Nostromo characters

Also known as Nostromo, the Capataz de Cargadores

Appears from the start

An Italian sailor named Giovanni Battista Fidanza who has become foreman of Sulaco's dockworkers. Celebrated throughout the port for courage, competence, and loyalty, he takes pride in being the indispensable man trusted with dangerous work. His public identity depends heavily on admiration and reputation.

First appears in chapter 2

An Englishman born in Costaguana who inherits the neglected San Tome silver concession. Quiet, disciplined, and convinced that material interests can impose stability on the country, he devotes himself to making the mine productive and politically secure.

Also known as Mrs. Gould

First appears in chapter 4

Charles Gould's English wife and an influential presence in Sulaco. Perceptive, compassionate, and socially assured, she supports the mine as her husband's constructive purpose while remaining more alert than he is to the human costs of political and economic schemes.

First appears in chapter 4

A cynical English doctor long resident in Costaguana. His damaged reputation and knowledge of political cruelty make him suspicious of heroic language. He serves the Gould circle with abrasive loyalty and holds Mrs. Gould in deep, largely unspoken devotion.

First appears in chapter 7

A cultivated journalist and political intellectual who returns from Europe as the Monterist revolt threatens Sulaco. In love with Antonia Avellanos, he advocates separating the prosperous Occidental Province from Costaguana as a practical defense against national chaos.

First appears in chapter 6

The educated, resolute daughter of Don Jose Avellanos. She shares her father's reformist commitments, moves confidently among Sulaco's political leaders, and is loved by Decoud, whose ironic detachment she challenges.

First appears in chapter 6

An elderly statesman and author whose suffering under an earlier dictatorship has made him a moral symbol for Costaguana's reformers. He supports President Ribiera and hopes lawful government can free the country from its recurring cycles of personal rule and civil war.

Also known as Garibaldino

Appears from the start

An elderly Italian republican and veteran of Garibaldi who keeps an inn near Sulaco with his family. Proud of his political ideals and protective of his daughters, he regards Nostromo almost as a son.

Appears from the start

Giorgio Viola's serious elder daughter. Devoted to Nostromo and treated as his intended bride, she shares her father's confidence in his honor and waits for him with a loyalty that he takes for granted.

First appears in chapter 5

Giorgio Viola's younger daughter, admired for her beauty and more openly restless than Linda. She grows up within the close circle around the harbor and the man her family calls Nostromo.

First appears in chapter 11

A powerful regional commander whose forces are essential to Sulaco's defense. His military loyalty to the reformist cause makes Nostromo's attempt to reach and recall him central to the resistance against the Monterists.

First appears in chapter 7

The military strongman whose rebellion against President Ribiera advances toward Sulaco. His movement promises another authoritarian regime and threatens the reformers, the port, and foreign investment in the San Tome mine.

First appears in chapter 17

A brutal government commander who defects to the Monterist cause and brings armed forces into Sulaco. Greedy for the San Tome silver and suspicious of everyone around him, he uses intimidation and torture to hunt for it.

First appears in chapter 10

A bandit chief who controls the countryside but is persuaded to accept a military command for the reformist side. His irregular fighters become an important counterweight to the advancing Monterist forces.