Chapter 2

Detailed Summary
 Scrooge wakes up and finds it is still dark outside. For a moment he is
confused, thinking that day and night have merged.

o The chiming of a clock suggests he has slept through an entire day

and that it is midnight the following night.
o Scrooge is relieved that day and night are still separate, because their
merger would disrupt his ability to do business.

 Scrooge waits in suspense, and at one in the morning is relieved that no

specter has come.

 But then a small hand draws back his bed-curtains, and the first spirit
appears.

o This ghost is a small figure that looks both childlike and old,
simultaneously.
 It has light streaming from its head but holds a candle-snuffer

that it sometimes uses as a cap to cover the light.

 The spirit tells him it is the Ghost of Christmas Past.
 Scrooge feels uncomfortable in the ghost’s light and at first wants it to
leave.

o The ghost tells Scrooge it has come for his welfare.

 Scrooge replies that a good night’s sleep would be better for his welfare.

o The spirit responds that it has come for “your reclamation, then.”
 The Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge’s hand, and they pass through
the wall. They fly, and the city vanishes beneath them.
 To Scrooge’s amazement, they find themselves on a country road rather
than in London. Scrooge realizes they are near the school he attended as a
young boy.
o He sees some boys, his old school-fellows, leaving the school for the

holidays, and he tries to talk to them. They cannot see or hear him.
o The Ghost mentions that one boy remains behind, unable to go

home for Christmas.

 Scrooge weeps because he knows the boy referred to is his

past self.
 The Ghost leads Scrooge to the school. Inside, they see Scrooge’s past self
as a young boy reading.
o The older Scrooge weeps again for the loneliness of his younger self,

but then sees apparitions of characters from his childhood reading

appear. One of them is Ali Baba from the Arabian Nights, and
another the parrot from Robinson Crusoe.
o He realizes these fictional characters kept him company as a boy, and

is excited to see them, but still feels pity for his former self.
o This experience makes Scrooge think of the little boy who came to his

business place singing a carol the day before.

 Scrooge wishes he had given the boy some money.

 The Ghost of Christmas Past next shows Scrooge his past self at a slightly
older age. He is still at school, and it is another Christmas day.
o His younger sister Fan arrives.

 She is affectionate and excited to tell him he is allowed to

come home and not return to school.

 She says their father is much kinder than he used to be, and

has given his permission.

 The siblings sit with the schoolmaster for tea while Scrooge’s belongings
are loaded into a coach, and then he and Fan leave.
o The Ghost reminds the older Scrooge that his sister died but left

behind a son, the nephew who visited his office to wish him merry
Christmas.

 The Ghost of Christmas Past next shows Scrooge his past self as a young
man apprenticed at a warehouse.
o He sees his employer of that time, Fezziwig, as well as his fellow

apprentice, Dick Wilkins.

o Scrooge remembers them fondly, especially the kindly Fezziwig.

 He sees Fezziwig and the others, including his young self, closing the store
to decorate it for that night’s Christmas Eve party. The party begins and is
very merry and festive, with food, dancing, and music.
o Fezziwig dances an especially lively dance with his wife, Mrs.

Fezziwig.
o The older Scrooge enjoys watching the festivities.

 The Ghost points out that Fezziwig didn’t spend much money on the party,
but Scrooge replies that it was still no small thing that Fezziwig made his
employees and others happy.
o It was in Fezziwig’s power, Scrooge points out, to make them happy

or unhappy.
o This reminds him of his own employee, his clerk Bob Cratchit, and he

feels guilty for not treating Bob better.

 The scene shifts, and Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Past view yet
another Christmas from Scrooge’s past. In this one, his past self is an adult,
sitting next to a beautiful young woman, his fiance, Belle.
o She says that Scrooge has changed in the time since their

engagement, and that he is now more interested in money than in

her.
  Young Scrooge tries to convince her otherwise, but she breaks
off their engagement.
o Belle wishes Scrooge happiness in the life he has chosen. Then the

two young people part.

 The older Scrooge is so upset by this vision from his past that he begs the
Ghost to take him back home.
o However, the Ghost has one more vision to show him.

 The Ghost of Christmas Past brings Scrooge to his former

fiancé Belle’s house when she is an older woman. She has a happy home
and many children.
o One of her daughters is especially beautiful. Scrooge realizes he

could have had such a daughter if he’d married Belle.

 Belle’s husband comes home and tells her he has passed Scrooge’s window
and saw him.
o He mentions that Scrooge’s partner Marley is dying, and that Scrooge

is alone in the world.

 Scrooge can no longer bear to see these visions, and he turns in anger on
the Ghost of Christmas Past.
o He puts the candle-snuffer over its head to cover the light that comes

from it.
o The spirit seems to grow smaller so that it is completely covered by

the candle-snuffer, but still the light from it streams out from
underneath.
 Now back in his rooms, Scrooge gives up and goes to his bed, where he falls
asleep.