I chose to participate in the Dickens Challenge this year, hosted by Marsha, Trent and Yvette. While I still have some time left before the challenge ends on the anniversary of Charles Dickens’ death (June 9th) I am running late, so I decided to mention two of the novellas I’ve read (I’m still reading “A Christmas Carol”) for this monthly feature.
The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain
When I started reading this novella, I didn’t know it was a Christmas story, and I didn’t know Dickens had written five Christmas stories. I was proud of myself for knowing that he had written one.
This novella brings the reader through a bargain, from the point of wishing it could happen, to the point of despair that it had happened and following the hope that it can be reversed, but not really understanding why.
Professor Redlaw, is a chemistry professor and a man who appears to be a man of means, with servants to whom we are introduced. Redlaw obsesses with his past, and the wrongs he perceives have been done to him. The memories haunt him. He encounters a spirit who offers to help him by eliminating his memory. Redlaw agrees. His memories are eliminated, and he is given the power to pass this “gift” to others, but not a great measure of control over that process.
We learn, along with the professor, that the gift he now possesses is more of a curse. We learn how important memories, even bad memories, are.
May I tell you why it seems to me a good thing for us, to remember wrong that has been done us?”
“Yes.”
“That we may forgive it.”
Charles Dickens
The novella got off to a slow start. Dickens can be hard to read when there isn’t some action dragging you through the language. But, typical of his other stories I’ve read, once the story picked up some steam, it was hard to put down.
The Cricket on the Hearth – A Fairy Tale of Home
This is another of Dickens’ Christmas stories and it’s the first one I read, although I am familiar with A Christmas Carol as most people are. The Cricket on the Hearth is also a bit of a mystery, a romance and the cricket adds a slightly paranormal element to the story, as he chirps when things are going well, but remains silent when they are not.
The story met with great success when originally published, but apparently has fallen out of favor in modern times. From what I’ve read, that may be due to some unfortunate attempts to bring the story to life in video form. It may also be because people expect stories, like everything else in their lives, to move faster now.
Some people complain about the descriptions Dickens gives of the characters and the house, but I found them delightful. Early in the story, the descriptions are of sounds, and you can’t help but hear them in your mind. His descriptions of characters are equally charming.
“She was of a spare and straight shape, this young lady, insomuch that her garments appeared to be in constant danger of sliding off those sharp pegs, her shoulders, on which they were loosely hung.”
Charles Dickens
The story presents a few twists and turns, and I shared the doubt with some of the characters. In the end, a feeling of redemption saves the day, and a transformation not unlike that found at the end of A Christmas Carol.
In both books, Dickens demonstrates an ability of which I am jealous. He repeats descriptions for emphasis. He dwells on these descriptions. If I tried doing that, my readers would toss my story on the floor. Dickens does it in a way that captivates. I enjoyed both novellas and I enjoyed the challenge.
And just a few photos.
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