Mrs Gould's first line contains her love of things old and things fallen, whether physical, human, or in this case social. Through the devoted altruist Mrs Gould, Conrad illustrates both sides of altruism, its benevolence (the desire to help downtrodden people) and its more sinister aspect (the need for poverty and misery to love and help).

Note that an ecclesiastical court, of which Mrs Gould is proud, means an altruist code elevated to the position of a governing body. In South America this would have been the notorious court of the Spanish Inquisition.