The first clause of Charles Gould's introduction, immediately after the remark about homesick people, is significant. The novel constantly reminds us that Charles Gould's "home" is Costaguana, which means not just the place, but a kind of "Costaguanan" fanaticism for a cause (see ). In Charles' character there is a constant struggle between his English cause (progress) and his native fanaticism for it, which he must keep secret from his financial backers. Eventually he succumbs fully to his fanaticism, admits that he is an "adventurer in Costaguana" , and in threatening to blow up the mine acts in a manner directly counter to rational progress.