Regret/ Guilt Flashcards
(7 cards)
Overview
Dickens uses the didactic novella A Christmas Carol as a vehicle to explore the theme of regret as a powerful force for change, highlighting how it acts as a catalyst for personal and moral transformation. Through Scrooge’s remorse over his selfish past, Dickens shows how facing one’s mistakes can lead to redemption. Living in Victorian England—a time of great poverty and social division—Dickens wanted the upper class to recognise their own moral failings, just as Scrooge does. Dickens uses regret not just to transform Scrooge, but to also encourage the wealthy to change their attitudes and take responsibility for others in society. Through the visits from the three spirits, Dickens reveals Scrooge’s inner turmoil and desire to change and uses these emotions to guide him toward redemption.
Beginning quotes
“I wear the chain I forged in life… I made it link by link, and yard by yard.”
“What would I not have given to one of them!”
“such another creature… might have called him father, and been a spring-time in the haggard winter of his life.”
“I should like to be able to say a word or two to my clerk just now. That’s all.”
Middle quotes
“Scrooge entered into the spirit of the game… he begged like a boy to be allowed to stay…”
“Are there no prisons?… Are there no workhouses?”
“Scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the Spirit, and was overcome with penitence and grief.”
“Tell me, Spirit, will Tiny Tim live?”
Ending quotes
“Are these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of things that May be, only?”
“Spirit! Spirit! I am not the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been.”
“I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!”
“I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy,”
Beginning opening
At the beginning of the novella, Dickens introduces regret as a growing emotional burden that begins to unsettle Scrooge, using the past to show how missed opportunities and personal mistakes begin to haunt him.
Middle opening
As the novella progresses, Dickens presents regret as a deeply personal and moral awakening, as Scrooge is forced to confront the real consequences of his selfishness, through his interactions with the Ghost of Christmas present
Ending opening
As the novella comes to a close, Dickens portrays regret as a necessary step toward redemption, as Scrooge fully recognises his faults and chooses to change in order to avoid a bleak, unloved future.
