With one exception, the allegorical dimension to the novel's characters adds enhanced meaning to what is already, without it, an engaging story. The exception is Nostromo. If one does not understand that Nostromo functions as an allegory for the People, and that his story represents the working class awakening to class-consciousness, then almost the whole novel from Chapter 3-8 on would appear belabored, redundant or flat-out inexplicable. In this Author's Note, I have the palpable feeling that Conrad is trying his hardest, without saying the word "allegory" outright, to awaken readers to a major aspect of his novel that had gone unrecognized.