At first glance, we are likely to conclude here that Charles Gould is the majority stockholder or some such. In the next chapter, however, we learn that he is the sole owner, which makes us return to this phrase with a closer look. Throughout Nostromo, the concept of ownership is treated as a legal fig leaf covering seizure by force; see, for example, Sotillo demanding a receipt from Captain Mitchell in Chapter 3-2. Behind the fig leaf, then, there is only "practical ownership," meaning control in a practical sense. As we learn more about the chief engineer, we learn he is exactly the man to point this out; see .