“Mankind Was My Business!”

A holiday trivia question: Which fictional character said, “Mankind was my business”? Perhaps you’ve guessed it. In case you aren’t sure, this line comes from Charles Dickens’ 1843 classic, A Christmas Carol. The ghost of Jacob Marley, Scrooge’s business partner who had passed away on Christmas Eve seven years earlier, appears and laments the selfishness he displayed during his lifetime.

Many versions of A Christmas Carol float around the entertainment airwaves each holiday season. The main character, Ebenezer Scrooge transforms from a “grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner” into a benevolent, generous, kindly gentleman. In witnessing his epiphany, readers and viewers have a chance to examine their own character and their own approach to Christmas. Thus, Charles Dickens’ story touches on the spirituality of Christmas and promotes Christian charity.

The Context of Marley’s Statement

The context for Marley’s meaningful statement runs like this: Marley appears in chains, moaning in deep sorrow. When he expresses contrition for the sins of his lifetime, Scrooge protests, “But you were always a good man of business, Jacob.”

Marley’s reply bursts out, “Business! Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business.”

A Christmas Setting

Dickens’ choice of Christmastime as the setting of his story is, of course, deliberate and purposeful. Marley says, “At this time of year I suffer most.” Although Christmas was celebrated only as a one-day holiday in Dickens’ time, it was a day to recall the Incarnation, when the Son of God emptied himself to live among men. The example of humility and selflessness set by our Savior stands in sharp contrast to the ambition and greed displayed by Marley and Scrooge. In fact, one may apply the lesson to many businesspeople of Victorian England and to all earthly times and places.

Natural Compassion

Despite the Christian themes in A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens was not known as an especially religious man. Like most Victorian children, Dickens was raised in the Christian faith. This is clear in his “Preface” to an early publication of the work, in which he expresses his purpose as “to awaken some loving and forbearing thoughts, never out of season in a Christian land” (Dickens). However, his attitude toward religion was marred by excessive fire and brimstone teaching in his early childhood, and his attachment to church seems to have been lukewarm at best.

Despite this, Dickens was passionate in his concern for the poor, the imprisoned, and children in difficult circumstances. He donated philanthropically, paid for education for poor families’ children, sent money to prisons to alleviate suffering in those institutions, and was on the list of regular almsgivers. A faulty introduction to religion did not impede the natural compassion with which the Lord had blessed him.

Promoting Social Welfare

That compassion permeated his writing. Having suffered financial hardship during his childhood, Dickens used his writing as a commentary on social injustice in England. In addition to his fiction, he was a gifted reporter, and for a short time edited a newspaper to promote social welfare.

Dickens’ works raised public awareness of the hopeless plight of the poor in Victorian England. During Dickens’ lifetime, schools for middle and lower classes were called Dame Schools or Ragged Schools. They charged tuition and were sometimes taught by poorly educated women. Even if they had been free of charge, poor families opted to send their children to factories instead of school, as they needed the money their working children brought in. Prisoners slept in crowded spaces, and had to pay for their clothes, bedding, and food. The infamous Corn Laws required tariffs that benefited wealthy landowners but made a loaf of bread unaffordable for a poor family. When they were overcome with debt, individuals and entire families could be sent to debtors’ prison until their bills were paid. This created an aura of hopelessness as the poor and destitute had little substantial recourse.

Influence of Dickens’ Writing

In the decades following Dickens’ lifetime, Victorian England saw improvements in the causes for which Dickens fought. Laws were passed that provided for free schooling and mandatory education for children. The Corn Laws were repealed. Non-government sources of charity increased, as individuals made donations to philanthropic organizations assisting the poor and orphaned. The influence traveled abroad, as Dickens had during his many publicity tours. One American businessman is said to have closed his factory on Christmas Day after hearing a public reading of A Christmas Carol.

One can only speculate as to how great Dickens’ influence was on prevailing attitudes in his time. If the popularity of his works is any indicator, one may conclude that Dickens’ influence was profound. To use A Christmas Carol as an example, its first edition sold out just five days after publication, on Christmas Eve.

Seeds of the Word

Marley’s statement, “Mankind was my business,” summarizes the theme of social responsibility in A Christmas Carol, and provides an example of what Bishop Robert Barron calls “seeds of the word”. Bishop Barron points out the evidence of God seen in our culture’s literature, film, and music. People’s deep-seated faith and charity appear in their creative works, sometimes unconsciously. Whatever the secular wrappings and trappings of movies, books, and music, one can often find inspiration for Christian charity, hope, and other virtues in these works of the culture.

This is because of the benevolence of God, of course. Each human has a divine spark, the imprint of God in us. This goodness within calls each person to serve. This call, this mission, is part of the universal call to holiness. We follow the examples of the Son of God who was sent to live among men, and the Holy Spirit who was sent to guide the Church until the end of time.

Love is a mission. It goes out to others. Mankind is our business.

Works Cited and Consulted

Ackroyd, Peter. Dickens. New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 1990.

Barron, Robert. Seeds of the Word: Finding God in the Culture. Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, 2017.

Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol. Clinton, Massachusetts, The Colonial Press, Inc.