Happy New Year!

Not-really Mrs. Dilber* cleans up after Mr. Scrooge's first-ever New Year's Eve blowout!

*Mrs. Dilber really being the laundress, but now the charwoman for purposes of this bit!

"A Christmas Carol" All-Star Team - Day 14

Our All-Star Team continues to grow as we encounter a few more characters from the Christmas Yet to Come sequence: Old Joe and his gang!

I lump them together as they all share one scene. Different versions will sometimes have the charwoman (sometimes erroneously named "Mrs. Dilber") in other scenes, but she's just in the one scene in the book.

The characters are Old Joe (the proprietor of the junk shop), Mrs. Dilber (the laundress), the unnamed charwoman and the unnamed undertaker's man.

I have my ups and downs with that bunch in various adaptations, but an excellent representation is this illustration by Fred Barnard from the 1878 "Household Edition":

That's pretty early in the scheme of things, but I don't know if anyone's portrayed that scene as well since!

Who is Mrs. Dilber?

While listening to "The Campbell Playhouse's" 1938 adaptation of "A Christmas Carol," the question of "Who exactly is Mrs. Dilber?" came up again.

The narrator, Orson Welles, describes the character as a "charwoman" and Old Joe calls her "Mrs. Dilber." They're the only two characters in that scene, so there's no mistaking that this version considers Mrs. Dilber to be the charwoman.

I think that in the book, Mrs. Dilber is the laundress. It's a bit hard to follow, so let's break down the original text:

Scrooge and the Phantom came into the presence of this man, just as a woman with a heavy bundle slunk into the shop. But she had scarcely entered, when another woman, similarly laden, came in too; and she was closely followed by a man in faded black, who was no less startled by the sight of them, than they had been upon the recognition of each other. After a short period of blank astonishment, in which the old man with the pipe had joined them, they all three burst into a laugh. 

OK, so two women enter the shop.

“Let the charwoman alone to be the first!” cried she who had entered first. “Let the laundress alone to be the second; and let the undertaker’s man alone to be the third. Look here, old Joe, here’s a chance! If we haven’t all three met here without meaning it!” 

The woman who entered first is the one who speaks. It's not clear yet whether she's the charwoman or the laundress, but it seems like she's the charwoman volunteering to go first.

“You couldn’t have met in a better place,” said old Joe, removing his pipe from his mouth. “Come into the parlour. You were made free of it long ago, you know; and the other two an’t strangers. Stop till I shut the door of the shop. Ah! How it skreeks! There an’t such a rusty bit of metal in the place as its own hinges, I believe; and I’m sure there’s no such old bones here, as mine. Ha, ha! We’re all suitable to our calling, we’re well matched. Come into the parlour. Come into the parlour.”

The parlour was the space behind the screen of rags. The old man raked the fire together with an old stair-rod, and having trimmed his smoky lamp (for it was night), with the stem of his pipe, put it in his mouth again.

While he did this, the woman who had already spoken threw her bundle on the floor, and sat down in a flaunting manner on a stool; crossing her elbows on her knees, and looking with a bold defiance at the other two.

“What odds then! What odds, Mrs. Dilber?” said the woman. “Every person has a right to take care of themselves. He always did.” 

So, the woman who had already spoken, who is the one who entered first, calls the other woman "Mrs. Dilber."

“That’s true, indeed!” said the laundress. “No man more so.” 

OK, that seems to indicate that the woman who was addressed as "Mrs. Dilber" is the laundress, as the laundress is  the one who answers, right? 

“Why then, don’t stand staring as if you was afraid, woman; who’s the wiser? We’re not going to pick holes in each other’s coats, I suppose?” 

This is the other woman speaking.

“No, indeed!” said Mrs. Dilber and the man together. “We should hope not.”

“Very well, then!” cried the woman. “That’s enough. Who’s the worse for the loss of a few things like these? Not a dead man, I suppose.”

“No, indeed,” said Mrs. Dilber, laughing.

“If he wanted to keep ’em after he was dead, a wicked old screw,” pursued the woman, “why wasn’t he natural in his lifetime? If he had been, he’d have had somebody to look after him when he was struck with Death, instead of lying gasping out his last there, alone by himself.”

“It’s the truest word that ever was spoke,” said Mrs. Dilber. “It’s a judgment on him.”

“I wish it was a little heavier judgment,” replied the woman; “and it should have been, you may depend upon it, if I could have laid my hands on anything else. Open that bundle, old Joe, and let me know the value of it. Speak out plain. I’m not afraid to be the first, nor afraid for them to see it. We know pretty well that we were helping ourselves, before we met here, I believe. It’s no sin. Open the bundle, Joe.” 

