HG´s Christmas Captives – Ebenezer Scrooge
Bring forth the next of my captives and into the dock in the Ultra High Court Of Justice, comes someone who will be familiar to you all, Ebenezer Scrooge. Let’s have his summary of information and then your arguments and votes!
EBENEZER SCROOGE – SUMMARY OF INFORMATION
Money lender
Hater of Christmas
Hoarder of wealth and exploiter of the poor
Lonely child sent to boarding school
Replaced apparent lost love with money
Expresses apparent concern for the health of a sickly Tiny Tim
Asks if there are “no prisons, no workhouses” to address the unfortunate in society
Weeps over vision of own unkempt and unvisited grave
Mends his ways (apparently) to become a generous and kind soul
Favoured phrase “Bah humbug!”
Mean spirited and harsh employer
Use of large turkey to bribe Cratchitt´s family
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15 thoughts on “HG´s Christmas Captives – Ebenezer Scrooge”
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This one is difficult, so I am going with Narcissistic. I read A Christmas Carol and his transformation seemed genuine.
Narcissistic.
He’s more transactional than he is manipulative of others.
Your Honor and gentle people of the jury,
It was once a commonly held belief that Ebenezer Scrooge was a narcissist, that is until he had a change of heart and became a redeemed man. It is true young Ebenezer’s father was a harsh and cruel man, with no apparent love for his son. His father him away to boarding school against his protestations. Surely, had his father been the only influence in young Ebenezer’s life, he no doubt would have become a full fledged narcissist. Fortunately, for all concerned, he had the saving grace of his beloved sister, Fan. Fan showered young Ebenezer with empathy and kindness, but sadly it could not last forever. Ebenezer lost his beloved sister to illness and Fan passed away. The loss of Fan was quite a blow and Ebenezer became hardened by his grief. A streak of resentment began to grow.
Scrooge matured into a successful young man with a good job and a kind boss. Scrooge met a lovely woman named Belle and they became engaged, but soon, Belle noticed something was changing in Scrooge, a fear loss and love for money that she had not noticed before. Belle was repulsed by these changes and left Scrooge. She then met another man and became happily married. This turn of events hardened Scrooges defenses. He became outrageously narcissistic and a hoarder of wealth and exploited the poor. It was at this time that Scrooge realized he resembled what he hated most, his father.
But then, your honor, something changed that can never change for a true narcissist. After the appearance of three apparitions, Scrooge began to regret his actions. Narcissists use the twin lines of defense against such threats. And while Ebenezer was tempted at first to deny what he saw, he eventually began to see the harsh outcome of his choices. His empathy began to return. He finally realized he bankrupt in spirit and he begged and pleaded for another chance. When he woke, Scrooge did not deny his experience. He did not seek fuel to repair this intense reproachful wound. No, instead he took immediate action to become a changed man. He gave employees time off. He purchases the prize turkey and sends it to Bob Cratchit careful to ask that Cratchit not know who sent it. If this were the grandiose gesture of a narcissist, he would demand recognition and fuel. With every word and deed, Scrooge is freed from his resentment and greed. He sheds the shackles of his emotional wounds and changes his life to one of kindness and fairness. He becomes a second father to Tiny Tim and helps the poor. Mr. Scrooge is ever grateful for the miracle of this second chance.
In closing, I offer into evidence this sworn statement from Mr. Scrooge:
“Some people have laughed to see the alteration in me, but let them laugh, I give them little heed; for I know now that nothing ever happened for good in this world, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter at the outset; besides, these people would be blind anyway. It is well and good that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, rather than due to less attractive forms. I was once filled with resentment and pain, and now I am filled with happiness and that is quite enough for me.”
Your honor, it is a well established fact that narcissists are not happy and would never tolerate such wounding without some form of retaliation. Mr. Scrooge is now widely loved by all and has been seen performing random acts of kindness and upholding the spirit of Christmas for all. Some may say, too little to late, but the defense suggests it is better late than never. We ask the court to find Ebenezer Scrooge guilty of being narcissistic, but not guilty of being a narcissist.
FYC, This is great! Very well written! I was going to say he’s not a narcissist, he’s misunderstood but you said it so much better.
You are most kind, Mercy and thank you very much! I overslept today, but I’m not too late! Now I must hurry to finish email so I can be off to buy a prize turkey for the AAF! Wishing you a very, very, Merry Christmas!
