Regret In A Christmas Carol Essay

Regret: a feeling of sadness, repentance, or disappointment over something that has happened or been done. Most people feel regret over past mistakes or missed opportunities. In A Christmas Carol, regret is dredged out of the main character through memories and visions of his life and others. Scrooge is taken on a journey with the Three Spirits to reclaim his life and change his ways. As Scrooge is forced to introspect by way of the Spirits, Dickens uses Scrooge’s regret help him see his mistakes and change his ways. The lessons Scrooge must learn in order to change his life are the importance of kindness and generosity and the dangers of greed and indifference.
Dickens starts the story by emphasizing the abysmal personality of the main character,

In this Stave, Dickens shows the importance of kindness by showing Scrooge’s absence of it and the effects of his harmful indifference. Scrooge is taken into his own past and shown memories of when he was young. The Ghost shows him scenes of when he was small and alone on Christmas. This memory makes him regret his harshness towards a young caroler that had come to his door the previous day. He sees that he lacked kindness and wishes he gave something to the caroler. His indifference towards the caroler insured that Scrooge would remain alone. The Ghost also reminds Scrooge of his beloved sister, Fannie who had died and left only her son. “’Always a delicate creature, whom a breath might have withered,’ said the Ghost. ‘But she had a large heart!’ ‘So she had,’ cried Scrooge. ‘You’re right. I will not gainsay it, Spirit. God forbid!’ ‘She died a woman,’ said the Ghost, ‘and had, as I think, children.’ ‘One child,’ Scrooge returned. ‘True,’ said the Ghost. ‘Your nephew!’ Scrooge seemed uneasy in his mind; and answered briefly, ‘Yes.’” (pg. 33-34). Scrooge’s only connection to his kind and gentle sister is his nephew, who also shares Fannie’s sweet nature. Scrooge is then filled with regret because of his callous treatment and lack of relationship with his nephew, who only wanted to be kind and spread the joy of the season. Scrooge’s sheer indifference and lack of kindness towards his nephew prevented

The Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge the kindness of his former employer Fezziwig. Scrooge realizes how he has been a terrible employer to his own clerk Bob Cratchit. Scrooge denied Cratchit even simple pleasures and showed him no kindness or generosity. Scrooge is later visited by the Ghost of Christmas Present and is shown the effect of his greed on the Cratchits. Scrooge learns that Bob Cratchit has an ill child called Tiny Tim. He is grieved to find out that if the future is not changed then Tiny Tim will die. Scrooge wants to change the future for Tiny Tim, but the Ghost of Christmas Present reminds Scrooge of what he said to the collectors when they came to ask for a donation for the poor, by saying “If he like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.’” (pg. 52). Seeing Tiny Tim makes him realize that he was wrong and that those he might consider to be unnecessary, could very well be like Tiny Tim. Scrooge is later visited by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come and finds that Tiny Tim has died. Scrooge regrets having not treated Bob Cratchit better and for having a hand in the death of Tiny Tim. He regrets that his lack of generosity will have resulted in the death of the sweet child and probably others who needed his