The heating system was a farce, depending as it did on registers in the floor wherefrom the tepid exhalations of a throbbing and groaning basement furnace were transmitted to the rooms with the faintness of a moribund's last breath.
The heating system described in the passage is depicted as inadequate and ineffective. It relies on registers in the floor that allow warm air from a struggling basement furnace to circulate, which barely provides any real warmth. This creates an image of discomfort and a sense of failing machinery, lending to the overall atmosphere of a dilapidated environment.
The metaphor of warmth being likened to a dying breath suggests not just physical coldness but also emotional and existential bleakness. The choice of words evokes a sense of despair and decay, illustrating how even basic comforts are failing, which reflects broader themes in the narrative of deterioration and despair within human experiences.
