Charles Dickens: Scrooge Counting Christmas
on Tuesday, December 23, 2014Charles Dickens Money Quotation saying in ‘A Christmas Carol’ that Ebenezer Scrooge had chosen one of the best days of the year to toil away counting pennies at Christmas time. Charles Dickens said:
“Once upon a time – of all the good days in the year, on Christmas Eve – old Scrooge sat busy in his counting-house” — Charles Dickens
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Charles Dickens quote about Scrooge counting money at Christmas is: “Once upon a time – of all the good days in the year, on Christmas Eve – old Scrooge sat busy in his counting-house.”
In this famous opening line from A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens is setting the scene and introducing the character Ebenezer Scrooge. The best interpretation is:
- Dickens is contrasting the busyness and focus on work of Scrooge on Christmas Eve with the usual festive and joyous spirit associated with that holiday.
- That Scrooge would choose to be “busy in his counting-house” on Christmas Eve implies his lack of care for celebration, generosity or human warmth.
- Dickens presents Scrooge as a miserly, cold-hearted character from the outset by having him immersed in business and money matters even on a night meant for family, charity and goodwill.
The overall message is one of social commentary – Dickens is establishing Scrooge as a symbol of the neglect of spiritual values in favor of profit, which he aims to transform through the Christmas visitations from the ghosts. Scrooge’s actions on Christmas Eve perfectly capture his character that Dickens seeks to reprove.
Birthday: February 7, 1812 – Death: June 9, 1870