Jacob Marley

Jacob Marley is a fictional character who appears in the Charles Dickens novel, A Christmas Carol.

Related Topics:
Charles Dickens - Novel - A Christmas Carol

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Marley was the business partner of Ebenezer Scrooge. Earlier, both men had apprenticed in business and met as clerks (presumably in Accountancy) in another business. The firm of Scrooge and Marley was a nineteeth century financial institution, probably a countinghouse, as Scrooge refers to their offices as 'our money-changing hole'. They have become successful bankers, with seats on the London Stock Exchange; they are also stockholders and directors of at least one major association, but a vast amount of their wealth has been accumulated through usurious moneylending.

Related Topics:
Ebenezer Scrooge - Apprentice - Clerk - Accountancy - Nineteeth century - Financial institution - Countinghouse - Banker - London Stock Exchange - Stockholder - Director - Usurious - Moneylending

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Both Scrooge and Marley have evolved from idealistic, ambitious clerks into astute and driven businessmen for whom money and profit is an end in and of itself.

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Seven years prior to the main events of the novel, Marley contracted an unspecified illness and died on Christmas Eve. After his death, Marley's spirit was condenmed to walk the earth for all eternity. As puishment for his shutting out of his fellow man, Marley's ghost could observe, but not interact with, living beings. As an added burden, his spirit was forced to drag around a heavy chain. This chain, made up partly of money boxes, was constructed by Marley's own greed and selfishness.

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Over the next seven years, Marley came to realize how wrong he had been in life. He also saw that Scrooge, his only friend in the world, was following the same path. Marley was able to procure a chance to help Scrooge avoid this fate by arranging the visitations of the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future (just who or what Marley appealed to was never specified in the novel). Marley appeared to Scrooge and told him of the forthcoming visits by the three spirits of Christmas. These spirits, Marley told Scrooge, were the only chance Scrooge had for redemption.

Related Topics:
Ghost - Christmas

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Marley's gambit was successful. After the three visitations, Scrooge did amend his ways. The reader is left to imagine that even though Marley is condemned for eternity, his spirit can take some comfort in the knowledge that his friend will not share his fate.

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