25 November 2020: "Crucially, this conversion is not simply a reformation of character but a reimagining of how the self relates to others....Scrooge does not so much lose himself as revise the boundaries of his selfhood. Instead of a mode of enchantment that sees the reader as forgetting or losing track of him- or herself, we might think of enchantment as a method for self-opening. In suspending his suspicion, Scrooge undertakes a kind of enchantment that makes him permeable. Because he can read with enchantment, Scrooge is neither lost to himself nor nailed to himself. This particular mode of reading makes the self penetrable to influence and thus malleable, convertible, and, most importantly, recoverable." --Aubrey Plourde
I am preparing to lead a (virtual) discussion of A Christmas Carol in a few weeks and spent today reading about a text that has meant so much to me for most of my life. It's a bittersweet task in many ways, particularly given how different the holidays will be this year.
Plourde's article, quoted above, moved me when I read it. It's a lovely point she makes, compelling and quietly uplifting and hopeful.
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