In todays episode of The Female Stoic podcast we are discussing Humility in the novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The original publication date for Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is December 19, 1843. It was an instant success, with the first edition selling out by Christmas Eve. Like many of Dickens’ other works, it was written as a work of social commentary. Dickens had a lifelong devotion to helping the underserved due to his own family’s experiences with debtors prison, which forced him to drop out of school as a boy and work at a factory.
Dickens’ biographer Michael Slater said the author thought of A Christmas Carol as a way to, “help open the hearts of the prosperous and powerful towards the poor and powerless." And we could argue this is a stoic approach to that same sense of loss that he depicted Scrooge as having. But Dickens triumphs here, because as an author, is in alignment with his purpose. He is being proactive in his response to something as devastating as loss and poverty. He has used it to empower himself and educate others about social inequality in the 19th Century, rather than become embittered about it, like his protagonist Scrooge.
So, as we approach thanksgiving, we begin to think about Gratitude, and how it attracts a sense of humility.
And what better a seasonal masterpiece to refer to than A Christmas Carol which was written by Dickens over a period of just six weeks. What an achievement. What a commitment. And how is humility in real terms, and how is this beneficial for the lives we lead, today? Well, in metaphysical and spiritual belief systems, humility is considered a high-frequency emotion that vibrates at a higher level than negative or ego-driven emotions such as pride, anger, fear, guilt, or shame. And as stoics, we understand those emotional responses to external forces, are chaotic, fleeting and have little agency in the protection of our inner peace.
In a Christmas carol, we see Scrooge working and existing at ground level, as it were. We first see him in a dark and dank place - a Metaphorical pit. But as we travel back in time with the ghost of Christmas past, we come to see he is only here as a result of his ego driven emotional reactions to life events, and he wasn’t always languishing at this level. These reactions have manifested themselves in an insatiable greed for more, more more.
And you might say, well, is greed an emotion anyway?
And I would argue yes, greed is a complex emotional reaction that stems from a dissatisfaction with never having enough, which in this case is linked to Scrooge’s insecurity and fear over the vulnerability he experienced as a young boy, and his attempt to take control of that. And of course, he is now vibrating at a much lower level than gratitude because it is based on reactivity, and reactivity can only be negative because it relies on the energy of external forces to feed it. Any action which is based on reactivity, does not give us control of the situation. As stoics, we understand the only control we have, is over how we react. We have no control over the event itself. Allowing the walls of out inner citadel to crumble and let the external forces in, is not control. Far from it.
So here in this story, Scrooge has no walls of his inner citadel left. He is not protecting his inner peace at all. But Belle, his early love interest, has walls stacked high. She has a well defined sense of who she is, and she protects her virtue at all costs, because she understands she has control over that, and has no control over the choices Ebenezer makes.
As an former actress, I inhabited this character on stage a few years ago, and I must say, loved every minute of it!
Belle plays a pivotal role that deeply influences Ebenezer Scrooge’s transformative journey. She symbolises the life Scrooge might have embraced—a life filled with warmth, family, and meaningful human connection. The life of a less reactive man. A humble and happy life. And her character challenges us to consider what is truly valuable. That is why she is so important. She sets in motion the internal conflict that eventually leads to Scrooge’s redemption.
In A Christmas Carol, Belle embodies the voice of morality. And that is what Dickens is getting at here. In this way he is championing women. He is championing humility. And again with the two children with the Ghost of Christmas Present, who represent Ignorance and Want - two of humanity's greatest evils - Ignorance is represented as the masculine, and Want is represented by the feminine. This juxtaposes the two and in my opinion, highlights society's responsibility to acknowledge the humble and virtuous.
And of course, Belle's ultimate departure also highlights the cost of Scrooge’s choices, providing a clear contrast between a life rich in reaction and one marked by stoic virtue.
Now you might say, to feel deep pain and make choices as a result of that, is part of the human experience, isn’t it? And in order to live life authentically, that is what we must do. Not deny our emotions. And I say in response, of course. As stoics we do not lack compassion for those who have experienced such pain, or the extreme way they react to that pain. If we are hit, we will smart. Of course. If we are hit again, we will smart again. And then, over time, we will come to understand that being hit is part of life. And the only thing we can control, is how deeply over how long a period of time we allow ourselves to react to that.
In A Christmas Carol, Scrooge suffered the hit. He was unloved, poor and lonely. But his emotional response in not equal to the pain. It is in fact over exaggerated and unnecessarily prolonged. And as stoics we have the capacity to feel sorrow just as intensely. We know it will be disabling at times. We are not negating the poignancy of this. We are rationally perceiving the true implications of such experiences, and seeking to adopt appropriate, measured responses to avoid letting them overpower us. We choose proactivity over reactivity. Because otherwise we know there will be no end to the pain. No resolve, no peace, no ease.
As I have said so many times – this is war. Life, is war. And we must arm ourselves.
The beauty of Belle, is (pardon the pun) easy to underestimate - just a girl with a heart. But there is so much more to unpack here. She is a pretty facade that disguises an iron clad citadel. She is patience personified. She practises Stoic acceptance and a true understanding of the value of a virtuous life. She understands that her commitment to her inner virtue, her humility which steers her away from greed, and her stoic refusal to be blindsided into following the same path as the one she loves, mean she can live with herself. She can be at peace.
And that for me, is one of the loudest messages in this novella – humility. This is the understanding of one's place in the world, one’s purpose. And Belle's purpose in this novella is pivotal to the development of Scrooge, and the life he could have had if he had not been corrupted by greed and the ego. We, each of us has a part to play in the grand scheme of things. We are all important in so much as we are part of a bigger picture. A larger force. And if we are vibrating at the right level, if we are in alignment with our true purpose, we understand this and refuse to be drawn into reactivity which leads us away from this.
So, as we think about the power of humility, and how this relates to stoic philosophy, consider re-visiting my free tracks on insight timer meditation app – Christmas with dickens – A Christmas Carol
So to go back to stoic philosophy,
If we refuse to be humble, we are in danger of believing we already know the answers, and we are negating the value of our ability to focus on purpose over personal advancement. The key lesson here, is understand your significance and the impact you have. Yet, realise you are a very small cog in a very large wheel. So play your part well. And avoid underestimating the significance of the humble.
"It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows."epictetus
And we will end today with a quote from one of my favourite authors of all time – C S Lewis.
Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.
If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realise that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.2
And to conclude, I think its important to understand as humans we are multi-faceted. We may align with more than one purpose.
But A Christmas Carol teaches us, the true, most powerful, most significant purpose is to love and be compassionate to those closest to us, and practise a humble acceptance of our limitations in order to honour who we are, and what we can give to the world in acceptance of that.
Playing Belle in A Christmas Carol