A Christmas Carol

by

Charles Dickens

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on A Christmas Carol makes teaching easy.

Jacob Marley Character Analysis

Scrooge’s former business partner. Despite not being particularly missed by Scrooge, he was nevertheless the miser’s only friend, and is the figure that haunts and protects him by appearing in place of Scrooge's door knocker and introducing the three Christmas ghosts. He makes manifest the horror of regret with his burdensome chain and describes how he is doomed to wander the earth for eternity, a fate that Scrooge too will face unless he changes his ways.

Jacob Marley Quotes in A Christmas Carol

The A Christmas Carol quotes below are all either spoken by Jacob Marley or refer to Jacob Marley. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Past, Present and Future – The Threat of Time Theme Icon
).
Stave 1 Quotes

Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.

Related Characters: Jacob Marley
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 33
Explanation and Analysis:

'Business!' cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. 'Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!'

Related Characters: Jacob Marley (speaker), Ebenezer Scrooge
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 49
Explanation and Analysis:
Stave 5 Quotes

'I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future!' Scrooge repeated, as he scrambled out of bed. 'The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. Oh, Jacob Marley! Heaven, and the Christmas Time be praised for this! I say it on my knees, old Jacob, on my knees!'

Related Characters: Ebenezer Scrooge (speaker), Jacob Marley
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 111
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire A Christmas Carol LitChart as a printable PDF.
A Christmas Carol PDF

Jacob Marley Quotes in A Christmas Carol

The A Christmas Carol quotes below are all either spoken by Jacob Marley or refer to Jacob Marley. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Past, Present and Future – The Threat of Time Theme Icon
).
Stave 1 Quotes

Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.

Related Characters: Jacob Marley
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 33
Explanation and Analysis:

'Business!' cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. 'Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!'

Related Characters: Jacob Marley (speaker), Ebenezer Scrooge
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 49
Explanation and Analysis:
Stave 5 Quotes

'I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future!' Scrooge repeated, as he scrambled out of bed. 'The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. Oh, Jacob Marley! Heaven, and the Christmas Time be praised for this! I say it on my knees, old Jacob, on my knees!'

Related Characters: Ebenezer Scrooge (speaker), Jacob Marley
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 111
Explanation and Analysis: