In this extract, the Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge Belle’s home.

They were in another scene and place; a room, not very large or handsome, but full of comfort.
Near to the winter fire sat a beautiful young girl, so like that last that Scrooge believed it was the
same, until he saw her, now a comely matron, sitting opposite her daughter. The noise in this
room was perfectly tumultuous, for there were more children there, than Scrooge in his agitated
state of mind could count; and, unlike the celebrated herd in the poem, they were not forty
children conducting themselves like one, but every child was conducting itself like forty. The
consequences were uproarious beyond belief; but no one seemed to care; on the contrary, the
mother and daughter laughed heartily, and enjoyed it very much; and the latter, soon beginning
to mingle in the sports, got pillaged by the young brigands most ruthlessly. What would I not
have given to one of them. Though I never could have been so rude, no, no! I wouldn't for the
wealth of all the world have crushed that braided hair, and torn it down; and for the precious little
shoe, I wouldn't have plucked it off, God bless my soul! to save my life. As to measuring her
waist in sport, as they did, bold young brood, I couldn't have done it; I should have expected my
arm to have grown round it for a punishment, and never come straight again. And yet I should
have dearly liked, I own, to have touched her lips; to have questioned her, that she might have
opened them; to have looked upon the lashes of her downcast eyes, and never raised a blush;
to have let loose waves of hair, an inch of which would be a keepsake beyond price: in short, I
should have liked, I do confess, to have had the lightest licence of a child, and yet to have been
man enough to know its value.

But now a knocking at the door was heard, and such a rush immediately ensued that she with
laughing face and plundered dress was borne towards it the centre of a flushed and boisterous
group, just in time to greet the father, who came home attended by a man laden with Christmas
toys and presents. Then the shouting and the struggling, and the onslaught that was made on
the defenceless porter. The scaling him with chairs for ladders to dive into his pockets, despoil
him of brown-paper parcels, hold on tight by his cravat, hug him round his neck, pommel his
back, and kick his legs in irrepressible affection. The shouts of wonder and delight with which
the development of every package was received. The terrible announcement that the baby had
been taken in the act of putting a doll's frying-pan into his mouth, and was more than suspected
of having swallowed a fictitious turkey, glued on a wooden platter. The immense relief of finding
this a false alarm. The joy, and gratitude, and ecstasy. They are all indescribable alike. It is
enough that by degrees the children and their emotions got out of the parlour, and by one stair
at a time, up to the top of the house; where they went to bed, and so subsided.

And now Scrooge looked on more attentively than ever, when the master of the house, having
his daughter leaning fondly on him, sat down with her and her mother at his own fireside; and
when he thought that such another creature, quite as graceful and as full of promise, might have
called him father, and been a springtime in the haggard winter of his life, his sight grew very dim
indeed.
How does Dickens present the theme of regret?

A christmas carol is a 19th century novela which highlights the cruel and evil antics set out upon
the poor and destitute,however it also shows the embarkment of a journey in which shows the
character of scrooge who is a cold hearted ,reckless and greedy person and desires to put
money before anything else, even if it means the devastation of the poor in the victorian
society.This is something Dickens frowned upon was unfair as he had experienced these
harshful experiences which ultimately lead to his own personal welfare being damaged because
he was unable to spend quality time with his family and be happy because he had to work in the
poor houses; due to different classes being segregated and treated differently with child labour
and unable to gain access to basic necessities or education .This is something Dickens blamed
on the wealthy and in order for change people like scrooge must change by becoming more
charitable to ensure that others arent mistreated in the way that he was and society being more
civillised were being in a different class doesnt determine your future.Throughout the novella
Dickens focuses on family values,a lesson of responsibility, how to be more aware of being
aulterastic and charitable, rather than selfish .Scrooges realisation and regret through the
supernatural of revisiting his past, reviewing his present and changing his future through a
journey of self discovery and redemption all built around the festive christmas period as this is a
time that western christian families come together.

