Stave 1 - Plot Summary

Stave 1 - Plot Summary
A miser, old Ebenezer Scrooge, sits in his office on a cold Christmas Eve. His clerk, Bob Cratchit, shivers because Scrooge refuses to spend money on coals for a fire. Scrooge's nephew, Fred, pays his uncle a visit and invites him to his annual Christmas party. Scrooge reacts with bitterness, spitting out an angry "Bah! Humbug!" in response to his nephew's "Merry Christmas!".
Two portly gentlemen also drop by and ask Scrooge to donate some money to their charity to help the poor in the festive season. He refuses, and asks the gentlemen if the prisons or workouses are still open and, if so, that the poor should be sent there.
Later that evening, after returning to his dark, cold house, Scrooge is visited by his old business partner, who died seven years ago that night: The Ghost of Jacob Marley. Marley's punishment for his greedy life is that his spirit is condemned to wander the Earth weighted down by heavy chains. Marley wishes to save Scrooge from sharing the same fate as he, so he informs him that three spirits will visit him during the next three nights. After that, Marley disappears and Scrooge falls into a deep sleep.

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