Self-Centeredness
The narrator asserts that "One can only pour out of a jug that which is in it." This is imagery used to symbolize the nature of self-centeredness in humanity. The narrator explains the tendency of most people to believe that what is interest to them will naturally be interesting to others. The jug is imagery representing the self and therefore one can only talk about what is of interest to them.
Fanny Monsell
Trollope is celebrated more for his characterizations than his plots. This is partially due to his idiosyncratic descriptions. "In person she was somewhat larger than common. Her face would have been beautiful but that her mouth was large. Her hair, which was copious, was of a bright brown; her eyes also were brown, and, being so, were the distinctive feature of her face...liquid, large, and full either of tenderness or of mirth." This use of imagery is appropriately heralded because the author has infused physical description with psychological insight. The overall tone is one that conveys commonality—which certainly applies to Fanny—but with just the slightest hint at the end of depths not made obvious.
Setting
The author is equally well suited to the use of imagery to create a tangible atmosphere of setting. "It was a beautiful summer afternoon, at that delicious period of the year when summer has just burst forth from the growth of spring; when the summer is yet but three days old, and all the various shades of green which nature can put forth are still in their unsoiled purity of freshness. The apple blossoms were on the trees, and the hedges were sweet with May." Key words like "delicious" and "unsoiled" put forth a feeling of cleanliness and purity. The addition of more concrete imagery like greenery, sweetness, and apples on trees all serve to intensify this vivid depiction of summer without oppressive heat.
Context
For novels written over a century ago, the use of imagery may not work exactly as it did originally. Context is required to get at the meaning. "There is nothing...worse than the hunting of titles and worshipping of wealth. We all know this, and say it every day of our lives. But presuming that a way into the society of Park Lane was open to us, and a way also into that of Bedford Row, how many of us are there who would prefer Bedford Row because it is so vile to worship wealth and title?" The key to understanding this narrative observation is understanding the difference between Park Lane and Bedford Row. This difference may have been easily understood in the 1850s. For modern readers, however, the imagery can only be interpreted through the context of assuming that Park Lane was much preferable than Bedford Row at the time.
