What do you learn about Scrooge when his sister, Fan, visits him at school?

The Ghost of Christmas past takes Scrooge to see the beginnings of his hatred of Christmas. Scrooge's father had sent Scrooge to a boarding school where he felt no love or belonging. Fran picks up Scrooge to take him home for Christmas. Fran adds that father is "much kinder now". This suggests that father was a hard or even abusive man.