Marley's Death Established

The narrative opens by firmly establishing the death of Jacob Marley, Scrooge's former business partner. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner—Scrooge himself. Marley's death is presented as an absolute certainty, as dead as a door-nail, a necessary precondition for the supernatural events to follow. Scrooge, far from being grief-stricken, conducted business as usual on the very day of the funeral, sealing an undoubted bargain. The firm's name, Scrooge and Marley, remains unchanged above the warehouse door, and Scrooge answers to both names, a testament to his unchanging, miserly nature.