A Christmas Carol [PC Treasures Version] characters

Appears from the start

An elderly London businessman whose wealth has hardened into miserliness. He rejects charity, companionship, and Christmas observance, keeps his clerk's office barely warm, and treats human need as an inconvenience. On Christmas Eve he is still haunted by the death of his former partner, though at first only because it has left him sole owner of their firm.

Appears from the start

Scrooge's former business partner, dead for seven years when the story begins. His ghost appears burdened by the consequences of a life devoted to profit and warns Scrooge that three further spirits will visit him.

Appears from the start

Scrooge's poorly paid clerk, a mild and patient family man who works in a cold office and remains grateful for a holiday with his household despite his employer's grudging manner.

Appears from the start

Scrooge's cheerful nephew, who continues to invite his uncle to Christmas dinner despite repeated insults and refusals. He values affection and fellowship more than money and bears Scrooge no resentment.

Also known as Ghost of Christmas Past

First appears in chapter 2

The first of the three promised spirits, an uncanny figure whose appearance combines youth and age. The spirit takes Scrooge into scenes from his own earlier life, making him witness the sources and costs of the man he became.

First appears in chapter 2

A young woman once engaged to Scrooge. She recognizes that his pursuit of security and money has displaced the love they shared and releases him from their promise rather than bind him to a relationship he no longer truly values.

Also known as Ghost of Christmas Present

First appears in chapter 3

A warm, imposing spirit surrounded by food and light. He shows Scrooge how people across society are keeping Christmas, with particular attention to the Cratchit household and to suffering that Scrooge has preferred not to see.

First appears in chapter 3

Bob Cratchit's young son, physically frail and dependent on a crutch. His gentleness and concern for others make him the emotional center of the family's modest Christmas celebration.

Also known as Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

First appears in chapter 4

The final Christmas spirit, a silent, shrouded presence who answers Scrooge only by pointing. The scenes it presents concern a death and its aftermath, forcing Scrooge to infer what his present course may produce.