# III explained — Nostromo

> Chapter companion for Nostromo by Joseph Conrad.

## What happens

The chapter focuses on the Viola family during the riot in Sulaco. Old Giorgio Viola, a former Garibaldino, barricades himself and his family in the café, armed with a shotgun. His wife, Signora Teresa, prays and laments the absence of Nostromo, whom she believes could protect them. Their daughters, Linda and Giselle, cower in fear. The mob passes by, and Giorgio reflects on his disdain for the rioters, whom he sees as thieves, not fighters for liberty.

## Themes in this chapter

### Class and Social Hierarchy

Giorgio Viola's scorn for the 'scoundrels and leperos' highlights his sense of superiority as a former Garibaldino and his disdain for the lower-class rioters.

### Betrayal and Trust

Signora Teresa feels betrayed by Nostromo's absence, accusing him of thinking only of himself and his English employers.

### Fate and Superstition

Signora Teresa's prayers and invocations to saints contrast with Giorgio's secular republicanism, showing a tension between fate and rationalism.

## Character check-ins

### Giorgio Viola

Old Garibaldino who barricades himself and his family in the café, armed with a shotgun, scornful of the rioters.

### Signora Teresa

Giorgio's wife, terrified and praying, calls out for Nostromo and blames him for not being there.

### Linda Viola

Elder daughter, fourteen, crouches on the floor with her sister, described as indignant and angry.

### Giselle Viola

Younger daughter, two years younger than Linda, bewildered and resigned.

### Nostromo

Absent from the house; Signora Teresa invokes him as a protector, but he is not present.

## Key lines

> These were not a people striving for justice, but thieves. Even to defend his life against them was a sort of degradation for a man who had been one of Garibaldi’s immortal thousand in the conquest of Sicily.

Giorgio sees the rioters as mere criminals, not idealists, and feels that fighting them demeans his heroic past with Garibaldi.

_Reflects Giorgio's disillusionment with the riot and his pride in his revolutionary history._

> Oh! Gian’ Battista, why art thou not here? Oh! why art thou not here?

Signora Teresa cries out for Nostromo, wishing he were present to protect them.

_Highlights her reliance on Nostromo's reputation and her sense of abandonment._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/nostromo_se/chapters/iii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/nostromo_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/nostromo_se/chapters