The Last of the Spirits-John Leech, 1843

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is a fictional character in

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

's 1843 novella ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas ...

''. The Ghost is one of three spirits which appear to miser

Ebenezer Scrooge Ebenezer Scrooge () is the protagonist of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella '' A Christmas Carol''. At the beginning of the novella, Scrooge is a cold-hearted miser who despises Christmas. The tale of his redemption by three spirits (the Ghos ...

to offer him a chance of redemption. Following a visit from the ghost of his deceased business partner Jacob Marley, Scrooge receives nocturnal visits by three Ghosts of Christmas, each representing a different period in Scrooge's life. The shrouded, ominous and silent Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is Scrooge's last visitor, and shows him a vision of a

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

in the near future after his own death.

Background

Portrait of Charles John Huffman Dickens

By early 1843, Dickens had been affected by the treatment of the poor, and in particular the treatment of the children of the poor after witnessing children working in appalling conditions in a tin mine and following a visit to a

ragged school Ragged schools were charitable organisations dedicated to the free education of destitute children in 19th century Britain. The schools were developed in working-class districts. Ragged schools were intended for society's most destitute childre ...

. Indeed, Dickens himself had experienced poverty as a boy when he was forced to work in a blacking factory after his father's imprisonment for debt. Originally intending to write a political pamphlet titled, ''An Appeal to the People of England, on behalf of the Poor Man's Child'' he changed his mind and instead wrote ''

'' which voiced his social concerns about poverty and injustice. Dickens's friend and biographer John Forster said that Dickens had 'a hankering after ghosts’, while not actually having a belief in them himself, and his journals ''

Household Words ''Household Words'' was an English weekly magazine edited by Charles Dickens in the 1850s. It took its name from the line in Shakespeare's ''Henry V'': "Familiar in his mouth as household words." History During the planning stages, titles origi ...

'' and '' All the Year Round'' regularly featured ghost stories, with the novelist publishing an annual ghost story for some years after his first, ''

'', in 1843. In this

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) fact ...

Dickens was innovative in making the existence of the supernatural a natural extension of the real world in which Scrooge and his contemporaries lived.Mullan, John
Ghosts in A Christmas Carol
Discovering Literature: Romantics & Victorians -

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

Database Dickens making the Christmas Spirits a central feature of his story is a reflection of the early- Victorian interest in the

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

.Rowell, Geoffrey
'Dickens and the Construction of Christmas'
''

History Today ''History Today'' is an illustrated history magazine. Published monthly in London since January 1951, it presents serious and authoritative history to as wide a public as possible. The magazine covers all periods and geographical regions and pub ...

'', Volume 43, Issue 12, December 1993 Unlike the previous two Christmas Spirits, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come follows in the tradition of

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

literature, which Dickens had read as a teenager. Apart from ''

'' Dickens also incorporated the gloomy atmosphere and melodrama of Gothic literature into various of his other works, shifting them to a more modern period and an urban setting, for example in ''

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', Charles Dickens's second novel, was published as a serial from 1837 to 1839, and as a three-volume book in 1838. Born in a workhouse, the orphan Oliver Twist is bound into apprenticeship with ...

'' (1837–1838), ''

Bleak House ''Bleak House'' is a novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode serial between March 1852 and September 1853. The novel has many characters and several sub-plots, and is told partly by the novel's heroine, Esther Summerson, and ...

'' (1854), ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. It depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip (Great Expectations), Pip (the book is a ''bildungsroman''; a coming-of-age story). It ...

'' (1860–1861) and the unfinished ''

Edwin Drood ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' is the final novel by Charles Dickens, originally published in 1870. Though the novel is named after the character Edwin Drood, it focuses more on Drood's uncle, John Jasper, a precentor, choirmaster and opium ...

'' (1870). As in ''A Christmas Carol'', these novels juxtapose wealthy, ordered and affluent civilisation with the disorder and barbarity of the poor in the same metropolis.

Significance to the story

Unlike the two previous Spirits who come at the stroke of one, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come makes its appearance on the last stroke of twelve, the

Witching Hour In folklore, the witching hour or devil's hour is a time of night that is associated with supernatural events, whereby witches, demons and ghosts are thought to appear and be at their most powerful. Definitions vary, and include the hour imme ...

. It is introduced as an ominous and silent figure: "...a solemn Phantom, draped and hooded, coming, like a mist along the ground, towards him... Scrooge feared the silent shape so much that his legs trembled beneath him, and he found that he could hardly stand when he prepared to follow it."

