Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
The only clue we get that Jarndyce might actually be onto the horror that is Skimpole is when he complains about the wind being in the east. The general sense is that the east wind is somehow evil. (Fun brain snack: the east wind brings nothing but badness in The Lord of the Rings, Sherlock Holmes, and the Old Testament.) But for Jarndyce, references to the east wind tend to happen whenever he sees some kind of social ill that needs to be corrected. The orphaned Neckett kids? East wind. The Jellybys? East wind. And so on.