Essentially, Eliot employs personification within this quote (as seen in
"the street hardly understands") in order to give agency to the destitute streetscape, therefore emphasising the patent lack of mutualism that is evident between man and the modern city. Here, Eliot further enhances man's unrequited and uncertain dwelling within the urban landscape, which is consistent with the usual thought that modernism is a difficult and inaccessible element that most readers would not enjoy.
Expanding on the notion of the street, the street here is a metaphor for the world. As mentioned, it is an example of personification. The street understands, but "hardly" – it is alive, yet dim. The “
you” addressed here, this woman. Even with her limited soul, she has the consciousness to see for a moment a vision of the street, and therefore the world.
I hope this helps!
