Concerning the textual type of the novel it is the combination of description (“The house itself was big and broad, as country houses should be. The master was big and broad, too. The mistress was small and thin, and it was always she who went out at noon to pull the great clanging bell that called the farmhands in to dinner”), narration (“Mildred did not make these several observations in the half second that she looked at him in courteous acknowledgment. It took her as many days to note them all. For she signaled him out each time that he passed her, meaning to give him a condescending little smile, as she knew how. But he never looked at her….”) and dialogues or small conversations ("Who are these men, Mrs. Kraummer, that work for you? Where do you pick them up?" etc). This combination helps the reader to get the idea  of the novel, to see the dynamic development of the events.