Well done FYC
Thank you very much, HG. I am behind on Mr. McClane (I am leaning toward justice seeking Super Empath) and poor Santa will not like his facade to be exposed–but it is coming. Off to the store first. Don’t shut the doors to Christmas till I get back!! Thank you!!
I’m on a roll of poor guesses, so I may as well continue the streak!
While poor little Ebenezer had a sad childhood, this alone does not a narc make. Being sent to a boarding school and having nothing of his own, however, did affect his work ethic and view on the world.
He started a successful business. He is not used to having money, so he hoards his wealth and has no empathy for the poor. If poor people want money, they should work hard like he did and start their own businesses. If they are lazy and want to ride on his wealth, well, they had better be prepared to work long hours for low pay.
Ebenezer, however, lost the love of his life to this love of money and lost his one and only true friend, Marley. He thought the money would keep him warm at night, but it didn’t work out that way. Well, it’s enough to depress anyone, except a narc who would not have felt such love for these 2 people in the first place.
So he turns a new leaf, perhaps finds the right meds, and drags a big turkey over to Tiny Tim in hopes that these empaths will take him in and show him love again.
My verdict: normal, just needed to see the errors of his ways
I agree, BL. A narc wouldn’t be depressed by a vision of dying alone and unloved, while people filch his bed-hangings for resale. He’d prepurchase the showiest mausoleum in town just to annoy everybody, complete with an epitaph describing his invaluable contributions to British commerce. He’d draw up a will specifying where every little mouse dropping is to go, with a little toward his nephew because he liked his sister, but most of it for some unlikely cause, such as The Crippled Children of Chakradharpur, after ignoring Tiny Tim right under his nose. (Mrs. Jellyby is a classic narc.) He’d even specify that his bed-hangings are to be burnt the moment he’s dead (to avoid contagion, you know), just to spite the vultures who want to pick through his possessions before he’s even cold.
I think Scrooge has spent his entire life trying to kill off his empathy because he doesn’t want to get hurt again, but he can’t do it. Despite the early trauma, the neurology isn’t there. If he wasn’t a narc by the time his kind boss had that Christmas dance and Scrooge clearly enjoyed himself without having to one-up anybody, then he wasn’t one at all. As HG has repeatedly said, no one suddenly becomes one as an adult. It’s a lifelong condition.
Excellent points, Violetta, I agree.
I’m going to take an unusual position and say Scrooge is a co-dependent empath. He grew up with a narcissistic/narcissist father, but his his sister’s love arrested the development of narcissism in Scrooge rendering him a co-dependent. The unusual thing is that he became co-dependent on money. Maybe the loss of his sister and the accompanying grief prevented him from wanting to attach to people. Money couldn’t hurt him. To counter an argument he was a power hungry narcissist, Scrooge was not interested in money to obtain prestige/power, only making as much money as possible. Money, by itself, cannot provide fuel. He became dependent on money in a way a co-dependent would with a narcissist, much to his own detriment.
The events with the spirits brought back his empathic traits by showing events such as Tiny Tim. Scrooge was deeply moved by seeing what would happen to Tiny Tim, and he genuinely changed at the end whereas a narcissist can only pretend to change. Scrooge now put those co-dependent skills to good use by focusing solely on helping others, such as Tiny Tim, and dedicated his life to it along with embodying the spirit of Christmas. The final lines about Scrooge being aware of, but not responding, to people mocking his change counter the argument he’s a narcissist because a narcissist would be wounded/respond to the criticism. Scrooge did not care. His co-dependent traits were back to good use, and this was all that mattered.
Interesting
Better Call HG,
I’m intrigued with your theory.
Fading cerebral Narcissist! M’Lud,
– Extensive manipulations and lies as a younger man demonstrated during visit of Christmas past
– zero empathy, nada, none, zilch
– pity play
– pity play
– Pity play
– grandiose gestures
– Pity play
– magical thinking (oh c’mon! – ghosts my arse)
– poor relationships with family
– pity play
Need I say more?
I think Scrooge is a Narc. His kindness to Tiny Tim was a public display to improve how others view him. He may have had some affection for the little guy. There is a large power imbalance, so he can afford to feign generosity for a moment, and he’s lonely enough to recruit a young minion.