When the ghost of christmas past takes Scrooge back to visit Belles home to show him the
importance of family values and what he thrown away for the sake of his wealth.Scrooge can
now see Belle in her glory with her family by her side ,which almost makes scrooge appear to
be quite jealous as his cold heart hasn't had a glimpse of any kind of love or father daughter
relationship” They were in another scene and place; a room, not very large or handsome, but
full of comfort. Near to the winter fire sat a beautiful young girl, so like that last that Scrooge
believed it was the same, until he saw her, now a comely matron, sitting opposite her daughter”,
this depicts an image of a warm,cosy family home environment in contrast to Scrooge's
miserable ,isolated and dark office which reflects his inner being until this point. The fact that
Dickens states that the room was not “ very large or handsome” indicates that Belle’s home is
not lavish or shows any kind of wealth financially and she is just as poor as she was when
Scrooge and her both met, however what it does depict is that wealth is not seen financially or
through material things like Scrooge believes; it is the importance of family and just like the
Cratchits, Belle is much more wealthy than Scrooge will ever be. The phrase “full of comfort”
which conveys Scrooge has started to realise the cold and lonely life he's been living and what
he gave up for a life of wealth was priceless. Furthermore the image of Belle sat “opposite her
daughter” would ridicule Scrooge with regret as he is directly looking at what could have been
his warm and family oriented life, but instead he is witnessing something he may never
experience, which is sad as he chose money over this. At this point the reader is able to depict
that Scrooge is beginning to show emotion as his overwhelming longing to get back what he lost
shows how regretful he is; which immediately gives us hope for Scrooge, that this moment could
ultimately change his future .
As Scrooge admires Belle from a distance his hard exterior begins to break and his soft inner
emotions start to appear “i own, to have touched her lips”this depicts an image that Scrooge is
an emotional wreck and his repentance on the realisation that he needs a sense of love and
compassion in his life, which criticises Scrooge's view that Money is the only thing he needs
where he has now discover the priceless feeling of family.The use of the personal pronoun “I”
linked with the adjective “own” emphasises his possessiveness and his ownership of something
very fond and dear to his heart which is Belle.The adjective “touch” overwhelms Scrooge with a
feeling of gratitude but also of sadness as hes lost that right and ability which seems to be
sending him a little bit crazy. The reader is witnessing redemption unfold as the more he realises
the more he feels and the more he feels the more human he is becoming. As a reader we are
now able to comprehend Scrooge's reason for his unlawful behaviour as the emptiness ,that
darkness has now developed into lightness as he is admitting warmth,compassion and empathy
which would make the reader feel sympathetic towards him and root for his redemption.Dickens
is sending the message to both Scrooge and the reader that money is the root of all evil and
that family values are the most important and as Scrooge is changing the reader is also too.

Moreover,up until this point in the novella Scrooge has seen no wrong in his behaviour, however
by going back into the past and revealing his love for Belle has evoked feelings and memories
which has almost unnerved him and for the first time we see him admit his fear “i do confess,to
have had the lightest licence of a child and yet to have been man enough to know its value”
which conveys Scrooges addiction to money never actually satisfied him and he is beginning to
feel ashamed and embarrassed by his cold hearted,self centred behavior.The verb “confess” is
the first time we see Scrooge admit his egocentric behaviour, where he has had no
consideration for anyone else but himself .His self declaration is his own self acknowledgement
that his reluctance to show compassion,give to charity or show any form of concern for anyone
else other than himself now has dawned on him making him feel humiliated.The phrase “lightest
licence” indicates that he wishes he had the hindsight with the wisdom he has as an adult he
could appreciated the importance of his carelessness in his life.Dickens wants the wealthy to
realise the lesson of responsibility through the eyes of scrooge as he believed that the only way
that child labour could be abolished ,working class lives can be improved is for the wealthy to
take responsibility for them,to give,to be charitable,to be accountable,to improve the issue of
poverty.Dickens believes there shouldnt have been an upperclass and a poor class and
everyone should be treated equally and fairly and in this moment of the novella the memorable
change in scrooge shows his commitment to change and as a reader we feel this is a
revolutionary moment as he starts to eradicate his sinful behavior ,he starts tp gain possession
of positive morals and values clearing him of the animosity he has caused upon himself and to
redeem himself to fit society’s needs and values.

Finally,a transformation has occurred as we see Scrooge give his ultimate attention whilst
thoughtfully and courageously admiring Belle “now scrooge looked on more attentively than
ever”which implies that he has now developed a more mindful and observant characteristic ,the
adjective “attentively” shows his kind and warm hearted thoughtfulness giving his full attention
as he is watching and listening carefully with gratitude and pride .This could imply that Scrooge
is now on the road to recovery and as a reader we are rooting for him as the more he develops
and the more compassion he shows he starts to become a likeable character.This is a turning
point in the story as the plot thickens its the supernatural ghosts that inflict upon him his past
and his future that if he does not acknowledge his need for change then his fate will destroy him
as he will die a miserable lonely life.