In the following extract how does Dickens present Scrooge? "Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grind- stone, Scrooge! a squeezing,...

In describing Scrooge as a physically cold person: his cheeks "shrivelled" by the cold, his lips "blue" and his white hair, eyebrows and beard pictured as a "frosty rime," Dickens also describes Scrooge's frozen soul. Scrooge's hard, blighted, icy appearance reflects his icy inner being. 

We learn in this passage that Scrooge doesn't feel heat or cold and that bad weather doesn't bother him at all. We learn that because he projects such a frozen, cold exterior, people avoid him on the streets. He receives no friendly greetings and no one ever asks him for directions. Even "blind man's dogs" steer clear of Scrooge. 

This description sets us up to understand Scrooge as a harsh and unpleasant character who cares far more about money than people. But it also suggests that Scrooge has built such an armoured, frozen facade to defend against the world because his feelings would otherwise be too painful. It might be fine not to feel the warmth or cold of the weather, but it's sad if you can't feel the warmth or coldness of your emotions. It might be all right to avoid interactions on the street, but it is lonely and pathetic if you have no interactions with anyone. However, ice and frost are capable of melting, so even this passage, unrelievedly dark as its depiction of the mean, miserly Scrooge is, hints at the very vague possibility of a thaw.