Marseilles prison
The novel opens with dark and foreboding imagery that richly evokes the atmosphere of a prison in Marseilles, France. By showing how the lack of light, intense summer heat and unpleasant sounds and smells would have impacted the prisoners, Dickens sets the stage for a comparison with Marshalsea Prison in London. For many of Dickens's readers in England, a French prison would have been assumed to be a less humane and less modern place, since stereotypes often assumed that Continental Europe was less rational and advanced. However, while the Marseilles prison is indeed portrayed as unpleasant, it actually sets the stage for the ways in which Marshalsea will also be shown to be antiquated, inefficient, and cruel.
The Clennam house
The Clennam house is often described using vivid imagery to make it seem like a dark and foreboding place. It is a decrepit place that seems frozen in time, and it often echoes with strange noises that make it seem like it might even be haunted. The imagery of the Clennam house reinforces Arthur's worries that there must be a dark secret somewhere in his family's past because it does indeed seem like something is hidden away there. At the end of the novel, the previous imagery is explained by the house abruptly collapsing, suggesting it has been gradually decaying and rotting over time.
Venice
After they claim their fortune, the Dorrit family spends time in Venice, and the novel includes descriptions of the sights, sounds, and smells of the city. The imagery serves to evoke the vivid experience of individuals who had spent so long trapped inside prison walls now getting to explore a foreign place, and adds interest to readers who might have hoped to eventually visit the city themselves. The imagery is largely presented from Amy's perspective and is not universally positive: she can appreciate the beauty and wonder of the famous city, but it makes her feel alienated and alone. The imagery creates an opportunity to show that travel is not always pleasurable and Amy would be happier living a quiet domestic life surrounded by friends and family.
London at night
When Amy and Maggy find themselves shut out of the prison and have to spend the night wandering the streets of London, Dickens uses vivid sensual imagery to evoke a sense of danger and threat to the two women. They wander through the cold darkness and are threatened by loud and dangerous neighborhoods, as well as the emergence of a seedy underworld that remains hidden by day. For example, they encounter a woman working as a prostitute. All of this imagery makes it clear that as a result of her family's situation, Amy is exposed to dangerous and unpleasant realities that she should not have to deal with.
