Monday, July 22, 2019

What does the spirit of Christmas Yet to Come look like?

The Spirit of Christmas Yet-To-Come is quite a scary looking figure. With his dark, faceless hood and white, bony hands, he looks like the Grim Reaper who somehow lost his scythe. The Spirit's ghoulish demeanor is entirely appropriate given the grim fate awaiting Scrooge if he doesn't change his ways. The Spirit points the way with his bony finger, showing old Ebenezer what will happen in the wake of his lonely, unlamented death.
He may not show his face or say anything, but the Spirit of Christmas Yet-To-Come can still point Scrooge to the terrible future that lies in store for him; a future in which old Ebenezer's death is greeted with a mixture, of joy, relief, and dark humor. The Spirit's resemblance to the Grim Reaper is intentional as he is in some way related to death. But his lack of a scythe is crucial, because unlike the Grim Reaper, the Spirit isn't here to harvest souls; he hasn't come to take Scrooge to the next world, but to give him one last chance to change his ways.


When Scrooge sees the ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, he tells it in a quavering voice that he fears it more than any of the other phantoms he has encountered.
This is probably because of its eerie facelessness, representative of the unknown and the as-yet-unexperienced. The spirit appears wearing a deep black shroud like that of the Grim Reaper. The "shroud"—the word of course being suggestive of grave-clothes—covers every part of the spirit, including its head and face, and leaves only one outstretched hand uncovered. The spirit does not speak but only inclines its head (as far as Scrooge can discern) in response to questions. We know that its "dress" casts a significant shadow, because Scrooge follows the spirit in the shadow of its garment when they embark upon their journey. It is the silence of the specter that most terrifies Scrooge, who feels his legs "tremble under him" during the initial encounter.

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