Compare Charles Gould's "stony courtesy" and Pedrito Montero's evaluation of him as a "stony fiend." Compare also Charles Gould's counterpart, the statue Charles IV, which is referred to as the "Horse of Stone."

Charles Gould's character is more Costaguanero than English, but there is no doubt that it is "rock-like" unto the very end, a clue to his role as the novel's allegory of materialism. However, strong "character" of any kind is hailed as the only true treasure in a world where physical objects are subject to shifting interpretations (see Antonia's key line ). In the novel's ongoing comparison of human personality and mined wealth, Gould's "rock-like" character may correspond to something like the "raw material of treasure."