How does Colm Toibin use imagery in The Master?

Example of Imagery:

"For so many years now he had had no country, no family, no establishment of his own, merely a flat in London where he worked. ... It was as though he lived a life that lacked a fazade, a stretch of frontage to protect him from the world. Lamb House would offer him beautiful windows from which to view the outside; the outside, in turn, could peer in only at his invitation."