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Ebenezer Scrooge () is the focal character of Charles Dickens' 1843 novella, ''A Christmas Carol''. At the beginning of the novella, Scrooge is a cold-hearted miser who despises Christmas. Dickens describes him thus: "The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, made his eyes red, his thin lips blue, and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice...". His last name has come into the English language as a byword for miserliness and misanthropy. The tale of his redemption by the three Ghosts of Christmas (Ghost of Christmas Past, Ghost of Christmas Present, and Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come) has become a defining tale of the Christmas holiday in the English-speaking world. Ebenezer Scrooge is arguably both one of the most famous characters created by Charles Dickens and in English literature. Scrooge's catchphrase, "Bah, humbug!" is often used to express disgust with many of the modern Christmas traditions. ==Origins== Several theories have been put forward as to where Dickens got inspiration for the character. * It has been suggested that he chose the name Ebenezer ("stone (of) help") to reflect the help given to Scrooge to change his life. * The surname may be from the now obscure English verb ''scrouge'', meaning "squeeze" or "press".〔(Scrouge at dictionary.com, 5 December 2012 )〕〔("Ebenezer Scrooge - The Meaning of the Name", 5 December 2012|name="NomMeaning" )〕 * One school of thought is that Dickens based Scrooge's views on the poor on those of demographer and political economist Thomas Malthus.〔Frank W. Elwell, (Reclaiming Malthus ), 2 November 2001, accessed 30 August 2013.〕 * Another is that the minor character Gabriel Grub from ''The Pickwick Papers'' was worked up into a more mature characterization (his name stemming from an infamous Dutch miser, Gabriel de Graaf).〔("Real-life Scrooge was Dutch gravedigger" ), 25 December 2007, archived from (the original ) 27 December 2007.〕〔("Fake Scrooge 'was Dutch gravedigger'" ), 26 December 2007,archived from (the original ) 6 December 2008.〕 * Jemmy Wood, owner of the Gloucester Old Bank and possibly Britain’s first millionaire, was nationally renowned for his stinginess, and may have been another. * The man whom Dickens eventually mentions in his letters〔''The Letters of Charles Dickens'' by Charles Dickens, Madeline House, Graham Storey, Margaret Brown, Kathleen Tillotson, & The British Academy (1999) Oxford University Press (to George Holsworth, 18 January 1865 ) pp.7.〕 and who strongly resembles the character portrayed by Dickens's illustrator, John Leech, was a noted British eccentric and miser named John Elwes (1714–1789). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ebenezer Scrooge」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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