The narrator provides a
lengthy description of
the Ghost of Christmas Present in the third stave (or chapter) of the
novel.
It wears a "deep green robe," and the walls are all hung with "living
green"
as well, and the green color as well as the description of the evergreen
decorations
seem to connect him both to nature as well as to Jesus Christ,
through the symbolism of the
evergreen (that never dies). Similarly, on his
head, he wears a "holly wreath" that
can be interpreted similarly: it is made
of evergreen, which never dies, and is a circle, which
never ends (like the
life of Jesus, whose birth Christmas celebrates).
The
spirit's "breast was bare, and his feet are as well, which seems to signify that he
has
nothing to hide and that he has no need of protection from the world. He
has "dark brown
curls" that are "long and free," apparently symbolizing his
unconstrained nature.
Further, he has an "open hand" that signifies his
generosity of spirit; consider the
torch he carries from which he sprinkles a
kind of dust that makes people feel happy and
fulfilled. He wears an "antique
scabbard" and a rusty "ancient sheath," but
no sword. These symbolize his
peaceful nature; he has no need of weapons.
Consider,
later, when he tells Scrooge that people do bad or violent things in God's
name all the time but that they do those things of their own accord and that God does
not ever
love violence. In short, the spirit is not God, but he seems to be
God's representative,
connected as he is to the idea of immortality (though
he, himself, is not immortal), to
generosity, and to
peace.
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