Editing A Christmas Carol (section)

==Themes==
[[File:Christmascarol1843 -- 137.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Scrooge being shown two small children, depicting Ignorance and Want, by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come|Ignorance and Want from the original edition, 1843]]
The transformation of Scrooge is central to the story.{{sfnm|1a1=Kelly|1y=2003|1p=25|2a1=Garry|2a2=El Shamy|2y=2005|2p=132}} Davis considers Scrooge to be "a [[Proteus|protean]] figure always in process of reformation";{{sfn|Davis|1990b|p=111}} Kelly writes that the transformation is reflected in the description of Scrooge, who begins as a two-dimensional character, but who then grows into one who "possess[es] an emotional depth [and] a regret for lost opportunities".{{sfn|Kelly|2003|pp=25–26}} Some writers, including the Dickens scholar Grace Moore, consider that there is a Christian theme running through ''A Christmas Carol'', and that the novella should be seen as an [[Christian literature#Christian allegory|allegory]] of the Christian concept of [[Redemption (theology)|redemption]].{{sfn|Moore|2011|p=57}}{{refn|Others who have examined the Christian theme include [[Geoffrey Rowell]],{{sfn|Rowell|1993}} [[Claire Tomalin]]{{sfn|Tomalin|2011|p=150}} and Martin Sable.{{sfn|Sable|1986|p=67}}|group=n}} Dickens's biographer, [[Claire Tomalin]], sees the conversion of Scrooge as carrying the Christian message that "even the worst of sinners may repent and become a good man".{{sfn|Tomalin|2011|pp=149–150}} Dickens's attitudes towards organised religion were complex;{{refn|The author [[G. K. Chesterton]] wrote of Dickens's religious views that "the tone of Dickens towards religion, though like that of most of his contemporaries, philosophically disturbed and rather historically ignorant, had an element that was very characteristic of himself. He had all the prejudices of his time. He had, for instance, that dislike of defined dogmas, which really means a preference for unexamined dogmas."{{sfn|Chesterton|1989|p=163}} Dickens stated that "I have always striven in my writings to express the veneration for the life and lessons of our Saviour."{{sfn|Hammond|1871|p=308}}|group=n}} he based his beliefs and principles on the [[New Testament]].{{sfn|Sable|1986|p=67}} His statement that Marley "had no bowels" is a reference to the "bowels of compassion" mentioned in the [[First Epistle of John]], the reason for his eternal damnation.{{sfn|Douglas-Fairhurst|2006|p=421}}{{refn|The full verse of I John 3:17 is "But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?"{{sfn|Douglas-Fairhurst|2006|p=421}}|group=n}}

Other writers, including Kelly, consider that Dickens put forward a "secular vision of this sacred holiday".{{sfn|Kelly|2003|p=12}} The Dickens scholar John O. Jordan argues that ''A Christmas Carol'' shows what Dickens referred to in a letter to his friend [[John Forster (biographer)|John Forster]] as his "''Carol'' philosophy, cheerful views, sharp anatomisation of humbug, jolly good temper&nbsp;... and a vein of glowing, hearty, generous, mirthful, beaming reference in everything to Home and Fireside".{{sfn|Jordan|2001|p=121}} From a secular viewpoint, the cultural historian Penne Restad suggests that Scrooge's redemption underscores "the conservative, individualistic and patriarchal aspects" of Dickens's "''Carol'' philosophy" of [[charity (virtue)|charity]] and [[altruism]].{{sfn|Restad|1996|p=139}}

Dickens wrote ''A Christmas Carol'' in response to British social attitudes towards poverty, particularly [[child poverty]], and wished to use the novella as a means to put forward his arguments against it.{{sfnm|1a1=Douglas-Fairhurst|1y=2006|1p=xvi|2a1=Sutherland, British Library}} The story shows Scrooge as a paradigm for self-interest, and the possible repercussions of ignoring the poor, especially children—personified by the allegorical figures of Want and Ignorance.{{sfn|Moore|2011|p=18}} The two figures were created to arouse sympathy with readers—as was Tiny Tim.{{sfn|Jaffe|1994|p=262}} Douglas-Fairhurst observes that the use of such figures allowed Dickens to present his message of the need for charity without alienating his largely middle-class readership.{{sfn|Douglas-Fairhurst|2006|p=xvi}}