Patriotism is a loaded term in Nostromo, especially for the Goulds, who are using Costaguana as a means toward much larger ideals, and who will destroy Costaguana as a national entity in the process. There is also a symbolic sense in which Costaguana represents the land of passionate causes, so patriotism for Costaguana represents an addiction to passionate world-changing dream-ideals. Thus, regarding the political Costaguana, Mrs Gould is not patriotic; regarding the symbolic one, she is.