Ebenezer Scrooge | Fictional Character - Encyclopedia Britannica

Ebenezer Scrooge is a fictional character and the miserly protagonist of Charles Dickens’s short novel A Christmas Carol (1843).

The novel follows Scrooge, a lonely and stingy old man who works in a London counting-house (an accounting firm), as he is visited on Christmas Eve by several spirits: the ghost of Jacob Marley (Scrooge’s former business partner, who has been dead seven years), the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Through the influence of these spectral visions, which show him his dark fate and that of others if he does not change his miserly ways, Scrooge becomes a kind benefactor. The story ends:

He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle, ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.

Despite his transformation at the end of the story, the character is remembered as the embittered miser and not as the reformed sinner, and “Scrooge” has entered the English language as a synonym for a miser. There are echoes of the character in those of later Christmas stories, including Frank Capra’s film It’s a Wonderful Life (1946; specifically, Lionel Barrymore’s mean old Mr. Potter) and Dr. Seuss’s children’s book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1957).

Britannica Quiz Pop Culture Quiz

A Christmas Carol has been adapted into many films, television series, and plays. Among the actors who have portrayed Scrooge (or a character based on him) are the following.

• Daniel Smith in Scrooge; or, Marley’s Ghost (1901; silent short film)
• Alastair Sim in A Christmas Carol (also titled Scrooge, 1951; film)
• George C. Scott in A Christmas Carol (1984; TV movie)
• Bill Murray in Scrooged (1988; film)
• Michael Caine in The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992; musical film)
• Patrick Stewart in A Christmas Carol (1999; TV movie based on Stewart’s one-man play performed in London and, later, on Broadway)
• Jim Carrey in A Christmas Carol (2009; computer-animated film)
• Guy Pearce in A Christmas Carol (2019; TV miniseries)

Discover More Who Is Scrooge’s Long-Suffering Clerk? Why Did Charles Dickens Write A Christmas Carol? The Story of Christmas “A Visit from St. Nicholas”