So, by now we have Mrs. Dilber and the other woman going back and forth. Non-Mrs. Dilber is the one who just asked Joe to open her bundle.

But the gallantry of her friends would not allow of this; and the man in faded black, mounting the breach first, produced his plunder. It was not extensive. A seal or two, a pencil-case, a pair of sleeve-buttons, and a brooch of no great value, were all. They were severally examined and appraised by old Joe, who chalked the sums he was disposed to give for each, upon the wall, and added them up into a total when he found there was nothing more to come.

“That’s your account,” said Joe, “and I wouldn’t give another sixpence, if I was to be boiled for not doing it. Who’s next?”

Mrs. Dilber was next. Sheets and towels, a little wearing apparel, two old-fashioned silver teaspoons, a pair of sugar-tongs, and a few boots. Her account was stated on the wall in the same manner. 

OK, Mrs. Dilber was the second to open her bundle and it did not include the bed curtains, rings and all.

“I always give too much to ladies. It’s a weakness of mine, and that’s the way I ruin myself,” said old Joe. “That’s your account. If you asked me for another penny, and made it an open question, I’d repent of being so liberal and knock off half-a-crown.”

“And now undo my bundle, Joe,” said the first woman. 

So, now the first woman, who's established not to be Mrs. Dilber presents her bundle.

Joe went down on his knees for the greater convenience of opening it, and having unfastened a great many knots, dragged out a large and heavy roll of some dark stuff.

“What do you call this?” said Joe. “Bed-curtains!”

“Ah!” returned the woman, laughing and leaning forward on her crossed arms. “Bed-curtains!”

“You don’t mean to say you took ’em down, rings and all, with him lying there?” said Joe.

“Yes I do,” replied the woman. “Why not?”

“You were born to make your fortune,” said Joe, “and you’ll certainly do it.”

“I certainly shan’t hold my hand, when I can get anything in it by reaching it out, for the sake of such a man as He was, I promise you, Joe,” returned the woman coolly. “Don’t drop that oil upon the blankets, now.”

“His blankets?” asked Joe.

“Whose else’s do you think?” replied the woman. “He isn’t likely to take cold without ’em, I dare say.”

“I hope he didn’t die of anything catching? Eh?” said old Joe, stopping in his work, and looking up.

“Don’t you be afraid of that,” returned the woman. “I an’t so fond of his company that I’d loiter about him for such things, if he did. Ah! you may look through that shirt till your eyes ache; but you won’t find a hole in it, nor a threadbare place. It’s the best he had, and a fine one too. They’d have wasted it, if it hadn’t been for me.”

“What do you call wasting of it?” asked old Joe.

“Putting it on him to be buried in, to be sure,” replied the woman with a laugh. “Somebody was fool enough to do it, but I took it off again. If calico an’t good enough for such a purpose, it isn’t good enough for anything. It’s quite as becoming to the body. He can’t look uglier than he did in that one.”

Scrooge listened to this dialogue in horror. As they sat grouped about their spoil, in the scanty light afforded by the old man’s lamp, he viewed them with a detestation and disgust, which could hardly have been greater, though they had been obscene demons, marketing the corpse itself.

“Ha, ha!” laughed the same woman, when old Joe, producing a flannel bag with money in it, told out their several gains upon the ground. “This is the end of it, you see! He frightened every one away from him when he was alive, to profit us when he was dead! Ha, ha, ha!” 

I think that settles it, then. Mrs. Dilber is the laundress, not the charwoman, and it is that charwoman who takes the bed curtains.

Just to be sure, what's the definition of charwoman?

char·wom·an

/ˈCHärˌwo͝omən/

noun

dated•British

noun: charwoman; plural noun: charwomen

1. a woman employed to clean houses or offices.

   
   

   

   
   

Based on what a charwoman does, there's no doubt that the character of Mrs. Dilber in the 1951 movie version starring Alastair Sim is the charwoman. I think because that movie is often considered to be the definitive version, a lot of people think that Mrs. Dilber is the charwoman.

I'd even venture to say that some versions use the 1951 movie as their source rather than the actual book!

I think the 1938 radio adaptation from "The Campbell Playhouse" is the earliest case I've seen of Mrs. Dilber being the charwoman, though. Or am I forgetting something?

Seek & Find Classics: "A Christmas Carol" (2017)

Seek & Find Classics: "A Christmas Carol" (2017)

Illustrated by Louise Pigott

Retold by Sarah Powell

We head back into the world of books for another adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" aimed at younger readers.

This is a "Seek & Find" book, so you're shown some characters and items, then you try to find them within a larger illustration.

In the meantime, you get a summary of the story, so this would serve as a great introduction to "A Christmas Carol" for kids.

I like the artowrk a lot. It kind of has a new-yet-old look. The character designs are very appealing.

