Ebenezer Scrooge

Ebenezer Scrooge
A Christmas Carol character
Scrooge (left) encounters "Jacob Marley's ghost"
Created by	Charles Dickens
Based on	Possibly John Elwes, Daniel Dancer, Jemmy Wood
Portrayed by	See below
Gender	Male
Occupation	Businessman[a]
Significant other	Belle (fiancée of Scrooge)
Relatives	Fan (late sister) Fred (nephew) Clara (niece-in-law)
Nationality	English (original)

Ebenezer Scrooge (/ˌɛbɪˈniːzər ˈskruːdʒ/) is a fictional character and the protagonist of Charles Dickens's 1843 short novel, A Christmas Carol. Initially a cold-hearted miser who despises Christmas, his redemption by three spirits (the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come) has become a defining tale of the Christmas holiday in the English-speaking world.

Dickens describes Scrooge thus early in the story: "The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice." Towards the end of the novella, the three spirits show Scrooge the errors of his ways, and he becomes a better, more generous man.

Scrooge's last name has entered the English language as a byword for greed and misanthropy, while his catchphrase, "Bah! Humbug!" is often used to express disgust with many modern Christmas traditions.

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