History TearJerker / AChristmasCarol

---> '''Old Scrooge:''' Go after her! ''(tearfully)'' GO AFTER HER!

* Some adaptations show Jacob Marley's death, with Scrooge either not caring at all (as in ''WesternAnimation/AChristmasCarol2009'', where he just says "Yes, quite dead... as a doornail," and then steals the coins that were placed on Marley's eyes to recompense himself for the undertaker's fee), or deeply caring, with his death being the last straw that fully hardened his heart (as in ''Film/AChristmasCarolTheMusical'', where the scene ends with Scrooge desolately [[PietàPlagiarism holding Marley's body in his arms]]). It's even worse in versions like ''Film/Scrooge1951'', where Marley realizes where they went wrong on his deathbed and tries to appeal to Scrooge to change, and he doesn't listen.

* Some adaptations show Jacob Marley's death, with Scrooge either not caring at all (as in ''WesternAnimation/AChristmasCarol2009'', where he just says "Yes, quite dead... as a doornail," and then steals the coins that were placed on Marley's eyes to recompense himself for the undertaker's fee), or deeply caring, with his death being the last straw that fully hardened his heart (as in ''Film/AChristmasCarolTheMusical'', where the scene ends with Scrooge desolately [[PietaPlagerism holding Marley's body in his arms]]). It's even worse in versions like ''Film/Scrooge1951'', where Marley realizes where they went wrong on his deathbed and tries to appeal to Scrooge to change, and he doesn't listen.

* Some adaptations show Jacob Marley's death, with Scrooge either not caring at all or deeply caring, with his death being the last straw that fully hardened his heart. It's even worse in versions where Marley realizes where they went wrong on his deathbed and tries to appeal to Scrooge to change, and he doesn't listen.

** Another really sad version is the 1978 animated [[Creator/RankinBassProductions Rankin Bass]] adaptation of the 1956 TV musical ''The Stingiest Man in Town''. As Belle leaves young Scrooge, they both sing "It Might Have Been", imagining their lives together if they had married and had children. The song is already heartbreaking enough, with Belle being performed by [[Music/ShelbyFlint]] who's already known for [[WesternAnimation/TheRescuers emotional]] [[WesternAnimation/SnoopyComeHome songs]] during the 1970s, but at the end of the song, it shows Belle as an elderly woman in the present, ''still wandering the streets alone''.

** Another really sad version is the 1978 animated [[Creator/RankinBassProductions Rankin Bass]] adaptation of the 1956 TV musical ''The Stingiest Man in Town''. As Belle leaves young Scrooge, they both sing "It Might Have Been", imagining their lives together if they had married and had children. The song is already heartbreaking enough, with Belle being performed by ''[[Music/ShelbyFlint]]'' who's already known for [[WesternAnimationTheRescuers emotional]] [[WesternAnimationSnoopyComeHome songs]] during the 1970s, but at the end of the song, it shows Belle as an elderly woman in the present, ''still wandering the streets alone''.

* Scrooge acknowledging how much the death of his sister, the only person who truly loved him, hurt him. When the Ghost of Christmas Past mentions how she had children before she did. Scrooge replies "My nephew.", implying he's [[HeelRealization realizing that he's become just like his father in pushing his kind-hearted nephew Fred away]] in the same way his own father did to him.

* In any version, when Scrooge's fiancée leaves him after seeing he values money more than he values her. Especially in the 1970 musical, the 1999 Patrick Stewart version, the 2004 musical, and the 2022 animated musical when old Scrooge is shouting at his younger self to go after her. It's sadder when you realize that he's spent ''years'' regretting the choice of letting her go.

** ''Scrooge: A Christmas Carol'' (2022) gives us the heartbreaking song "Later Never Comes", where Isabel pleads with young Scrooge to stop telling her "later" and prove his love for her, but ultimately realizing that he won't. As this scene unfolds, Scrooge is shown to be in visible agony from his past decisions and screams at his younger self for letting her go, slamming his fists into the desk heartbreak and regret.
-->'''Scrooge:''' NO! ''There is no later!''

* In any version, when Scrooge's fiancée leaves him after seeing he values money more than he values her. Especially in the 1970 musical, the 1999 Patrick Stewart version, and the 2004 musical, when old Scrooge is shouting at his younger self to go after her. It's sadder when you realize that he's spent ''years'' regretting the choice of letting her go.

* During one year's production for a Christmas Concert, the scene of Tiny Tim's death was scored with an orchestral version of "Asis' Death" from Edvard Grieg's ''Peer Gynt'' suite.

