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E I Talamante
, December 20, 2014
(view all comments by E I Talamante)
A classic christmas story that has become an icon for the holidays. Read as part of the edX BerkeleyX Book Club, I found a number of new and interesting tidbits as I read through again. For example, an essay written for the Book Club:
"I started with a generalized image search on Dogpile for "the ghosts of A Christmas Carol". I received a number of interesting results including a set of toys from one of the Disney versions. As I began a second search using my favorite remaking of the story, Bill Murray's Scrooged, I began to notice an interesting trend - the Spirits of Christmas Past and Present often had a smile on their faces while the Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come either wore a scowl or no expression at all (due to the face being hidden by a cowl - the spelling of that alone is interesting, showing a similarity in scowl and cowl - the difference being only a single letter).
Why is this? I believe that it may have to do with the uncertainty of the future, and the fear of loss that the story hints at. Scrooge is miserly because he is afraid to loose the money he has made and earned. He is afraid of lost time - his clerk not working on Christmas Day, and having to make up for it by coming in early on Boxing Day. The loss of Tiny Tim, as well as the loss of Scrooge's partner Marley, and the sorrow and mourning it brings to his family is prevalent in Scrooge's mind, as well as the emotions that the boy brings to all readers. Uncertainty is something that cannot be prepared for, and Scrooge begs the Spirit "Are these the shadows of the things that will be, or are they shadows of things that may be, only?" It is this fear of the unknown that clutches Scrooge as he tries to come to terms with his own fate.
In many of the instances the Spirits each showed an additional element. The Spirit of Christmas Past - whether portrayed as male, female, young, old, or not even human, was also the Spirit of Purity. The bright light, white garments, and even the cocky, playful nature of Murray's Christmas Past symbolize Purity and Innocence lost. I think that artists of all kinds try to encapsulate this into the Spirit of Christmas Past.
The Spirit of Christmas Present displays Plenty and Mirth, even as it hides Ignorance and Want. If Ignorance is Bliss, as the old saying goes, then this is well portrayed in the Spirit of the Present. It is no accident that Christmas Present (the Spirit) and Christmas Presents (the gifts) as so similar in sound. The image of this Spirit are often shown, wrapped (like a gift) in a robe or gown and hiding their contents (in the case of the Spirit, the two children), while the Spirit smiles and shares freely. As we seen with old Fezziwig, sharing does not need to cost a fortune to bring about plenty. To believe such feeds Ignorance, and later Want."
There are a number of other things that make revisiting this old tale new again. If it's been a while for you, I recommend reading it again.
Many of the images I found seemed to show these elements of the Spirits without much beyond superficial variations (such as gender and age). This is because the meaning has been so ingrained into our memories that it is the essence that shines through, regardless of the packaging. This, as mentioned before, can be reduced to the expression the artist gives to the face of the individual Spirit of the season, and the faces that we in turn share with those around us.
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