Phoebe Snow is a symbol of the power of advertising and poetry in Lillian’s life and an avatar for Lillian herself. She represents a particular interpretation of the word “smart,” which Lillian takes with her as a guiding force throughout her life. The description of her begins the novel:

There once was a girl named Phoebe Snow. She wore only white and held tight to a violet corsage, [...] and her life spun out as a series of journeys through mountain tunnels carved from poetry. [...] immaculate always, captivating conductors, enchanting other passengers (1).

This introduction is also an introduction to Lillian herself, who will take readers on a series of journeys through her life, which was also “carved by poetry” and marked by her esteem for civility and a desire to enchant all those she meets, both in person and through her advertising.

However, as Lillian concedes in the next paragraph, Phoebe Snow is representative of The Influence and Illusion of Advertising: She isn’t real and her “unsoilable” appearance is unattainable. In these advertisements, her white outfit is juxtaposed against the anthracite powering the locomotive. Phoebe is the image that Lillian would like to project into the world, but she also represents the impossibility of moving through a dirty world untouched and unchanged.