* Some adaptations show Jacob Marley's death, with Scrooge either not caring at all or deeply caring, with his death being the last straw that fully hardened his heart. It's even worse in versions where Marley realizes where they went wrong on his deathbed, tries to appeal to Scrooge to change, and he doesn't listen.
* In one musical theater adaptation of ''A Christmas Carol'', the story is narrated by a young gentleman who walks with a limp, who retells the story that Scrooge himself told him years ago. During the scene with Christmas Yet To Come, there's the expected tear-jerker scene with the Cratchit family mourning Tiny Tim's death. They sing the appropriately-tear jerking "The Little Child" until they are too choked up to continue, at which point the song is finished by a verse sung by the narrator, which is the only time the narrator sings outside the opening and closing musical numbers. This verse becomes extra chilling in hindsight when, at the end of the story, it is revealed that the narrator is [[spoiler: Tiny Tim, all grown up and healthy thanks to Scrooge]]. Not only is Scrooge in-story witnessing the possible future of the death of a poor child, but also out-of-story the narrator is watching [[spoiler: his own family's reaction to his death in an alternate timeline]] and, much like Scrooge, he cannot comfort them. ''Chilling''.

* Scrooge as a boy in the boarding school at Christmastime, due to his bad relationship with his father.
* Scrooge acknowledging how much the death of his sister, the only person who truly loved him, hurt him. When the Ghost of Christmas Past mentions how she had children before she did. Scrooge replies "My nephew.", implying he's [[HeelRealization realizing that he's become just like his father, in pushing his kind-hearted nephew, Fred away]], the same way his own father did to him.

** The sequence in their home at present day does have the family happy to be together, but it still includes abject poverty, with the parents hiding their sadness/disappointment at only being able to give a meager Christmas to the children yet again.

* The saddest thing about Jacob Marley is that he, unlike Scrooge, can't get a second chance to change. He's already dead at the start of the story, and is doomed to an eternity of regret.

* Belle leaving Scrooge because he's grown to care more about money than her.

* In one musical theater adaptation of ''A Christmas Carol'', the story is narrated by a young gentleman who walks with a limp, who retells the story that Scrooge himself told him years ago. During the scene with Christmas Yet To Come, there's the expected tear jerker scene with the Cratchit family mourning Tiny Tim's death. They sing the appropriately-tear jerking "The Little Child" until they are too choked up to continue, at which point the song is finished by a verse sung by the narrator, which is the only time the narrator sings outside the opening and closing musical numbers. This verse becomes extra chilling in hindsight when, at the end of the story, it is revealed that the narrator is [[spoiler:Tiny Tim, all grown up and healthy thanks to Scrooge]]. Not only is Scrooge in-story witnessing the possible future of the death of a poor child, but also out-of-story the narrator is watching [[spoiler:his own family's reaction to his death in an alternate timeline]] and, much like Scrooge, he cannot comfort them. ''Chilling''.
* In any version, when Scrooge's fiancée leaves him after seeing he values money more than he values her. Especially in the 1970 musical, the 1999 Patrick Stewart version and 2004 musical, when old Scrooge is shouting at his younger self to go after her. It's sadder when you realize that he's spent ''years'' regretting the choice of letting her go.
** Special mention goes to how the actors in the 1999 Patrick Stewart are able to convey emotions and thoughts of their characters with simple facial expressions. Young Scrooge in particular was well done, the shock and fear he feels when his fiancée releases him from the engagement is evident on his face with the prospect of losing someone he still cares deeply for. And the when his fiancée leaves, he almost gets up to go after her, but you can see from his face how his thoughts are calculating the hard numbers of the decision before him, and the slowly hardening expression he makes when his choice is made is absolutely phenomenal acting. The fiancée also shows great emotion, especially how she looks back not only once but twice as she walks away; despite her words, it's clear she's very much hoping she's wrong. And the whole time, Patrick Stewart is being Patrick Stewart, portraying Scrooge's despair over what happened and begging his younger self to make the right choice, even though it's impossible.

* The novel ''The Life and Times of Bob Cratchit'' goes into extravagant detail about how much Bob's life sucks, but he knows others suffer worse, and he eventually forms an odd friendship with Jacob Marley that turns tragic when Marley promptly dies. His ghost begins to haunt him and make him perform good works in his stead as a form of release. Eventually Bob tells him that ''he'' was responsible for what he did in life, and Marley collects himself before calmly saying how much his punishment ''hurts''.

* Scrooge acknowledging how much the death of his sister, the only person who truly loved him, hurt him. He also acknowledges that he, in turn, did the same thing his father did to him, in pushing his young kindhearted nephew, the surviving son of his beloved sister, away.

* Bob Cratchit goes up to Tim's bed, and his body is still there, and he kisses his face.