When it came near him, Scrooge bent down upon his knee; for in the very air through which this Spirit moved, it seemed to scatter gloom and mystery. It was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible, save one outstretched hand. But for this, it would have been difficult to detach its figure from the night and separate it from the darkness by which it was surrounded.

The Spirit in its “dusky shroud” is a personification of

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

, and while this may seem an odd choice to modern readers for a Christmas ghost, in the early

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwa ...

people would remember their deceased loved ones at Christmastime, which, being at the end of the year, was also a time for reflection. In his article 'What Christmas Is, As We Grow Older' published in ''

'' in 1851, Dickens wrote, “Of all days in the year, we will turn our faces to that City f the Deadupon Christmas Day, and from its silent hosts bring those we loved, among us. Dickens described a similar Christmas spectre in his story ‘A December Vision’ (1850), which also had a slow and unwavering persistence and which also had a shaded face and ghostly eyes. Like the Future itself, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is unknown, mysterious and silent, and Scrooge fears his message most of all. When the Spirit wishes Scrooge to look at something or to follow him he simply points.Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
SparkNotes Education Study Guide The Victorians believed ghosts had the power to see the future, including people’s deaths, and in the novella the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come reveals to Scrooge his own death. The Spirit shows Scrooge that his future fate is not set in stone or written on his gravestone but can be changed – by changing his actions in the present. During the 1840s, the threat of

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

and

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium '' Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting an ...

was very real for every one, high and low in London,"The Last of the Spirits" — The Pointing Finger

Victorian Web The Victorian Web is a hypertext project derived from hypermedia environments, Intermedia and Storyspace, that anticipated the World Wide Web. Initially created between 1988 and 1990 with 1,500 documents, it grew to 50,000 in the 21st century. In c ...

Database and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is a ''

memento mori ''Memento mori'' (Latin for 'remember that you ave todie'Jacob Marley in Stave I revealed to Scrooge which fate he can expect unless he changes his ways. The Spirit shows Scrooge how his own death will bring indifference to others at best and joy at its worst; that those who build up treasures on earth will find that these same treasures have no worth after death. The only sorrow the Spirit can show in connection with the death of the unknown man is the death of Tiny Tim, the two deaths being linked in a way as yet unknown to Scrooge. Without becoming benevolent and charitable and without accepting redemption and

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

Scrooge will suffer the same fate as Marley, weighed down by chains and cash boxes and ledgers and excluded from Heaven. He must accept and "honour Christmas in isheart".Hind-Portley, Mary
Is 'A Christmas Carol' more than a ghost story?

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

, 9 December 2020

Visions of the future

Microcosm of London Plate 075 - New Stock Exchange (tone)

In Stave IV, the Spirit takes Scrooge to locations around London, including the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

;

Bob Cratchit Bob Cratchit is a fictional character in the Charles Dickens 1843 novel ''A Christmas Carol''. The abused, underpaid clerk of Ebenezer Scrooge (and possibly Jacob Marley, when he was alive), Cratchit has come to symbolize the poor working condi ...

's home; his own bedchamber, and Old Joe's rag-and-bone shop. In these scenes, Dickens uses

mirroring Mirroring is the behavior in which one person subconsciously imitates the gesture, speech pattern, or attitude of another. Mirroring often occurs in social situations, particularly in the company of close friends or family, often going unnotice ...

, for as the Spirit reveals the visions of the future to Scrooge he fails to recognise what the reader has already seen - that Scrooge is seeing his own future; that the un-mourned dead man is himself; that the bedcurtains in the rag-and-bone shop are his; that the cheap funeral discussed by the city businessmen at the Exchange is his own; that he is the creditor whose death brings hope and relief to an indebted young couple.Characters in ''A Christmas Carol''
BBC Bitesize Education website Scrooge struggles to understand the significance of these visions of the future, believing that the fate of the dead man in the bedchamber ''could'' be his own, and he implores the Spirit to reveal the identity of the dead man. In the final scene in Stave IV Scrooge finds himself in a churchyard where the Spirit points at a gravestone: Dickens-charles-christmas-F60134-92

The Spirit stood among the graves, and pointed down to One. He advanced towards it trembling. The Phantom was exactly as it had been, but he dreaded that he saw new meaning in its solemn shape. "Before I draw nearer to that stone to which you point," said Scrooge, "answer me one question. Are these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of things that May be, only?" Still, the Ghost pointed downward to the grave by which it stood. "Men's courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead," said Scrooge. "But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what you show me." The Spirit was immovable as ever. Scrooge crept towards it, trembling as he went; and following the finger, read upon the stone of the neglected grave his own name, EBENEZER SCROOGE. "Am I that man who lay upon the bed?", he cried, upon his knees. The finger pointed from the grave to him, and back again. "No, Spirit! Oh no, no!" The finger still was there. "Spirit!", he cried, tight clutching at its robe, "hear me. I am not the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse. Why show me this, if I am past all hope?" For the first time, the hand appeared to shake. "Good Spirit," he pursued, as down upon the ground he fell before it: "Your nature intercedes for me, and pities me. Assure me that I yet may change these shadows you have shown me, by an altered life." The kind hand trembled.

