A Christmas Carol Key Theme: Death and Loss (Edexcel GCSE English Literature)

Death and loss timeline

The theme of death and loss in each stave of A Christmas Carol:

How are death and loss presented in A Christmas Carol?

Death and loss are recurring ideas within the novella:

• Marley’s ghost (Stave 1): The novella begins with establishing Marley’s death through his ghost, bound by the chains, money boxes and padlocks he so coveted in life:

  • This is the first catalyst for Scrooge’s transformation and serves as both a warning to Scrooge and a reminder to Dickens’ readers that our actions in life have consequences beyond the grave

• The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (Stave 4): This terrifying ghost personifies death, heightened by Dickens’ descriptions of darkness and use of solemn language:

  • Scrooge’s marked fear of this phantom suggests his potential fate is something to be afraid of

• Scrooge’s death (Stave 4): The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows Scrooge the treatment of an unknown corpse, unloved and uncared for:

  • The characters dealing with the corpse are concerned only by how they might profit from it, mirroring Scrooge’s own attitudes towards money

  • In a moment of dramatic irony, the spirit reveals Scrooge’s own name is on the gravestone; despite his wealth he will die alone, uncared for and this leads ultimately to his repentance 

• Tiny Tim (Stave 4): In a possible future shown to Scrooge, Tiny Tim’s imagined death is contrasted with Scrooge’s, and the child is mourned while Scrooge is not:

  • Scrooge understands that Tiny Tim’s death was avoidable and accepts his responsibility towards the Cratchit family

  • Through Tiny Tim, Dickens also highlights the poor health, living conditions and malnourishment experienced by many poor children in Victorian Britain

Why is death and loss a key theme in A Christmas Carol?

Dickens uses death and loss to highlight the permanency of death and to indicate that it is never too late to change.

1.  Personal and social change 

• Scrooge’s encounters with death serve as a catalyst for his character’s transformation and redemption, emphasising both the value of and ephemerality of life  

• The presentation of death serves to remind Scrooge — and the reader — that we have a social responsibility to others or we will share fate the fate of Marley and Scrooge (as presented in Stave 4) 

2. A critique of social and class systems

• Dickens uses A Christmas Carol to criticise the unjust social systems and institutions of Victorian Britain which negatively affected the most vulnerable in society

• He wanted to highlight the high mortality rate of poorer children and the need for the poor working class to have the means to help themselves

Exam-style questions on the theme of death and loss in A Christmas Carol

Try planning a response to the following essay questions as part of your revision of the theme of death and loss:

• Explore how Dickens presents loss and a fear of mortality in A Christmas Carol.

• Explore how Dickens presents death in A Christmas Carol.