Mr & Mrs Cratchit: Character Analysis (animated and updated)

00:05:05
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjxyPlA79aY

Zusammenfassung

TLDRThe video dissects Bob Cratchit, a character in Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," who embodies the unappreciated and low-paid employee. Despite Scrooge’s stingy ways, Bob showcases Christian generosity by honoring Scrooge in a toast, highlighting his forgiving nature even amidst financial challenges. This is contrasted with Mrs. Cratchit’s indignation towards Scrooge, representing a more emotional and critical perspective. Dickens uses their dialogues to illustrate societal norms around Christmas about forgiveness and goodwill. Furthermore, Bob's resilience is showcased through his joy in family and Christmas despite adversities, while Mrs. Cratchit is depicted through her economic struggles and societal role within marriage. The historical context provided elucidates the 1843 era societal norms where women had no legal rights, with marriages enforcing obedience and submission from wives. This context frames Mrs. Cratchit’s dependence on Bob and highlights the importance of his employment. The video closes with an invitation to explore further in Mr. Bruff’s guidebook on "A Christmas Carol."

Mitbringsel

  • 👤 Bob Cratchit epitomizes the exploited yet hopeful worker.
  • 🎩 Despite mistreatment, Bob shows kindness towards Scrooge.
  • 💬 Mrs. Cratchit openly critiques Scrooge's behavior.
  • 🎄 Dickens sets expectations on Christmas as a time of goodwill.
  • ❄️ Bob's warming struggles highlight his hardships.
  • 👨‍👩‍👦 Bob cherishes his family and Christmas spirit.
  • 👗 Mrs. Cratchit is portrayed economically struggling yet dignified.
  • 👰‍♀ Reflects on women's lack of rights in 1843.
  • 👫 Bob and Mrs. Cratchit illustrate traditional marital roles.
  • 📖 Explore deeper insights in Mr. Bruff’s "A Christmas Carol" guide.

Zeitleiste

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:05

    The video analyzes the character of Bob Cratchit from Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol,' highlighting his representation as an exploited, yet forgiving employee who displays Christian generosity despite his hardships and poor treatment by Scrooge. Bob's wife, Mrs. Cratchit, contrasts this with her vocal resentment towards Scrooge, fitting the period's perception of women as emotional while aligning with societal views of obedient wives. The narrative underscores contemporary notions of gender roles and legal rights, depicting Mrs. Cratchit's financial dependency on her husband and showcasing the familial warmth and resilience amidst poverty. Mr. Bruff concludes by promoting his guide on the novella, suggesting viewers check the description for links to purchase it.

Mind Map

Video-Fragen und Antworten

  • Who is Bob Cratchit in "A Christmas Carol"?

    Bob Cratchit is Scrooge's clerk, representing the hard-working yet underpaid employee.

  • How does Bob Cratchit view Scrooge?

    Bob Cratchit toasts Scrooge, calling him "the Founder of the Feast," showing his Christian generosity.

  • What is Mrs. Cratchit's attitude towards Scrooge?

    Mrs. Cratchit shows righteous indignation and openly criticizes Scrooge for his treatment of Bob.

  • How does Charles Dickens portray gender roles in "A Christmas Carol"?

    Dickens portrays Mrs. Cratchit as emotional and dependent on her husband, reflecting contemporary views of women.

  • What societal expectations were placed on women in 1843?

    Women had no legal rights and were dependent on their husbands, who owned their possessions and earnings.

  • How does Bob Cratchit cope with his hardships?

    Despite his hardships, Bob finds joy in his family and looks forward to Christmas.

  • What historical context is provided about women's rights in 1843?

    In 1843, married women had no legal rights and were considered their husband's property.

  • What does Mrs. Cratchit's reaction to Scrooge illustrate?

    It illustrates resentment yet eventual submission to her husband's authority due to societal norms.

