The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain

This (the last of Dickens' five Christmas novellas) is also the longest and densest of the bunch, and has a return to a focus on the Christmas spirit, morality, and redemption that echo back to the best known of the bunch, A Christmas Carol. Redlaw is a lonely and sad Chemistry teacher at a lonely and sad old college tucked into the city of London. Many years ago his best friend betrayed him by marrying Redlaw's fiancée instead of Redlaw's beloved sister, as he had planned. Redlaw's sister ended up dying young and Redlaw has nursed his hurt and anger at his former friend for years. On this cold and dark Christmas eve, a phantom (who looks a lot like the haunted Redlaw) appears to him and offers to make him forget all his sorrows and show more wrongs. As a twist, he will also bestow this same "gift" upon anyone he encounters. Redlaw agrees but, as you might expect, soon comes to regret his decision.

Like many of these novellas, the real fun of the story is in the characters that orbit around our protagonist. In this case, we have the family of servants that keep the college and take care of the on-site faculty, as well as a large and poor but happy family who are boarding a sick student of Redlaw's. There is a lot of humor and love in the description of these characters and a willingness to sink into descriptive reveries that probably have something to do with this being the longest of the novellas. The pacing and flow on this one is a little... odd, which makes it sometimes difficult to follow the thrust of the story or get one's mind around the more philosophical parts of the text, but a little patience is well-rewarded. There is a semi-happy ending to this one, but even in that semi-happiness, this is a pretty dark tale.

It also includes one of the best and most semi-colon-laden location descriptions ever, in this paragraph about the old college where Redlaw lives and works. If this kind of writing is your jam, then add this one to your list: "His dwelling was so solitary and vault-like,—an old, retired part of an ancient endowment for students, once a brave edifice, planted in an open place, but now the obsolete whim of forgotten architects; smoke-age-and-weather-darkened, squeezed on every side by the overgrowing of the great city, and choked, like an old well, with stones and bricks; its small quadrangles, lying down in very pits formed by the streets and buildings, which, in course of time, had been constructed above its heavy chimney stalks; its old trees, insulted by the neighbouring smoke, which deigned to droop so low when it was very feeble and the weather very moody; its grass-plots, struggling with the mildewed earth to be grass, or to win any show of compromise; its silent pavements, unaccustomed to the tread of feet, and even to the observation of eyes, except when a stray face looked down from the upper world, wondering what nook it was; its sun-dial in a little bricked-up corner, where no sun had straggled for a hundred years, but where, in compensation for the sun’s neglect, the snow would lie for weeks when it lay nowhere else, and the black east wind would spin like a huge humming-top, when in all other places it was silent and still." show less

Chemistry teacher Redlaw continually bemoans everything about his life. When his phantom self offers to remove all his “sorrow, wrong, and trouble,” he accepts, along with the gift of removing those memories from others. Off he goes to share his gift with his down-and-out student. Quickly he learns this “gift” helps no one and makes life far worse. Yet he can’t help but “sharing” the gift in the presence of those close to him. Finally he begs The ghost to take back the gift, who says it cannot be taken back. But miracles do happen, and Redlaw learns that bitter memories make happiness all the sweeter. Reminiscent of Scrooge, this is a shorter story without as much sentiment but with Dickens’ gorgeous descriptions of show more people and places. show less

This was the fifth and final of Dickens's Christmas books, published in December 1848. This is quite a long one, divided into three long chapters. The plot centres around a chemistry teacher Redlaw, who is bowed down by sorrow, wrongs and troubles from his youth. He makes a bargain with a phantom, who is his darker alter ego, to get rid of these negative feelings, but without losing the knowledge and experience they created. In return though he must pass the "gift" on to others. The results are terrible: without being able to feel the negative emotions people become hard and cynical, they turn against each other, husband and wife, parents and children, father and sons. Redlaw realises he is "turning into stone" and giving rise to a tail show more of "selfishness and ingratitude". He inveighs on the phantom to "come back, and haunt me day and night, but take this gift away! Or, if must still rest with me, deprive me of the dreadful power of giving it to others .. [and]...restore the day to those whom I have cursed". Eventually the phantom points indirectly to a solution through the loving and kind Milly. Another key character is an unnamed wretchedly poor boy, who is unaffected by Redlaw's curse, as he has had no emotional feelings in his life anyway and only an atavistic will to exist. There are some wonderful other characters as well whom I loved, especially the Tetterbys and the 87 year old Philip, Milly's father in law. All in all I loved this story, which shows redemption through accepting past negative thoughts and emotions and not trying to pretend they have never existed. It's not as colourful or full of stark imagery or symbolism as A Christmas Carol, but is almost as good in many ways and should be better known today than it is. show less

The fifth and final of Dickens' Christmas Books and the one I thought was most like A Christmas Carol in quality and in its themes.

Mr Redlaw has had many sorrows in his life although he is known as a generous man if gloomy and solitary. He is thinking of his sorrows one Christmas when he is visited by a ghost or spirit which offers him the gift of forgetting all the wrongs and sorrows which weigh on him so heavily.

"I bear within me a Sorrow and a Wrong. Thus I prey upon myself. Thus, memory is my curse; and, if I could forget my sorrow and my wrong, I would!"

Believing that he would be happier without this remembrance, Redlaw agrees and the spirit takes these memories from him but also leaves him with the gift of passing this show more forgetfulness on to all others that he meets. Dickens uses this gift of forgetfulness powerfully among the strong cast of characters he has included in this novella to teach that it is the memory of our sorrows and sufferings that is the source of our compassion and enables us to forgive others and that without suffering, there can be no true joy.

A very powerful story. show less

In The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain, the last of Dickens’ Christmas novellas, Dr. Redlaw is haunted by his past; he constantly dwells on the sorrows, wrongs, and pains that others have given him. One Christmas, a ghost visits him with a gift: Redlaw’s own memories of his sorrows will be taken from him. Further, any one he touches in the coming day will likewise be unburdened by their horrible and painful memories.

Redlaw is pleased with this gift and sets out to find the poor and suffering people who he can relieve of their sorrow. But he finds that without their sorrows, people, he included, are left cold and unfeeling: people stop being charitable to each other in conversation and treatment. He seeks for a remedy to this show more “gift,” but the ghost is unable to give Redlaw his memories again. Only the influence of a saintly woman can restore happiness to the individuals Redlaw has touched.

I loved some of the characters in this story, especially the Tetterby family, which was delightful. The story was somewhat sad told through Redlaw’s perspective, and his story wasn’t neatly solved in the end as does A Christmas Carol, but it still was a worthwhile and meaningful story.

More reviews of Dickens Christmas novellas on my blog show less

So much better than The Chimes!
A bit confused we were at times but thanks ,as often is the case to the brilliant reviews on here we were straightened out..
Lots of good character sketches in this one, the big family in particular offers one some light hearted moments whole there are deeply affecting bits also.
If you are missing someone who has died some parts will be particularly empathetic...

3.5