All 5 Uses of

oblige

in

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

He was obliged to sit close to it, and brood over it, before he could extract the least sensation of warmth from such a handful of fuel.
p. 17.6

obliged = required

...he scrambled out of bed, and groped his way to the window. He was obliged to rub the frost off with the sleeve of his dressing-gown before he could see anything;
p. 30.0 *

Scrooge expressed himself much obliged, but could not help thinking that a night of unbroken rest would have been more conducive to that end.
p. 34.1

obliged = grateful

At every fresh question that was put to him, this nephew burst into a fresh roar of laughter; and was so inexpressibly tickled, that he was obliged to get up off the sofa and stamp.
p. 87.6

obliged = required

I am much obliged to you. I thank you fifty times. Bless you!
p. 123.1 *

obliged = grateful or indebted

Definitions:

(1) (oblige as in: I am obliged by law.)
require (obligate) to do something
(2) (oblige as in: I obliged her every request.)
grant a favor to someone
(3) (obliged as in: I'm much obliged for your kindness)
grateful or indebted
(4) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
Much more rarely, in classic literature you may see oblige as a synonym for ask as when Jules Verne wrote "I obliged the Professor to move his lamp over the walls of the gallery," in Journey to the Center of the Earth.