STAVE FOUR: the Last of the Spirits
The Phantom slowly, gravely, silently, approached. When it came near him, Scrooge bent down upon his knees; got in the very air through which this Spirit moved it seemed to scatter gloom and mystery.
It was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched hand. But for this it would have been difficult to detach its figure from the night, and separate it from the darkness by which it was surrounded.
He felt that it was tall and stately when it came beside him, and that its mysterious presence filled him with a solemn dread. He knew no more, for the Spirit neither spoke nor moved.
“I am in the presence of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come?” said scrooge.
The Spirit answered not, but pointed onward with its hand.
“You are about to show me the shadows of the thing that have not happened, but will happen in the time before us,” Scrooge pursued. “Is that so, Spirit?”
The upper portion of the garment was contracted for an instant in its folds, as if the Spirit had inclined its head. That was the only answer he received.
Although well used to ghostly company by this time, Scrooge feared the silent shape so much that his legs trembled beneath him, and he found that he could hardly stand when he prepared to follow it. The Spirit paused a moment, as observing his condition, and giving him time to recover.
But Scrooge was all the worse for this. It thrilled him with a vague uncertain horror, to know that behind the dusky shroud, there were ghostly eyes intently fixed upon him, while he, though he stretched his own to the utmost, could see nothing but a spectral hand and one great heap of black.
“Ghost of the Future!” he exclaimed, “I fear you more than any Spectre I have seen. But as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear you company, and do it with a thankful heart. Will you not speak to me?”
It gave him no reply. The hand was pointed straight before them.
Dickens here wants to embody the mystery, the fearsomeness, the sheer undependability of the future: note how hard it is to get a straight answer from the Time To Come. By now, Scrooge is practically converted, already thinking of changes to his ways. Even so, the future makes him very uneasy, though he has not yet picked up on the hint that this Spectre may moonlight as a Grim Reaper. Screenwriters do very little messing around with the dialogue as Dickens has written it, as Scrooge’s plight could hardly be painted with quicker, starker strokes.
That hand is central to many screen interpretations. Its shadow moves across the face of Hicks as he twitches in his sleep. He starts, terrified, and sits up as if forced to do so, watching the shadow of a pointing finger as if in a trance. Scrooge declares that he fears this Spirit more than any other, assumes it is going to show him the shadows of the things that will be, and allows as how he is prepared to bear it company. He is one of the few Scrooges who does NOT beg the Spirit to speak to him.
Owen is laughing in his sleep. The scenes of merriment shown to him by the first Spirits pass through his mind; his smile is bright. Suddenly, though, he is standing, still laughing and still with his eyes shut, in a windblown crag. A clock strikes three. Alarmed, he opens his eyes and watches the fog blow around d him. A hooded figure of great stature steps from behind a rock,. “You are the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come?” The Ghost points. “You are about to show me things that have not happened but will happen in the future: is that so, Spirit?” The Ghost nods. “Ghost of the Future, I…I know you are here to do me good, and as I hope to be another man from what I was, I am ready to accompany you. Won’t you speak?” There is no response.
Sim I sees the spirit before we do; we can see no more than that corpselike hand. Scrooge covers his eyes. “I am in the presence of the Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come?” He looks to the Spirit and nods, as if imitating the Spirit’s reply. He speaks the next two speeches, and then adds his complaint that he is too old now to change. “Wouldn’t it be better if I just went home to bed?” He shakes his head, again obviously duplicating the Spirit’s response.
March omits this scene.
Rathbone reappears in his room, the window and curtains closing behind him. The clock which was striking midnight a moment ago now strikes three. A robed figure with huge white gloves and a high peaked hood is suddenly with him. Scrooge speaks most of the written dialogue, noting “The night is nearly over, and it is precious time to me, I know.” The Ghost raises its sleeve and in the shadow of that we move quickly to the Cratchit home.
Magoo has been abandoned on a featureless plain. A shapeless red ooze resolves itself into a floating red cloak with red bony fingers. The Ghost replies only with nods to Scrooge’s first two speeches, but at the third nods and turns away.
