In all of the different versions of A Christmas Carol that I have seen, I still cannot actually figure out what business Scrooge is in. He is quite wealthy, obviously, but what does his business do? He does not seem to sell any material goods; is he in banking or financial planning of some kind?
shareThere is much speculation around this topic, just Google and you will see there are varying ideas. My belief is that he was a money lender, a property owner and an investor.
Let's pray the human race never escapes Earth to spread its iniquity elsewhere. C.S Lewis
From this version, it is hard to say for sure--I honestly can't remember from the literature. It seems like he dabbles in different areas:
While conversing with Past, he mentions lending out the inheritance left by his father and using that to establish his wealth. (Loans)
He apprentices at Fezziwig's where he and "Richard" are handling the books (Accounting?)
We know that he frequently visits the exchange. He has a warehouse full of corn which he is looking to sell for bread manufacturing. He also states that he ships his product upon receiving the cash (Agriculture, Distribution, Entrepreneur/Owner, Trader)
My only guess is that his business is whatever nets him a profit worthy of his efforts.
"Simpsons did it! Simpsons did it!"
I gathered that Scrooge was a moneylender and a broker. A broker buys from primary sources (such as farmers) and acts as a middleman, selling the products at a profit to others such as distributors. That's a simplification but hopefully you get my gist.
shareHe's a commodities trader or merchant. He invests in a big quantity of perishable goods (corn is mentioned in the film) and resells it for a profit. He is shown going to the exchange where he would find buyers for his goods. His office is also called a "counting house" in the film.
shareScrooge's business is moneylending.This rubbish about selling corn etc is the scriptwriters attempt to hammer home what effect Scrooge's business has on other people. If he had read the book before he started writing he would have known there is already a nice little scene in there that hammers home the point very well when one of his customers has to bring home the news that he is dead.Their natural reaction is joy because they think they will get more time to pay but then they feel guilty about wishing someone dead.What a brilliant juxtaposition of emotions ! If we ever get a version that is willing to trust Dickens as a storyteller it will certainly be one to watch. This scene is rarely filmed but for the purposes of this thread Scrooge is defined as a 'merciless creditor' and talks of the transfer of their debt as a busines transaction. Well what else would be carried on in a counting house ?
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