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come reveals to Scrooge the future consequences of his past and present actions: his lack of sympathy for the poor; his ill-treatment of his own clerk

; that his own death will also result in the death of the Cratchits' disabled young son, Tiny Tim. Scrooge's past and present actions have left him "solitary as an oyster" and his lonely death is revealed, with no one to mourn and having become an opportunity for others to profit - if only with a free lunch. The last of the Spirits gives Scrooge the final chance at redemption, to start life anew in his last years, and to make reparation to his nephew Fred, to the Cratchits and to the poor of London - his "fellow passengers to the grave". Of course, like all people, Scrooge will eventually die, but from now to his final days Scrooge will ‘live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.'Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come

University of Durham , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills ( Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_cha ...

, 17 December 2015

Appearance in notable film and TV adaptations

* In the 1951 film ''Scrooge'', the Spirit (played by C. Konarski) is depicted as a shrouded figure with a single hand extended. * In the 1983 animated film ''

Mickey's Christmas Carol ''Mickey's Christmas Carol'' is a 1983 American animated family comedy-drama featurette directed and produced by Burny Mattinson. The cartoon is an adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol'', and stars Scrooge McDuck as ...

'', the Ghost of Christmas Future reveals himself to be Pete (voiced by Will Ryan). * In the 1984 made-for-television film, the Spirit (played by Michael Carter) creates an eerie metallic noise. * In the 1988 film ''

Scrooged ''Scrooged'' is a 1988 American Christmas fantasy comedy film directed by Richard Donner and written by Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue. Based on the 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol'' by Charles Dickens, ''Scrooged'' is a modern retellin ...

'', the Spirit is a shrouded figure with a skull-like television screen for a head and a skeletal hand. * In the 1992 film '' The Muppet Christmas Carol'', the Spirit is depicted as a large, faceless figure in a tattered black hood. * In the 1999 made-for-television film, the Spirit (played by Tim Potter) has eyes that shine through his hood. * In the 2000 UK television movie, the Ghost is played by Ben Inigo Jones. * In the 2004 film '' A Christmas Carol: The Musical'', the spirit (played by

Geraldine Chaplin Geraldine Leigh Chaplin (born July 31, 1944) is an American actress. She is the daughter of Charlie Chaplin, the first of eight children with his fourth wife, Oona O'Neill. After beginnings in dance and modeling, she turned her attention to act ...

) is depicted as a

hag HAG is a Swiss maker of model trains. The company was founded by Hugo and Alwin Gahler on 1 April 1944 in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The Gahler brothers originally manufactured model trains in O scale but due to competition, particularly by Mär ...

dressed in a white robe. * In the 2009 film '' Disney's A Christmas Carol'', the Ghost is depicted as a shadow of a huge cloaked figure. * In the 2010 ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'' Christmas special, "

", the character Kazran Sardick is depicted as the Ghost. *in the 2016 '' My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'', episode

A Hearth's Warming Tail "A Hearth's Warming Tail" is the eighth episode of the sixth season of the animated television series '' My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'', and the 125th episode of the series overall. It was directed by Denny Lu and Tim Stuby, written by Mic ...

the Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come is portrayed by Princess Luna (played by

Tabitha St. Germain Tabitha St. Germain, formerly known as Paulina Gillis Germain and also known as Tabitha or Kitanou St. Germain, is a Canadian actress and comedian. She is known for a variety of roles across many different shows. She has been actively doing voi ...

). * In the 2019 miniseries, the Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come is portrayed by Jason Flemyng.

References

Sources

* * * *Dickens, Charles. ''A Christmas Carol (and Other Christmas Writings).'' Edited introduction by Michael Slater. Penguin Classics *Hearn, Michael P. (1989). ''The Annotated Christmas Carol / A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens; illustrated by John Leech''; with an introduction, notes and bibliography by Michael Patrick Hearn. Avenel Books. New York. . * *

External links

The illustrators of The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come Literary characters introduced in 1843 A Christmas Carol characters Christmas characters Male characters in film Male characters in literature Fictional ghosts Fictional personifications of death Fictional mute characters