Why did the spirits visit Ebenezer Scrooge precisely seven years after Marley's death?
My family and I are watching the George C. Scott version of A Christmas Carol on this fine Christmas Eve. I was wondering one thing as I'm watching.
Why do the spirits wait seven Christmas's before visiting Scrooge? Marley died seven years before the happenings in A Christmas Carol. I suppose they could have appeared to Ebenezer before Marley died, but for the sake of the story and to have Marley be a ghost let's assume that it was necessary for Marley to die before they appeared to Scrooge. So why seven year? Why no more or no less? I thought maybe because the next Christmas, Scrooge is destined to die and the spirits are giving him a final chance to change before his time is up. This could be true because in the future we see Scrooge's business affiliates discuss scrooge after he is dead almost as if their correspondence with him (which was seen near the beginning of the story) was recent. Then again, those gentlemen may have known him for a long time and are speaking of him in general and if this is the case then it may prove nothing because the future that is forecasted could be any year. Any ideas? Is there possibly a symbolic reason that Dickens chose seven years? Or a simple, logical explanation?
Best Answer
It's not explicitly stated in the source novel, but the implication is that such was the weight of the chain he'd forged, it took Marley a considerable amount of time (seven years?) to convey himself from the counting house to Scrooge's house in order to give him the warning that he was making the same mistakes.
Pondering on what the Ghost had said, he did so now, but without lifting up his eyes, or getting off his knees. 'You must have been very slow about it, Jacob,' Scrooge observed, in a business-like manner, though with humility and deference. 'Slow!' the Ghost repeated. 'Seven years dead,' mused Scrooge. 'And travelling all the time!' 'The whole time,' said the Ghost. 'No rest, no peace. Incessant torture of remorse.' 'You travel fast?' said Scrooge. 'On the wings of the wind,' replied the Ghost. 'You might have got over a great quantity of ground in seven years,' said Scrooge. The Ghost, on hearing this, set up another cry, and clanked its chain so hideously in the dead silence of the night, that the Ward would have been justified in indicting it for a nuisance. 'Oh! captive, bound, and double-ironed,' cried the phantom, 'not to know, that ages of incessant labour, by immortal creatures, for this earth must pass into eternity before the good of which it is susceptible is all developed. Not to know that any Christian spirit working kindly in its little sphere, whatever it may be, will find its mortal life too short for its vast means of usefulness. Not to know that no space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunity misused! Yet such was I! Oh! such was I!'
On top of that, there's the suggestion that Scrooge is growing old (it may be his final year on Earth) and it has to be said that it's been a real bumper year for him being a Christmas grouch; refusing to give any charity to his visitors, turning down a party invitation from his family and denying his employees more than one day off work.
Pictures about "Why did the spirits visit Ebenezer Scrooge precisely seven years after Marley's death?"
Why did the spirits visit Scrooge?
Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by four spirits in A Christmas Carol who aim to change his ways and save him from a lonely, haunted end. Each spirit enlightens Scrooge about what he needs most\u2014from humanity to love to a warning of what could be.Why does the Ghost of Jacob Marley come to visit Scrooge?
Marley appeared to Scrooge because he wanted to help him make more of his life. Jacob Marley was Scrooge's business partner. ... When he sees Scrooge he explains why he became a ghost. He said it was because he had not been a better man during his lifetime.Who visits Scrooge after Marley?
The Ghost of Christmas Past is the first spirit to visit Scrooge after the ghost of Marley. It arrives as the clock chimes one. It is an ephemeral spirit that appears to be both old and young at the same time with light streaming from the top of its head.The Sad Truth About The Real-Life Ebenezer Scrooge
More answers regarding why did the spirits visit Ebenezer Scrooge precisely seven years after Marley's death?
Answer 2
The number seven is well known in many human cultures, ancient and current, to possess power and good fortune. Charles Dickens' book, A Christmas Carol, was published in 1843. In numerology (the study of the occult significance of numbers), 1+8+4+3=16 and 1+6=7. Whether Dickens was aware of this pattern or subconsciously influenced by other cultural import to the number 7 is purely speculative.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Ksenia Chernaya, Dmitriy Ganin, Ksenia Chernaya, Dmitriy Ganin