'A Christmas Carol': Dickens’ depictions of Victorian values

Many Victorians embodied the personal values of individualism, self-reliance and a ‘Protestant' work ethic. Scrooge embodies these values in Stave 1; he is depicted as “tight-fisted”, refusing to help Bob or donate to charity. Dickens critiques these values when he describes Scrooge as a “sinner”, suggesting ruthless frugality is immoral. In Stave 5, Scrooge embodies the opposite values: compassion, generosity, humility and integrity. Dickens uses parallels between Stave 1 and 5 to emphasise the scale of Scrooge’s redemption.