Ghost of Christmas Present

Ghost of Christmas Present
A Christmas Carol character
The Ghost of Christmas Present and Ebenezer Scrooge - illustration by John Leech (1843).
Created byCharles Dickens
Alias
  • Spirit of Christmas Present
GenderMale[a]
OccupationSpirit of Christmas
Relatives

The Ghost of Christmas Present is a fictional character in Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol. The Ghost is one of three spirits that appear to miser Ebenezer Scrooge to offer him a chance of redemption.

Following a visit from the ghost of his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley, Scrooge receives nocturnal visits from three Ghosts of Christmas, each representing a different period in Scrooge's life. The Ghost of Christmas Present is concerned with Scrooge's current life and the present Christmas Day.[1]

The Ghost of Christmas Present is presented as a personification of the Christmas spirit,[2][3] and in the novella's first edition hand-coloured drawing by John Leech resembles early-Victorian images of Father Christmas. The spirit first appears to Scrooge on a throne made of traditional Christmas foodstuffs that would have been familiar to Dickens's more prosperous readers.[4][5]

The spirit becomes the mouthpiece for Dickens's view on social reform and Christian charity:[2][6] generosity and goodwill to all men – especially to the poor – and celebration of Christmas Day.[7]


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  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference BritLib was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Hind-Portley, Mary Is 'A Christmas Carol' more than a ghost story?, University of Birmingham, 9 December 2020
  3. ^ Hearn, Michael Patrick. The Annotated Christmas Carol, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York (2004), p. 83
  4. ^ Stave Three: The Second of the Three Spirits, A Christmas Carol Study Guide - Spark Notes
  5. ^ The Ghost of Christmas Present’s role in the novella, A Christmas Carol, YorkNotes Study Guide
  6. ^ Timko, M. (2013). "No Scrooge he: The Christianity of Charles Dickens", America: The Jesuit Review
  7. ^ Taft, J. (2015). "Disenchanted religion and secular enchantment in A Christmas Carol", Victorian Literature and Culture, 43(4), pp. 659–673

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