I think this scene is very important to A Christmas Carol. To me it shows the reason why he is so abrasive. His sweet heart didn’t want to marry him because he was greedy and only thought of his personal gain. I think that means that his love for money affects how others think of him.  His love for money also gets in the way of his personal and social life. He may be rude and harsh because the person he loved left him. That caused him to focus all his time on his work and gaining money.

. Premnath Thirumalaisamy via Compfight