Scrooge and Marley’s Counting-House
Atmosphere
Cold, bleak, and biting, filled with a dense, palpable brown fog that obscures neighboring houses into phantoms. The lighting is dim, relying on candles that appear as ruddy smears in the gloom. Scrooge maintains a low temperature, keeping only a very small fire in his room and a single-coal fire for his clerk.
Description
A warehouse located in a narrow court, identified by the name 'Scrooge and Marley' painted above the door. The interior consists of a main office for Scrooge and a dismal little cell, referred to as a 'tank,' where his clerk works. The structure is old enough to have chinks and keyholes that allow the exterior fog to pour inside.
Accessibility
Reached via a narrow court off a main street. It has an outer door for visitors and employees, though the dense fog and darkness of the court can make the entrance difficult to see.
Daily Operations
The firm operates as a counting-house and warehouse where Scrooge and his clerk engage in copying letters, bookkeeping, and financial transactions. It serves as a place of business for 'Scrooge and Marley,' though Marley has been dead for seven years.
Symbolic Elements
- •The 'tank': A dismal cell representing the confinement and dehumanization of the clerk.
- •The coal-box: Kept in Scrooge's room to symbolize his total control and withholding of warmth/humanity.
- •The unpainted name: The sign 'Scrooge and Marley' remains unchanged years after Marley's death, symbolizing Scrooge's stagnation and refusal to acknowledge the passage of time or loss.
Socioeconomic Standing
Reflects a miserly and utilitarian business environment. While Scrooge is 'rich enough,' the upkeep is minimal, characterized by extreme fuel rationing and a lack of comfort for employees.
Supernatural Manifestations
- •Jacob Marley's ghost describes the location as the narrow limits where his spirit never roved beyond in life.
- •The counting-house is described by the deceased Marley as a 'money-changing hole' where his spirit is now condemned to wander in memory.
Timeline
Christmas Eve Workday
Scrooge works in his counting-house while his clerk, Bob Cratchit, shivers in the 'tank'; Scrooge's nephew Fred visits to wish him a Merry Christmas.
Charity Solicitation
Two portly gentlemen enter the counting-house to seek donations for the poor, but Scrooge refuses them and sends them away.
Closing the Counting-House
Scrooge reluctantly allows his clerk to leave for the holiday and shuts up the counting-house for the night.
