Dear John,

Even as Charles Dickens introduces the most miserable man in London, I can’t help but smile.

“Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.”

Dickens is a master at developing characters, and Ebenezer Scrooge is my favorite.

The lyrical way he describes Scrooge helps explain why I’m always rooting for this friendless miser.

But there is a great deal more to Ebenezer Scrooge that I missed until we filmed our online course, “Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.”

Ebenezer Scrooge is not a simple caricature of greed. Amidst the playful language of A Christmas Carol, Dickens reveals that Scrooge has fallen prey to a very common temptation.

In response to the stresses and responsibilities of life, Scrooge commits himself to controlling the terms of everything. In an effort to protect himself, Scrooge withdraws from his friends, shuts himself up from the joys of life, and becomes as “self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.”

It’s a warning that is powerful to me as I struggle with the busyness and grind of my daily routine.

Maybe that’s why Scrooge has such a hold on me. And it helps explain why I cheer for him again and again as he promises to “honour Christmas with [his] whole heart” every year.

And that’s why I urge you to enter into the world of Ebenezer Scrooge this Christmas. Dickens will help you see old things anew and appreciate the joys we too often overlook in our everyday lives.

You can register for our free course, “Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol,” by clicking on the link below.

https://online.hillsdale.edu/courses/register/christmas-carol

And may it be truly said of us all that we know how to keep Christmas well.

Best regards,

Jeremiah Regan, Ph.D.
Executive Director of Online Learning
Hillsdale College