And, as always, I'm fascinated at how the story is presented.

The sample above provides a bit of an introduction to the story and I find the map of London to be interesting.

It's fun to see the characters going about their business before Scrooge, Bob Cratchit and Fred all wind up in Scrooge's office on the next page.

I like how Martha Cratchit is shown, as she's underrated!

I also appreciate that Mrs. Dilber is said to be a laundress. So many adapatations have her as the charwoman, so good job there!

There are fourteen of these spreads and each has a little paragraph to move the story along.

Of interest to someone like me, Belle is indeed present at Fezziwig's party and she dances with Ebenezer. That is so common!

Also, Ebenezer's sister is named "Fanny." We never really know exactly what her name is anyway, so that's a small liberty.

When the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come takes Scrooge to the graveyard to see his own tombstone, Tiny Tim's funeral is going on in the background.

There are lots of little details in all of the tableaux.

Fun!

Definitely worth a look!

Scrooge (1951) - What's What

So, we've established that "Scrooge"from 1951 has a great cast, as led by "the incomparable Alastair Sim" (the poster is correct!).

The cinematography, set design, music score, special effects, script, direction, all good!

Except for changing the title to "A Christmas Carol" for U.S. release, there's nothing Americanized about it and the very British feel of the whole thing adds to the authenticity. And as we move further away from 1951, the movie seems to get closer to actual Dickensian times, making it a wonderful time capsule.

The movie feels authentic, but is it actually faithful to the source material? Well, yes and no.

Now, I wouldn't say that there are actual spoilers ahead, as if you're reading this, you must know how the whole thing turns out. But if you have not seen this version yet, by all means do so, then come back!

The idea of the whole thing hasn't changed much, but a lot has been added to the Christmas Past sequence in order to flesh out Scrooge's character. With these added things, we get more on idea of how Scrooge came to be such a miserable wretch!

Many of these new angles have been appropriated (to be polite) by subsequent versions, because they came up with some really good ideas!

The biggest change of all is to make Fan the older sister of Ebenezer. Dickens clearly states in the book that Fan is much younger. Making her older allows for their mother to have died giving birth to Ebenezer. That wouldn't work if Fan were younger. But this causes the father to be kind to Fan and resent Ebenezer. In the original text, we have no idea what happened to their mother or why Daddy Scrooge scorns Ebenezer but favors the younger Fan. This all makes sense now, though.

Now, throw in Fan dying while giving birth to Fred and we have a reason why Scrooge resents his nephew.

The added scene of Fan's death is very powerful. Scrooge and the Ghost linger after the young Scrooge storms out. Turns out Fan hadn't passed away yet and the last thing she asked is for Ebenezer to take care of her boy. That hits the old Scrooge like a ton of bricks and you know right there he will never again have a cross word with Fred.

Another scene from the past that goes on after young Scrooge leaves is the breakup with Alice. She puts on a brave face while young Scrooge is there, but after he storms out, she breaks down. Another thing that hits old Scrooge hard. Alastair Sim's reactions in these scenes really help sell them.

Besides being named Alice rather than Belle, another big change is that she did not get married to someone else after splitting with Ebenezer. She went the opposite route from him and works as a nurse or social worker or something. I always hope that in the new, improved future, Scrooge looks her up and they finally get together! Some Dickensian shipping!

The expansion of Scrooge's back story also includes his progression from happy young apprentice with Fezziwig to miserable old partner with Jacob Marley. The newly added character of Mr. Jorkin sets this in motion by introducing young Scrooge to young Marley and he inadvertently allows them to take over the company, eventually driving Fezziwig out of business.

It's very interesting to see the gradual hardening of Scrooge as it happens, rather than just hearing Alice/Belle say that it happened.

While they're throwing extra scenes into the past, we get to see Jacob Marley on his deathbed. He tries to warn Scrooge to change his ways, but Scrooge isn't buying it.

We also get see Bob Cratchit in this scene and since it was on Christmas Eve, he tries to get the next day off as usual. Scrooge has a comical reaction to Cratchit's "if it's quite convenient line," saying that Cratchit says the same thing every year. It's funny, but kind of backwards, as Scrooge should have had that reaction in the present rather than in the past if he had already heard it so many times before with an additional seven times added on!

In any event, it's really in the past that most of the changes and/or additions take place. They all make sense and blend in so well that they could have been part of the original novella.

Back in the present, quite a bit of screen time is given to the charwoman, Mrs. Dilber. She also had popped up in the Marley's death scene and gets her own catchphrase; "in keeping with the situation!"

 Not too much is omitted, but the whole thing clocks in at a snappy 86 minutes, so you can definitely fit in a screening at least once every holiday season!