This is a key passage, in which Nostromo begins to love Giselle as property, as a "possession," almost as a thief; she cries; and he alters his approach, becoming "gentle." His previous "careless loves" are invoked, signifying perhaps that this is the first time he has actually loved a woman other than as a form of wealth, something to aid his idealized reputation or revenge. I take this passage as an important moment in the allegory of the People, in which their socialist agenda changes from one of vengeance and selfish redress to one of universal love. Other key lines indicating the change occur below.