, he is a great character.
    I really didn’t think too much about “Stave”, just the musical idea. Interesting take.
    Also interesting about some of Dickens’ traumas. I did not know either the teasing he received in America, nor about the train accident.

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    1. Good point about Fred’s last name. My understanding is that Fred’s surname was not specifically mentioned by Dickens in the original novella. Dickens simply let us know that Fred was Ebenezer’s nephew, the son of Ebenezer’s deceased sister. Different movie adaptions give different last names for Fred. Some give him the last name of Scrooge, likely to remind us of the family connection. Others give him the surname Honeywell. There may be other names from different adaptions.

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      2. OK, I think you are right that some movie adaptations do give him a last name, but I never paid attention when they did, I just thought “Fred”.

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Hi Trent – Donna chimed in that Fred’s last name was likely Honeywell and not Scrooge – and that would make more sense to me because as you noted – he was his sister’s son.
      And regarding the trauma from the train crash – I almost wrote a post titled “What do Michael Jackson, Howard Hughes, and Charles Dickens have in common? Answer: Traumatic Accidents.”
      Because when I was reading about the train crash, we finished the Aviator movie and Hughes’ 1946 plane crash left him partly deaf, in chronic pain, and might have fueled his OCD. That led me to think about MJ and the Pepsi commercial fire in 1983 that supposedly was so traumatic it led to his “decades-long addiction to sedatives” – but he also lacked coping skills and had no childhood because of his early fame –
      but the three of those folks came to mind when I thought of how a trauma can come in and shake up your world.

      And cheers to being able to grow from trauma.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. I forgot what Fred’s name was, but he was a very likable character. Not a type of Christ, but the hearty laugh and accepting personality. A great guy. This was a wonderful time to discuss these novellas. To be able to discuss classics is great fun. We’re in our own private lit class!

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    1. Hi Marsha, perhaps Fred is a bit of a kinsman redeemer (rescues the uncle) in the sense his ongoing reaching out finally was received and led to unity and connection for Scrooge.
      And Donna shared that it is more likely that Fred’s last name was Honeywell.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Hi, Yvette –
    I found your reflections on A Christmas Carol to be insightful and thought-provoking. I agree that the character of Fred Scrooge serves as a reminder that individuals within a family can have diverse traits and priorities and perhaps foreshadows a kinder side of Ebenezer.
    I also found Dickens’s use of “staves” as chapter labels interesting. I agree that they helped symbolize the gradual building of the story as well as the transformative power of supernatural experiences.
    I appreciated you mentioning Charles Dickens as a person. That helped to highlight the importance of recognizing the humanity of famous figures and gave me some information about Dickens that I did not know.
    Your reflection on trauma and growth also resonated with me, emphasizing the potential for healing and reevaluation. Thank you for sharing your insightful thoughts and enriching the understanding of A Christmas Carol.
    I hope your projects are going as hoped and that all is well with your family.

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    1. Thank you so much for your feedback on my post. I am still learning so much about Dickens the person and during next year’s challenge I hope to explore it a little more. Fame and being in the limelight can be a lot to manage and things can be complex and funky. I also appreciated A Christmas Carol because I imagined Dickens writing it as a seasoned author and it likely flowed from him with ease.

      I look forward to finishing your posts – and we are so glad you were part of the challenge this year!
      cheers

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  7. This is a wonderfully interesting post, Yvette. I like your analysis of Fred and all he represents. I really enjoyed the challenge. I am glad I was able to participate and I appreciate the support and camaraderie of the hosts and the other participants.

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  8. HI Yvette, I also love A Christmas Carol and I enjoy the character of Fred. Christmas was different during the Victorian age although that was the beginning of the current commercial interpretation of the holiday. Thank you for sharing this information about Dickens the man. It is really nice to learn more about him. I hope to visit the Dickens Museum some time.

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    1. Hi Robbie, sorry for the delay in my reply.
      Thank you for sharing your thoughts and it is really
      interesting to think about how far this commercial side of
      Christmas has grown since Dickens time.
      And over here in the US, it seems that Halloween gets bigger and bigger each year.
      Here it is late July and we saw two stores setting up their Halloween displays, which were also
      larger than we have ever seen – hmmmm

      Liked by 1 person

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