In defense of Ebenezer Scrooge

Blazing Reader,

My son and I recently saw Rod Beattie (of Wingfield Farm fame) perform a one-man play based on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. His portrayal of Scrooge wasn't what we usually see. He didn't play him as grumpy and selfish, but rather meek and stoic.

After the play, I asked Beattie about his presentation of Ebenezer. He told me he didn't think Scrooge was greedy or egocentric. He was just a little too focused. He described Scrooge as a highly competent man who took great pride in his work and getting things done.

By coincidence, we've been listening to the audio book versions of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead (in both English and Spanish) where the character Howard Roark stated something similar:

"Before you can do things for people, you must be the kind of man who can get things done. But to get things done, you must love the doing, not the secondary consequences. The work, not the people. Your own action, not any possible object of your charity."

That sure sounds like Scrooge, doesn't it? Of course, Scrooge took this too far, but one could easily argue that most people are unbalanced in the other direction — sacrificing their own personal development and success under the guise of helping others.

— John C.A. Manley

PS For more on Rod Beattie's Wingfield Farm plays (available on DVD) check out my previous post: Dealing With Family Members Who Believe in the COVID-19 Narrative

John C. A. Manley is the author of Much Ado About Corona: A Dystopian Love Story, the forthcoming All The Humans Are Sleeping and other works of speculative fiction. Get free samples of his stories by becoming a Blazing Pine Cone email subscriber at: https://blazingpinecone.com/subscribe/