Is the Ghost of Christmas Past a male or a female in A Christmas Carol book?

Answer 1

User:Carmen-cristinaanswered the question, "A woman"

In truth, this is not the answer. True, many who do a stage production, as well as various film versions, have choosed to portray the Ghost of Christma Past and feminine, however, this is not how Dickens wrote the character.

Consider the initial appearance of the Ghost of Christmas past. Dickens describes a, "strange figure-like a child: yet not so like a child as like an old man, viewed through some supernatural medium, which gave him the appearance of having receded from the view". Note the pronoun "him". Further, when Scrooge initially speaks to the spirit, he (Scrooge) says, " Are you the Spirit, sir, whose coming was foretold to me?", note again, Scrooge says "sir" indicating Scrooge believes the spirit to be male.

Granted, Dickes gives the spirit some feminine characteristics and more often than not uses the gender neutral pronoun "it", none-the-less, Dickens clearly indicates a male character in the Ghost of Christmas Past.

Answer 2

In "A Christmas Carol," the Ghost of Christmas Past is traditionally depicted as a androgynous figure, neither definitively male nor female. The appearance of the ghost is described as having both male and female attributes.