Key learning points

1. Dickens uses Gothic conventions as a way to greater explore immoral behaviour in society.
2. Scrooge could be viewed as a typical Gothic protagonist: isolated and egotistical.
3. Scrooge can be said to be in a liminal state of his metamorphosis for much of the novella.
4. There are many examples of battles between good and evil (or moral and immoral) in the text.
5. The gothic genre gives Dickens a great backdrop within which to frame his message of social responsibility.

Keywords

• Egotistical - being self-centered and believing that the world revolves around you.

• Liminality - at a boundary or transitional point between two contrasting elements.

• Metamorphosis - the process of transformation from an immature form to a more responsible form in distinct stages.

• Convention - the way in which something is done - the common features of something.

• Transgressive - involving the violation of moral or social boundaries.

Common misconception