Mr. Fezziwig is a character from the 1843 novella ''
A Christmas Carol
''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...
'' created by
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
to provide contrast with
Ebenezer Scrooge
Ebenezer Scrooge () is the protagonist of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol''. At the beginning of the novella, Scrooge is a cold-hearted miser who despises Christmas. The tale of his redemption by three spirits (the Ghost of ...
's attitudes towards
business ethics
Business ethics (also known as Corporate Ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics, that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business co ...
. Scrooge apprenticed under Fezziwig. Despite this, the older Scrooge seems to be the very antithesis of Mr. Fezziwig in appearance, actions, and characterization. Mr. Fezziwig is portrayed as a jovial, anachronistic man with a large
Welsh Wig
The Welsh Wig or Welch Wig was a knitted woollen cap popular in the 19th century. A simple round cap, the Welsh Wig had a distinctive long back of soft wool to keep the neck warm, which often approximated the appearance of long curly hair.
Histor ...
.
In Stave 2 of ''A Christmas Carol'', the
Ghost of Christmas Past
The Ghost of Christmas Past is a fictional character in Charles Dickens' 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol''. The Ghost is one of three spirits which appear to miser Ebenezer Scrooge to offer him a chance of redemption.
Following a visit from ...
takes Scrooge to revisit his youthful days in Fezziwig's world located at the cusp of the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
. Dickens used Fezziwig to represent a set of communal values and a way of life which was quickly being swept away in the economic turmoil of the early nineteenth century.
Character
Scrooge, who is a very mean person and does not care about anything but himself and money, diverged greatly from the character of the people under whom he apprenticed and once admired. Fezziwig, as an early adopter of capitalism, moderates
profit maximization
In economics, profit maximization is the short run or long run process by which a firm may determine the price, input and output levels that will lead to the highest possible total profit (or just profit in short). In neoclassical economics, w ...
with kindness, generosity, and affection for his employees.
In the early 19th century, such small owner-controlled traders were being swept up.
Film characterizations
In the screenplay for the 1951 film ''
Scrooge'' by
Noel Langley
Noel Langley (25 December 1911 – 4 November 1980) was a South African-born (later naturalised American) novelist, playwright, screenwriter and director. He wrote the screenplay which formed the basis for the 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz'' an ...
, Fezziwig is advised to bend with the times and sell out, but Fezziwig resists this call to progress:
Jorkin: "Mr. Fezziwig, we’re good friends besides good men of business. We're men of vision and progress. Why don't you sell out while the going’s good? You'll never get a better offer. It’s the age of the machine, and the factory, and the vested interests. We small traders are ancient history, Mr. Fezziwig."
Fezziwig: "It's not just for money alone that one spends a lifetime building up a business…. It's to preserve a way of life that one knew and loved. No, I can't see my way to selling out to the new vested interests, Mr. Jorkin. I'll have to be loyal to the old ways and die out with them if needs must."
In the end, Jorkin hires away Scrooge and buys out Fezziwig's business, moving it from private to shareholder ownership. As
agent
Agent may refer to:
Espionage, investigation, and law
*, spies or intelligence officers
* Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another
** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...
of shareholder interests, Jorkin and his managers Scrooge and
Jacob Marley
Jacob Marley is a fictional character in Charles Dickens's 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol'', a former business partner of the miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who has been dead for seven years.Hawes, Donal''Who's Who in Dickens'' Routledge (1998), Goog ...
are constrained from diverging from the goals of profitability, making it more difficult to be a Fezziwig even if they were inclined to.
Fezziwig's successor Jorkin demonstrates the weakness of self-interest when he announces to the
board of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
that the company is insolvent after years of embezzling. Scrooge and Marley demonstrate their cunning self-interest by using the crisis to attain controlling interest in the company. In Langley's and director
Brian Desmond Hurst
Brian Desmond Hurst (12 February 1895 – 26 September 1986) was a Belfast-born film director. With over thirty films in his filmography, Hurst has been hailed as Northern Ireland's best film director.Screening will honour 'NI's best film ...
's ''Scrooge'', these new managers replacing the Fezziwigs are predatory towards shareholders and employees alike, the product of a process and a mindset that Dickens felt was at odds with humanity itself.
Many film adaptions, such as ''
The Muppet Christmas Carol
''The Muppet Christmas Carol'' is a 1992 American Christmas musical comedy drama film directed by Brian Henson (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Jerry Juhl. Adapted from the 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol'' by Charles Dic ...
'' (1992), show Fezziwig's Christmas party as the setting for where Scrooge first met Belle, the beautiful young woman whom he fell in love with and became engaged to. However, Belle eventually breaks off their engagement after Scrooge's obsession with money eclipses his love for her. Fezziwig is mentioned as having three daughters; although their names are not revealed, it is possible that Belle is one of his daughters.
![Fezziwig Ball- Sol Eytinge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Fezziwig_Ball-_Sol_Eytinge.jpg)
In ''
A Christmas Carol
''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...
'' (2004) starring
Kelsey Grammer
Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained notoriety and acclaim for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom '' Cheers'' (1984-1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993-2004), ...
, Fezziwig—following a downturn in his business—approaches Scrooge and Marley for a business loan. Scrooge, starting to turn into his greedy self, refuses the request, stating that he (Scrooge) and Marley would be throwing good money after bad.
Popular culture
* Fezziwig appears in the 1983 animated featurette, ''
Mickey's Christmas Carol
''Mickey's Christmas Carol'' is a 1983 American Animation, animated family comedy-drama featurette directed and produced by Burny Mattinson. The cartoon is an adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol'', and stars Scrooge ...
'', where he is portrayed in a non-speaking role by
Mr. Toad.
* In the 1992 film ''
The Muppet Christmas Carol
''The Muppet Christmas Carol'' is a 1992 American Christmas musical comedy drama film directed by Brian Henson (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Jerry Juhl. Adapted from the 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol'' by Charles Dic ...
'', he is played by
Fozzie Bear
Fozzie Bear is a Muppet character best known as the insecure and comedically fruitless stand-up comic on ''The Muppet Show.'' Fozzie is an orange-brown bear who often wears a brown pork pie hat and a pink and white polka dot necktie. The charac ...
and called "Fozziwig".
* The
Boston Brewing Company
The Boston Beer Company is an American brewery founded in 1984. Boston Beer Company's first brand of beer was named Samuel Adams after Founding Father Samuel Adams, an American revolutionary patriot. Since its founding, Boston Beer has started se ...
produces Old Fezziwig Ale, a winter seasonal beer named after the character.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fezziwig, Mr.
A Christmas Carol characters
Literary characters introduced in 1843
Fictional people from London
Fictional businesspeople
Fictional people from the 19th-century
Male characters in film
Male characters in literature