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Untertitel
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Automatisches Blättern:
  • 00:00:00
    Scrooge’s clerk, Bob Cratchit, represents the exploited, underpaid, yet hard-working
  • 00:00:05
    employee.
  • 00:00:06
    Despite Scrooge's miserly ways, Bob toasts him, declaring him ‘the Founder of the Feast’.
  • 00:00:12
    With this action, Dickens draws the attention of the reader to Bob’s Christian generosity
  • 00:00:15
    of human spirit in the face of financial hardship and ill treatment.
  • 00:00:19
    This is heightened by Mrs Cratchit’s contrasting attitude to Scrooge: ‘I wish I had him here.
  • 00:00:24
    I'd give him a piece of my mind to feast upon, and I hope he'd have a good appetite for it.’
  • 00:00:28
    Her righteous indignation is only calmed by her husband reminding her that it is Christmas.
  • 00:00:33
    Through dialogue, Dickens sets expectations about forgiveness and goodwill to others at
  • 00:00:38
    this time of year.
  • 00:00:39
    Dickens depicts Bob as a dedicated employee, even though Scrooge treats him badly.
  • 00:00:44
    At the start of the novella, we see how he is unable to keep himself warm at work.
  • 00:00:48
    Bob wears a ‘comforter’ (scarf) and tries ‘to warm himself at the candle’.
  • 00:00:53
    We also learn that ‘Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerk's fire was so very much
  • 00:00:57
    smaller that it looked like one coal.
  • 00:00:59
    But he couldn't replenish it, for Scrooge kept the coal-box in his own room’.
  • 00:01:03
    By showing us what Bob is wearing, what Bob is doing and explaining why he is so cold,
  • 00:01:07
    Dickens invites the reader to feel empathy for Bob and to criticise Scrooge, who clearly
  • 00:01:12
    has no concern for Bob’s comfort or welfare.
  • 00:01:15
    Despite being a downtrodden employee, Bob has resilience.
  • 00:01:19
    Leaving Scrooge’s office at the end of the day, he ‘ran home to Camden Town as hard
  • 00:01:23
    as he could pelt, to play at blindman's-buff’.
  • 00:01:25
    He finds comfort and joy in his family and is excited about Christmas.
  • 00:01:29
    Dickens introduces Mrs Cratchit by drawing attention to her poverty: she is ‘dressed
  • 00:01:33
    out but poorly in a twice-turned gown, but brave in ribbons, which are cheap and make
  • 00:01:38
    a goodly show for sixpence’.
  • 00:01:40
    Despite wearing a dress so old that it has been taken apart, turned inside out and resewn
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    twice, she still makes an effort with her appearance.
  • 00:01:47
    Her effort to mark Christmas day with ‘ribbons’ contrasts with Scrooge’s cold, bare rooms
  • 00:01:52
    and lack of decoration.
  • 00:01:54
    Her role is defined by others as Bob’s ‘good wife’.
  • 00:01:58
    Bob reports after the future Tiny Tim’s death that Fred has expressed his condolences:
  • 00:02:02
    ‘I am heartily sorry for it, Mr. Cratchit,’ he said, ‘and heartily sorry for your good
  • 00:02:07
    wife.’
  • 00:02:08
    By the bye, how he ever knew that, I don’t know.”
  • 00:02:11
    “Knew what, my dear?”
  • 00:02:12
    “Why, that you were a good wife,” replied Bob.
  • 00:02:14
    “Everybody knows that!” said Peter.
  • 00:02:16
    “Very well observed, my boy!” cried Bob.
  • 00:02:18
    “I hope they do.
  • 00:02:20
    ‘Heartily sorry,’ he said, ‘for your good wife.
  • 00:02:23
    This conversation conforms to contemporary attitudes of the time towards married women,
  • 00:02:27
    who were judged by their role in relation to a husband.
  • 00:02:29
    An obedient wife was praised.
  • 00:02:32
    Dickens might be drawing attention to this point because of his experiences with his
  • 00:02:35
    mother who, seeing the value of an extra income, was very reluctant for him to leave his job
  • 00:02:40
    at Warren’s Blacking Warehouse after his father had been released from debtors’ prison.
  • 00:02:45
    Dickens later wrote: ‘I never afterwards forgot, I never shall forget, I never can
  • 00:02:50
    forget, that my mother was warm [lukewarm] for my being sent back [home]’.
  • 00:02:55
    These feelings of being betrayed by his mother contribute towards his beliefs that a husband
  • 00:02:59
    should be the decision maker, and his wife should be obedient and submissive.
  • 00:03:03
    Nevertheless, Mrs Cratchit does have an opinion about Scrooge, which she freely expresses
  • 00:03:08
    at the Christmas dinner: ‘I wish I had him here.
  • 00:03:10
    I'd give him a piece of my mind to feast upon, and I hope he'd have a good appetite for it’.
  • 00:03:15
    At the time, it was commonly believed that women were ruled by their emotions and not
  • 00:03:20
    capable of ‘rational’ thought.
  • 00:03:22
    When Dickens describes Mrs Cratchit’s emotional outburst, this therefore conforms to contemporary
  • 00:03:27
    ideas about women.
  • 00:03:28
    We have already discussed how her comment contrasts with Bob’s, emphasising Bob’s
  • 00:03:32
    Christian generosity of human spirit in the face of financial hardship and ill treatment.
  • 00:03:37
    Dickens also positions Mrs Cratchit with her righteous indignation as a loyal wife.
  • 00:03:42
    It is understandable that she dislikes Scrooge because she sees how hard her husband works
  • 00:03:46
    for him, yet he is not rewarded for his effort.
  • 00:03:49
    In order to appreciate her character more fully, we need to look at Bob’s response
  • 00:03:53
    to her criticism of Scrooge: “My dear,” was Bob’s mild answer, “Christmas
  • 00:03:57
    Day.”
  • 00:03:58
    She only backs down when her husband—head of the household, moral leader, capable of
  • 00:04:02
    logic—reminds her of the religious significance of the day.
  • 00:04:06
    Her wedding vows would have been to ‘love, honour and obey’ her husband.
  • 00:04:09
    Reluctantly, she obeys her husband, as every (in Dickens’s opinion) ‘good wife’ should.
  • 00:04:15
    Let’s consider the historical context here: In 1843, married women had no legal rights:
  • 00:04:21
    * • A woman was first the legal possession of her father and then that of her husband
  • 00:04:25
    (this is the origin of the tradition of a bride being given away by her father at a
  • 00:04:29
    church wedding).
  • 00:04:30
    * • When a woman married, everything she owned belonged to her husband.
  • 00:04:34
    * If she earnt any money, she was not allowed to keep it—she had to pass it to her husband.
  • 00:04:39
    Being the mother of six children would have made it difficult for Mrs Cratchit to work
  • 00:04:42
    outside the home—if her husband had allowed her.
  • 00:04:45
    Financially, she is totally dependent upon her husband.
  • 00:04:48
    This shows how important it is for Bob Cratchit to keep his job.
  • 00:04:51
    Well I hope you found this video useful.
  • 00:04:54
    Everything I go through in this video series can be found in the second edition of Mr Bruff’s
  • 00:04:59
    Guide to A Christmas Carol.
  • 00:05:00
    The links are in the description - you can pick up a copy.
  • 00:05:02
    Please do subscribe, and like the video.
Tags
  • Bob Cratchit
  • Scrooge
  • Mrs. Cratchit
  • A Christmas Carol
  • Charles Dickens
  • Victorian England
  • Gender roles
  • Forgiveness
  • Christian values
  • Empathy