“Mr. Scrooge!” said Bob; “I’ll give you Mr. Scrooge, the Founder of the Feast!”
“The Founder of the Feast indeed!” cried Mrs. Cratchit, reddening. “I wish I had him here. I’d give him a piece of my mind to feast upon, and I hope he’d have a good appetite for it.”
“My dear,” said Bob, “the children! Christmas Day.”
“It should be Christmas Day, I am sure,” said she, “on which one drinks the health of such an odious, stingy, hard, unfeeling man as Mr. Scrooge. You know he is, Robert! Nobody knows it better than you do, poor fellow!”
“My dear,” was Bob’s mild answer, “Christmas Day.”
“I’ll drink his health for your sake and the Day’s,” said Mrs. Cratchit, “not for his. Long life to him! A merry Christmas and a happy new year! He’ll be very merry and very happy, I have no doubt!”
The children drank the toast after her. It was the first of their proceedings which had no heartiness. Tiny Tim drank it last of all, but he didn’t care twopence for it. Scrooge was the Ogre of the family. The mention of his name cast a dark shadow on the party, which was not dispelled for full five minutes.
After it had passed away, they were ten times merrier than before, from the mere relief of Scrooge the Baleful being done with.
Excerpt from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
You may remember that last December I wrote an article on Bob Cratchit.
This year I would like to draw your attention to Mrs. Emily Cratchit. She only has a few lines in the story but when she speaks, she is very powerful. Even in Dickens’ time I would consider her a “Boss”. She loves her husband and family with all of her heart. It is obvious in how she makes Bob Cratchit’s meager wage stretch over the many years he has worked for Scrooge but never sacrifices her ability to nurture and love her family.
She doesn’t suffer fools. I love that she is not afraid of Scrooge and would tell him about himself if she had the opportunity. How it must have pained her to see her husband working for a man who didn’t appreciate him or even like him and knowing that Scrooge probably took pleasure out of the pain he caused to her husband and her entire family. How it must have been so hurtful for her, to see other people around her and that their lives were so much better, not for them being any better or smarter than her family, but because their breadwinner’s employer was fair, unlike Scrooge.
However, in the end no matter how hard it was she made the toast to “the founder of the feast”, not because she cared about Scrooge but because she respected her husband even though they knew full well their lives were hard only because of Scrooge.
I love that after the moment passed, they were ten times as merry. This is also a great attribute to Mrs. Cratchit. She had her moment and let it go.
Remember the Cratchit family and that they didn’t let Scrooge ruin the only time of the year they can really enjoy their family, Christmas Day. Life may be hard but your attitude towards it can make all the difference.
Merry Christmas! God bless us! Everyone!
