Jacob Marley

Jacob Marley
Background information
Feature films	A Christmas Carol
Voice	Gary Oldman
Performance model	Gary Oldman
Character information
Occupation	Moneylender (in life) Ghost (in afterlife)
Likes	Money (in life)
Dislikes	Scrooge's disobedience (afterlife), the poor people (in life)
Powers and abilities	Intangibility Flight

Jacob Marley is the long-deceased business partner of Ebenezer Scrooge. He is a character from Charles Dickens' story A Christmas Carol and its many adaptations.

Role in the story

In life, Marley, like Scrooge, was a bitter, greedy and selfish man. When he died, he was damned to eternally wander the earth as a decrepit spirit, forever burdened by a mass of chains that represent his accumulated sins. On the 7th anniversary of his death, which falls on Christmas Eve, Jacob Marley's ghost visits Scrooge in his house, warning him that he will suffer the same fate if he does not change his ways and informing him that he will be visited by three spirits later that night. Marley was presumably made visible to Scrooge for this visit as part of the arrangement among the spirits to convince Scrooge to change his ways. Marley warns Scrooge to expect the first ghost when the clock tower tolls 1, the second the same night at the same hour, and the third upon the same night when the clock tower has reached the last stroke of 12. Because A Christmas Carol is a story involving time travel, all this could happen in one night. Scrooge even lampshades this, concluding the spirits could do whatever they wanted.

Scrooge is initially against this idea and unsuccessfully suggests that the three ghosts visit him all at once to get it over with faster as Jacob Marley leaves the room and disappears but not before telling Scrooge that they never will see each other again. When Scrooge is dragged towards the window, thanks to one of Marley's chains, he is horrified to see thousands of spirits who, like Jacob Marley, were all green, misty ghosts bound in chains.

Eventually Scrooge was haunted by the three spirits and learned to change his ways, thus avoiding Marley's fate.

See also

• Goofy - Portrayed the role of Marley in Mickey's Christmas Carol, and also portrayed the role again in the Mickey Mouse Works short "How to Haunt a House"
• Jasper and Horace - Portrayed the role of Marley in the 101 Dalmatians episode "A Christmas Cruella"
• Statler and Waldorf - Portrayed the role of Jacob and Robert Marley in The Muppet Christmas Carol. (Note: There was no Robert Marley in the original novel of A Christmas Carol and the name is meant to be a reference to singer Bob Marley.)

v - e - d

Media A Christmas Carol • Soundtrack Characters Ebenezer Scrooge • Bob Crachit • Fred Holywell • Belle • Jacob Marley • Mrs. Crachit • Tiny Tim • Mr. Fezziwig • Fan • Mrs. Dilber • Old Joe • The Ghost of Christmas Past • The Ghost of Christmas Present • The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come • Ignorance and Want See Also Mickey's Christmas Carol • The Muppet Christmas Carol • Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo • Dick Daring's All-Star Holiday Stunt Spectacular V • A London Carol • Captain Scrooge • A Christmas Cruella • Marley