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Ebenezer Scrooge. Ebenezer Scrooge is the principal character in Charles Dickens' 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol. At the beginning of the novel, Scrooge is a cold-hearted, tight fisted and greedy man, who despises Christmas and all things which engender happiness.
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Ebenezer Scrooge Ebenezer Scrooge is the principal character in Charles Dickens' 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol.
At the beginning of the novel, Scrooge is a cold-hearted, tight fisted and greedy man, who despises Christmas and all things which engender happiness.
A quote from the book reads "The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, made his eyes red, his thin lips blue, and he spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice ..."
His last name has come into the English language as a byword for miserliness and misanthropy, traits displayed by Scrooge in the exaggerated manner for which Dickens is well-known.
The tale of his redemption by the three Ghosts of Christmas (Ghost of Christmas Past, Ghost of Christmas Present, and Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come) has become a defining tale of the Christmas holiday
Scrooge's catchphrase, "Bah, humbug!" is often used to express disgust with many of the modern Christmas traditions.
Several theories have been put forward as to where Dickens got the inspiration for the character.
One school of thought believes that it stems from a grave marker for an Ebenezer Lennox Scroggie.
The marker identified Scroggie as a “meal man” (corn merchant), but Dickens misread this as “mean man”.
Still more claim that Dickens based Scrooge's views on the poor on those of demographer and political economist Thomas Malthus.
Yet others that the minor character Gabriel Grub from The Pickwick Papers was worked up into a more mature characterisation (his name stemming from an infamous Dutch miser, Gabriel de Graaf.)
Jeremy Wood (James/Jemmy/Jacabos), owner of the Gloucester Old Bank and possibly Britain’s first millionaire, became a nationally known figure for his miserly ways, and may have been another.
The man whom Dickens would eventually mention in his letters and who strongly resembles the character portrayed by Dickens' illustrator, John Leech, was a noted British eccentric and miser named John Elwes (1714 – 1789).
