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.