Haddrick is told by the Ghost of Christmas Present, “You don’t seem to respond to kindness and generosity. So there are other ways.” Scrooge is naturally apprehensive about this, and asks questions, which are to be answered, he is told, by the next Ghost. “I pity you in his merciless hands, Ebenezer Scrooge.” “No, don’t leave me, kindly light! Don’t leave me! Oh no! Please! No!” Scrooge cowers to the floor; when he looks up, a translucent hooded form hovers before him. At his second speech, the Ghost nods; after the third, it points.
A tall hooded figure appears before Sim II; Scrooge kneels. At his first speech, a bony hand, way too long and thick a hand to be human, points. After the second, iot points again. “is that so, Spirit?” There is a nod. “Ghost of the Future! I fear you more than any Spectre I have seen, but as I know that your purpose is to do me good, lead on. Lead on, Spirit.” The hand moves into darkness.
Finney faces a hood in shadow. Scrooge drops to his knees and tries to peer into the hood as he delivers the speeches much as written.
Matthau finds himself weeping in his own armchair. B.A.H. Humbug asks, “What next?” A dark, hooded figure appears in front of the view of the clock tower, and simply points.
McDuck is surrounded by billows of fog, but we see in a moment this is really smoke from the stogie of a new Ghost. Scrooge is still standing in the footprints of the last Spirit, fretting about Tiny Tim. He finds himself looking up at a very well-fed Giant, which shows two eyes shining from under a hood. Realizing suddenly that he is leaning on a gravestone, Scrooge pulls back. “Are you the Ghost of Christmas Future?” Nod. “What will happen to Tiny Tim?” Point.
Scott finds a cloaked, hooded figure. “Are you the Spirit which Jacob Marley foretold would visit me?” The speeches follow as written, and the phantom slides toward him.
Fog billows at Caine as if on the attack; he runs from it to no avail. There is thunder. Towering over him is an abnormally shaped figure in a robe. “Am I in the presence of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come?” The whole upper torso inclines a little forward. “Spirit! I fear you more than any Spectre I have yet met!” Rizzo and Dickens agree, and excuse themselves, promising to return after this spooky bit is over. “I am prepared to follow and to learn, with a thankful heart. Will you not speak to me?” One hand comes to his shoulder; the other points.
Curry hears thunder; he is afraid, swallowing hard. “Speak to me, Spirit!” he calls to the Ghost of Christmas Present. He finds instead he is addressing a faceless spectre, tattered but noble. “Am I correct that you are the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come?” Nod. “Will you not speak to me? Is it you who will show me shadows of things that have not yet happened?” Nod. “Ghost of the Future, I fear you most of all. But if your goal is to do me good, then I hope to be a better person than before. Lead on.”
Stewart sees a very tall figure; two eyes are tiny lights far back in its hood. “You are the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.” Head, neck, and shoulders incline toward him. “You are about to show me the shadows of things which have not happened, but will happen in the time to come.” He speaks now in a hollow whisper. “I fear you more than any of the Spirits I have seen. Will you not speak?” The Ghost simply turns its hood away.
FUSS FUSS FUSS #16: The Look of Things To Come
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is a cipher: unspeaking (usually), faceless (for the most part), and devoid of expressions of its opinion (by and large). This Ghost has less to do than any of the rest: pointing and moving solemnly are nearly the whole of its act. Fark and ominous, generally with huge hands (Sim II’s Yet To Come has hands larger than Scrooge’s whole head, including nightcap), it is really less judgmental than any previous Ghost.
A lot of filmmakers will substitute atmospheric conditions for any emotion on the part of the Ghost. The Future is usually dark, its scenes taking place at night. Rainy nights are favored, allowing for thunder and lightning, particularly in the graveyard. Is there is fog in London at Christmas, it is to be found in these visions, and hardly ever in the others. McDuck’s future is awash with fog, while Matthau and March also have to push through it. Owen has high winds with his fog. Scott, Caine, Magoo, and Haddrick are surrounded merely by darkness.
On the other hand, Finney and Curry face normal weather, even cold crisp sunshiny winter mornings. The visions of the Ghost of Christmas On The Way will bring their own gloom, without reinforcement from the climate.
Blogsy Babbles 