How does Harriette Simpson Arnow use imagery in The Dollmaker?

This novel is full of what might be described as "glimpsed" symbols; moments of poetic imagery that for a moment or in a phrase serve to illuminate a character, an action, or a motivation but are not developed further. The reference to the little crooked cedar being cut away is one such "glimpsed" symbols, and refers to the way Gertie's dream of the Tipton Place is cut away to allow for the bigger, overwhelmingly stronger dream of successful, prosperous city life to flourish.