The Chimes: A Goblin Story

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Things get worse and worse for Meg, until she finds herself standing at the edge of the river, preparing to throw herself and her baby into the cold waters below. At that point, like Ebenezer Scrooge with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, Trotty begs the Spirits to relent, saying, “I know that we must trust and hope, and neither doubt ourselves, nor doubt the good in one another” (p. 106). And the manner in which the story resolves itself may seem somewhat familiar to readers of A Christmas Carol. The narrow space within which it was necessary to confine these Christmas Stories when they were originally published, rendered their construction a matter of some difficulty, and almost necessitated what is peculiar in their machinery. I could not attempt great elaboration of detail, in the working out of character within such limits. My chief purpose was, in a whimsical kind of masque which the good humour of the season justified, to awaken some loving and forbearing thoughts, never out of season in a Christian land."

Toby reflects frequently upon his poverty, as when, one hungry night, he thinks about how “There’s nothing…more regular in its coming round than dinner-time, and nothing less regular in its coming round than dinner” (p. 8). He even wonders if poor people like himself even have a place in the world, considering the way he hears the poor denounced in the newspapers of his time: Even though this tale was a dark one, it had so much to say about how we view those less fortunate than ourselves. So often we forget to view people who have fallen on hard times as just that: people. They are no different than us except in the fact that they have to struggle more to obtain less than we’ve been blessed with. And as I stated earlier, there was a happy ending, which I was thankful for; because even in the midst of darkness and pain, there should always be hope. Isn’t that the promise that a new year brings? After the heavy dinner, Trotty falls into a deep dream state, where ghosts appear to him, this is followed by a series of visions in which he is forced to watch, helpless to interfere with the troubled lives of Meg, Richard and other friends over the subsequent years. Upon waking up, Trotty is happy to realize it was only a dream and is ecstatic to celebrate the new year with his daughter, neighbors and friends. Trotty’s daughter is named Meg, and she is his sole consolation. Yet his love for Meg does not keep him from speculating: do poor people like him and his daughter have any place in the world, or any contribution to make? Or, he asks himself, are poor people like him and his daughter poor because of some innate moral failing?On New Year's Eve, Trotty, Meg and Richard have an encounter with some arrogant terrible men who are a higher social class than Trotty & co. These men make Trotty, Meg and Richard feel like they do not have a right to exist because they are so poor and a burden on society. Their words to Trotty and Meg just boiled my blood! I know there is a sea of Time to rise one day, before which all who wrong us or oppress us will be swept away like leaves. I see it, on the flow! I know that we must trust and hope, and neither doubt ourselves, nor doubt the good in one another."

A Visit from St. Nicholas" (also known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas", 1823) attributed to Clement Clarke MooreTrotty's "crime", he is told, is in not taking personal responsibility, in not having any inner convictions, and in losing confidence, faith in a higher power, and hope and determination that life would improve. He is reprimanded for his condemnation of people less fortunate than himself, offering them neither help nor pity. On his walk to Sir Joseph Bowley's house he had condemned a "cutpurse" (thief), and ignored the plight of a prostitute in the power of her pimp. He had read the account in a newspaper of a woman, driven from her home by poverty and misfortune, who had killed her child and herself. Trotty had seen this as final proof of the badness of the working class, and had cursed the woman as "unnatural and cruel". The goblins and spirits tell him that he has begun to emulate the behaviour of those such as Alderman Cute, He is also told to try to improve conditions in the here and now, not to sorrowfully remember a fictitiously "better" time in years past. The final words of The Chimes seem fitting So may the New Year be a happy one to you, happy to many more whose happiness depends on you! So may each year be happier than the last, and not the meanest of our brethren or sisterhood debarred their rightful share, in what our Great Creator formed them to enjoy. So may the New Year be a Happy one to You, Happy to many more whose Happiness depends on You! So may each Year be happier than the last, and not the meanest of our brethern or sisterhood debarred their rightful share, in what our Great Creator formed them to enjoy."

Trotty loves the church chimes and he and Meg feel the chimes have always been their constant friend.

CHAPTER III—Third Quarter.

At the end of the book, Trotty finds himself awakening at home as if from a dream as the bells ring in the New Year of the day Trotty originally climbed the tower. Meg and Richard have chosen to wed, and all of her friends have spontaneously chosen to provide a wedding feast and celebration. The author explicitly invites the reader to decide if this "awakening" is a dream-within-a-dream. The reader must choose between the harsh consequences of the behaviour of the upper classes in Trotty's vision, or the happiness of the wedding.

Upon returning to reality, Trotty realizes the importance of individual kindness and how a single act of goodwill can create a ripple effect, transforming the lives of others for the better. He is determined to bring positive change to society and becomes an advocate for the poor and oppressed.

CHAPTER II—The Second Quarter.

was, if it smelt like this,’ said Meg, cheerfully.‘Make haste, for there’s a hot potato besides, and All Genoa lay beneath him, and up from it, with some sudden set of the wind, came in one fell sound the clang and clash of all its steeples, pouring into his ears, again and again, in a tuneless, grating, discordant, jerking, hideous vibration that made his ideas "spin round and round till they lost themselves in a whirl of vexation and giddiness, and dropped down dead." [2]