At first glance, Nostromo seems to present Dr. Monygham almost entirely in a good light: he is selfless, courageous and insightful, and he is permitted some of the novel's final words on the crucial subject of the material interests (see ). However, this passage makes very clear that even he is not an unadulterated hero, that his particular ideal is as vicious as all the others, that he is indifferent to Decoud's and Nostromo's fate in the pursuit of it.

There is a double meaning to Monygham being "utterly indifferent to Decoud's fate." Though Dr Monygham means Decoud's supposed drowning in the collision, there is an ironic meaning in which "Decoud's fate" refers to his eventual perishing from skepticism -- something that the convinced idealist would indeed view with indifference.