These lines have an allegorical dimension that goes beyond the mere friendship of the two characters. Allegorically, Don José represents nationalism (the nation-state as an idea), and Mrs Gould represents altruism (the idea of helping downtrodden people). The "old friendship" between Mrs Gould and Don José alludes to something like the historical alliance of church and state. Altruism is literally the "soul" of the nation, in that it gives the nation a moral meaning. The alliance should not confuse us as to the actual nature of the nation-state, however, which employs war and hypocrisy to serve a dream-ideal of conquest like any other, as Nostromo vividly illustrates. Altruism functions as a justifying illusion.

We have already seen that altruism lends the same morally justifying assistance to material progress. A subtext of Nostromo is the historical shift by which the ideas of compassion and idealism (the latter represented by Antonia) desert the nation-state. Note that in these conversations, Don José blithely assumes that Mrs Gould is a "patriot," while her humanitarian ambitions are far vaster.