"It was a strange figure": The Fairies of A Christmas Carol

Abstract

Abstract:

With Marley's death emphatically declared in the opening pages of A Christmas Carol, his subsequent appearance clearly defines him as a Victorian ghost. However, the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and To Come conform to no such definition. Dickens never definitively reveals what they are, despite offering lengthy physical descriptions. There exists, as of yet, no thorough investigation into their identities. This article explores A Christmas Carol through a fairy lens because of the popularity of fairy folklore throughout the Victorian era, and Dickens's intimate knowledge of the subject. It identifies the probable fairy origins of the three spirits and demonstrates their connection to the very people that Scrooge initially pushes to the peripheries of his existence. The article also demonstrates that each specific type of fairy represented by the three Christmas spirits would have been known to Dickens.