Plot and Gothic Elements
The story kicks off with Marley's death being emphasised (he's "dead as a doornail"), then introduces Scrooge as the ultimate miser who makes Ebenezer look warm and fuzzy. After rejecting charity and family warmth, he's visited by Marley's ghost in purgatory, who warns that three spirits will visit.
Each ghost shows Scrooge different time periods: Christmas Past reveals his lonely childhood and lost love, Christmas Present shows the Cratchit family's struggles and joy, and Christmas Yet to Come presents his own unmourned death. The final stave sees complete redemption—Scrooge becomes generous, raises Bob's salary, and becomes like a second father to Tiny Tim.
Dickens uses Gothic fiction elements throughout: supernatural spirits, the villain-to-hero transformation, persecuted women (Belle suffering from Scrooge's greed), and the overall dark atmosphere before redemption.
Key Point: The novella functions as both entertainment and social activism, advocating for collective responsibility to tackle poverty.
The structure deliberately mirrors the Christian concept of salvation—recognition of sin, repentance, and redemption—making it accessible to Victorian religious sensibilities whilst delivering harsh social criticism.