A Jungian Reading of Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol by Dickens has been analyzed from different perspectives. But a psychoanalytic approach based on Jung’s theory of self-conception and examination of the main character’s shadow will reveal some new insights to this novel that has not been done before. A psychological reading of Mr. Scrooge will help the readers to detect Mr. Scrooge’s radical change, the hidden feelings and decisions that have been distorted his censuring conscious mind. According to Jung, the introverted individuals are asocial. Scrooge is an introvert who hates Christmas time and detaches himself from society. The collective unconscious is rooted in the ancestral past of individuals. According to Jung, the persona archetype is a mask and a public face we wear to show ourselves as someone different from who we really are. Scrooge’s memories make it possible for the readers to see his personality unmasked. In Jung’s view, the shadow is the archetype of darkness and repression and the qualities we want to hide from ourselves. The change in Scrooge’s behavior happens when he faced the shadows in finding his true self.

A Jungian Reading of Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol Keywords:

Psychoanalysis , Jung , Charles Dickens , Scrooge , Shadow , the Persona , the Self , Introversion