Books To Enkindle The Familial Bonding of Christmas

Last week, LEADERSHIP Lifestyle, suggested classic literatures centered around the theme of Christmas in preparation for the season.

Christmas is centered largely around the spirit of love, sharing and family.

Today, Christmas is beginning to lose that familial union, as younger people move further away to towns and big cities in search of work. Unfortunately, with a worsening global economy and higher standard of living, an increasing number of single people and married ones are unable to make it back home for the holidays. In fact, some are beginning to lose sight of the importance of family at Christmas.

To rekindle those familial bonds in our readers, here are four classical literature that reminds us to never take family for granted, as there are those who have had to live without it.

‘Oliver Twist’ by Charles Dickens

Written by Charles Dicken in 1838, ‘Oliver Twist’ follows a young boy Oliver, born in a workhouse (a 19th century institution that houses the poor, orphans, sick and the elderly).

Oliver’s mother died upon his birth at the workhouse, and he spent his first eleven years there in poverty, working slavish hours and near-starvation when a particularly humiliating experience saw him flee the institution, and into the hands of a gang of thieving street urchins run by old Fagin.

Fagin’s obsession to keep Oliver, plays into another character’s evil intent against the young lad. Will fate ever deal a good hand to a young lad who in spite of his sufferings remains an honest, bright light in a dreary, evil and hope-weary world?

‘Oliver Twist’ is Dickens social commentary on child labour, domestic violence and the cruel treatment of orphans in mid-19th century England. It was first published as a serial from 1837 to 1839, and as three-volume-book in 1838.

‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Bronte

Another favourite orphan-finds-family literary classic, is Charlotte Bronte’s ‘Jane Eyre’.

The book opens with an incident where five-year-old Jane Eyre is locked in the ‘Red Room’ – for defending herself against her cruel cousin, John. The next day she was shipped off to a workhouse where she is maltreated and lost the only friend who ever cared about her to the ‘plague’.

Upon reaching her maturity, Jane departs the workhouse to work as a governess to Adele, the young ward of Mr Rochester at Thornfield Hall.

Just when it seems lady luck has smiled upon our heroine, a tragedy occurs that rips Jane from her beloved and into the path of strangers, who may or not have connections to her long-lost family.

Throughout the novel, the reader is impressed by Jane’s quiet strength, resilience and ability to take control of her life, no matter the harsh realities thrown at her.

Jane Eyre was published in October 19, 1847 under Charlotte Bronte’s pen name Currer Bell by Smith, Elder and Co. of London.

‘Silas Marner’ by George Eliot

Silas Marner, a weaver and a member of a small Calvinist congregation, is falsely accused stealing from the Church. Disillusioned by the betrayal of a supposed friend, who went on to marry his fiancé, Marner leaves his community to a village, Raveloe, where isolated from all the villagers toiled for 15 years, to rack up bags of gold coins that he keeps hidden under the floorboards of his house.

One day, while he was away, his fortune was stolen, causing him to fall into depression. His life takes a turn on a snowy night when a two-year-old girl wanders into his house.

Silas Marner is written by prolific author Mary Ann Evans. Evans, who lived quite an unconventional life, took on the male penname George Eliot, so that her works (which include ‘Middlemarch’, ‘Adam Bede’, ‘The Mill on the Floss’, ‘Daniel Deronda’, ‘Romola’) would be taken seriously beyond the societal constraints on female writers. She is one of the 19th century female novelists that was celebrated in her time, and lived to a very old age.

With ‘Silas Marner’, Evans explores themes of betrayal, social injustice, redemption and forgiveness. The novel was published on April 2, 1861.

‘Anne of Green Gables’ by Lucy Maud Montogomery

When siblings Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert applied to adopt a boy from an orphanage to help them around their farm, Green Gables, they were mistakenly sent a red-haired, freckled face 11-year-old named Anne.

Shy Matthew instantly takes to Anne, while it took the prim and proper Marilla sometime to eventually come around.

However, not everything about Avonlea is idyllic. Anne had to deal with two nemesis – the Cuthbert’s neighbour, Mrs. Rachael Lynde, and a classmate, Gilbert who drew Anne’s ire for calling her ‘carrots’.

Impulsive and mischievous, Anne has many misadventures, and suffers a tragic loss. However, it’s her coming of age story, and Montgomery’s ability to show that families are made, and not necessarily born into that gives readers hope.

Bonus: Again, all the aforementioned literary works have been adapted into stage, animation and filmic works. Readers will derive more pleasure by first reading the books, before watching their audio-visual adaptations for a richer and nuanced experienced.