What does Jacob Marley's chain represent?

Marley explains "I wear the chain I forged in life,'' replied the Ghost. I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it. Is its pattern strange to you?" Marleys chain contains the things thatwere to him important in life these included iron ketys iron clad ledgers, iron clad purses and of course the links themselves. The chain there represents when he classed as importatnt in life and s it was all based around money and none of it about helping others the chain was a burden of punsihment to worn for eternity