Fred

I read A Christmas Carol every year.

"Marley's Ghost", original illustration by John Leech from the 1843 edition
Found on Wikipedia

That's not entirely accurate. The last few years I've listened to it; Audible has a lovely version read by Tim Curry. This means that my brain does it's association thing and I get to picture the story as read by Long John Silver, because why not?

The bottom line is that this year I listened to it over the course of a few commutes (by the by, I have a job in Spearfish these days, and what do you mean I don't write often enough here to keep you up to date? I know, I know...) and this year, for no clear reason, I found myself wondering so much more about Fred.

For those who don't remember the story, Fred is Scrooge's nephew. We only learn a few things about Fred -- he is the son of Scrooge's only sister and his only living kin, he's not particularly rich or well off, and he is unendingly kind. We don't know his age, last name, his past relationship with Scrooge, or really anything else.

When we first meet him, he appears in Scrooge's office to invite him to dinner. Pre-ghost-Scrooge scorns the invitation and calls him a fool and he makes his exit. The end.

Sort of. Later, while Scrooge is hanging out with the Ghost of Christmas Present, they stop in at Fred's place. And this is where my brain took a turn this year.

Fred appears to be well-off, or at least enough that the building isn't remarked upon and there's no word of things being particularly shabby or run down. Dickens is excessively clear about that with the Cratchits, so it's worth mentioning; moreover, Scrooge called him poor in the first encounter but for a man worth millions, anyone middle class looks poor. Fred as a house full of friends over for dinner and when Scrooge and GoCP appear, he's telling the story of how he'd invited his uncle and how said uncle responded.

He's not insulted. He pities the man that kicked him out and says he'll be back every year to give him the chance to join in. It's that simple -- he's going to enjoy himself, and he'll give Scrooge the chance to do so as well.

Later, when the Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come is terrorizing Scrooge, we hear from Bob. Tiny Tim has died and he came across Fred somewhere in town, who offered his condolences and assistance despite barely knowing the family.

The movie versions (even my own beloved Muppets) tend to minimize an already minimal character; Fred is portrayed as a bit of a goof-off who makes fun of his uncle but not much more. In the book his kindness is on display and all I can think this year is, "Gosh, I'd love a sequel story about Fred's life."

Or maybe I just want to know more Freds in my own life. I suppose the real moral here is to be more like Fred so that you can have more Freds around you.