Belle (1787) is a character from Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol. She is a prominent figure from Ebenezer Scrooge's past.
Role in the story[]
Belle appears during the sequence where the Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge his early years. Here, we see that she was his fiancée, but she eventually broke off their engagement due to his growing obsession with money. Most adaptations show them meeting each other at a Christmas party while Scrooge was working for Fezziwig.
In the original story, after showing Scrooge the day he and Belle ended their relationship, the Ghost also shows him that Belle later married and found happiness with another man. This scene is often omitted in the adaptations.
Portrayals[]
Picture | Performer | Production | Year | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Rona Anderson | Scrooge | 1951 | This version of the character is named Alice. | |
Voiced by Jane Kean |
Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol | 1962 | ||
Suzanne Neve | Scrooge | 1970 | This version of the character is named Isabel Fezziwig. | |
Voiced by Shelby Flint |
The Stingiest Man in Town | 1978 | ||
Daisy Duck (voiced by Patricia Parris) |
Mickey's Christmas Carol | 1983 | This version of the character is named Isabel. | |
Lucy Gutteridge | A Christmas Carol | 1984 | This adaptation notably keeps the scene showing Belle with her family after she left Scrooge. | |
Meredith Braun | The Muppet Christmas Carol | 1992 | ||
Wilma Flintstone (voiced by Jean Vander Pyl) |
A Flintstones' Christmas Carol | 1994 | The part of Belle is originally given to a woman named Maggie. However, Maggie catches the Bedrock Bug before she can perform, so Wilma portrays the role instead. Later, Wilma fills in for one of the actors playing the charity workers after said actor also gets sick, resulting in a completely ad-libbed scene where Scrooge (played by Fred) tells Belle that he's learned the error of his ways. | |
Voiced by Jodi Benson |
A Christmas Carol | 1997 | ||
Laura Fraser | A Christmas Carol | 1999 | ||
Angeline Ball | A Christmas Carol | 2000 | In this movie, she's called Bella and is the love interest of Eddie Scrooge; at the end, they marry and have a son named Marley. | |
Voiced by Kate Winslet |
Christmas Carol: The Movie | 2001 | In the movie, she's a nurse, but does not marry another man and have children with him after breaking up with Scrooge. She reunites her friendship with him after he encountered Jacob Marley's ghost and the three spirits. In fact, Scrooge gives a few of his money to her for the patients (especially children) all around London. | |
Jennifer Love Hewitt | A Christmas Carol | 2004 | ||
Robin Wright Penn | Disney's A Christmas Carol | 2009 | Robin Wright Penn also plays Fan (Scrooge's sister) in this film. | |
Voiced by Jessie Buckley |
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol | 2022 | She is renamed Isabel Fezziwig for this adaptation. |