How does W. Somerset Maugham use imagery in The Painted Veil?

One way in which the author uses imagery is found in his descriptions of character.... we not only envision Mother Superior..... we know what she is like.

"The face was long, with a large mouth and large, even teeth; the nose, though not small, was delicate and sensitive; but it was the eyes, under their thin black brows, which gave her face its intense and tragic character. They were very large, black, and though not exactly cold, by their calm steadiness strangely compelling. Your first thought when you looked at the Mother Superior was that as a girl she must have been beautiful, but in a moment you realized that this was a woman whose beauty, depending on character, had grown with advancing years."