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Ebenezer Scrooge was correct in remaining a bachelor

posted 15 years ago by jeffyoung1
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I'm one of the few people who objectively believes Ebenezer Scrooge made the correct decision - even if not a happy one - to remain a bachelor. It was obvious that as a grown man Ebenezer was not the marrying type. People shouldn't marry if they know that they will not be proper, loving husbands, wives, fathers, or mothers. Can you imagine the unhappiness that Ebenezer would have inflicted upon Belle had he married her. Ebenezer turned into a anal prick as a grown man. It's okay to think about wealth in one's mind, but it was absolutely crass, tasteless, and tactless for Ebenezer to go around verbalizing the greed in his mind, "...money...wealth...that's all that counts in life...more money...more..." Nobody likes hearing a person going around talking incessantly about money, gold, silver, squeezing more money...in this respect, Ebenezer Scrooge is cartoonish. In modern society, even the most educated grasping of people understand it is socially unacceptable and absolutely gauche to talk unceasingly about personal wealth. You keep those thoughts to yourself.

Ebenezer showed his TRUE regard for Belle, by letting her go. Belle would go on to find true love and happiness with a man who loved her for what she was. We should be thanking Ebenezer for sparing Belle an unhappy marriage.

True, Ebenezer regrets his decision but only in old age after he has undergone his personality and moral transformation. Ebenezer is like so many of us who were 110% we made the right decision at the time. And nothing could have dissuaded us from deciding any different at the time. You have only one life to live and there is no going back into the past to change any decision.

[–] TheMagiciansWorkshop 14 years ago

It was Belle who let him go, not the other way around. She "released him with a full heart". She saw him and his changed nature, and knew that their relationship was doomed to failure. She just pointed out a few home truths to Scrooge. Reminding him she was a poor dour-less girl he wouldn't look twice at if they had never met then.

Scrooge jut had his eyes opened. Just like how the spirits opened his eyes to the folly of his ways.

[–] jeffyoung1 14 years ago

I don't disagree, just watch the scene again. Yes, Belle verbalizes, releasing Ebeneezer, but she slowly walks away and looks back sorrowfully at him, hoping he will reconsider and call her back to him, or go after him. But at that moment, young Ebeneezer is full of his own pride, arrogance (hidden insecurity about money, which probably many of us have, LOL), and quite possibly spinning the mental wheels in his head about the benefits of remaining single, no money wasted on a wife and family. In a split moment, Ebeneezer made up his mind that he was better off remaining a bachelor to focus all his energies on making money. Read my other post. I believe the death of his beloved sister Fran, sent Ebeneezer over the edge towards the hard-hearted ba$stard he would become. Had Fran lived, Ebeneezer would have still known how to love enough to hold on to Belle and not let her walk away. Foolish man. Yes, Ebeneezer redeemed himself at the end, but I can't put into words the tragic foolish loss of a possible love-filled marriage and loving children with Belle.