# Martin Decoud — Nostromo character guide

> Martin Decoud in Nostromo by Joseph Conrad.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Don Martin Decoud, Decoud, young Decoud

**First appearance:** 0003-nostromo

## Snapshot

A skeptical, Paris-educated journalist who returns to Sulaco, analyzes every motive including his own, and finds himself acting on passions he thought he had outgrown.

## Who they are

Decoud drifts through Sulaco's drawing rooms as a detached, cosmopolitan observer, mocking the patriotism of men like Don Jose while secretly loving Antonia Avellanos and half-despising himself for it. His intellect is his only weapon, and he knows it, which is why he is so unnerved when he is sent out into the black calm of the Placid Gulf on a desperate errand with Nostromo, where no intelligence can help him. His complacent superiority and his sudden, unwilling commitment make him the story's most modern and most exposed consciousness.

## Relationships

### [Nostromo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/characters/nostromo)

_friendship_

Decoud and Nostromo form a pragmatic alliance during the revolution, but their bond is strained by distrust and differing loyalties.

### [Antonia Avellanos](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/characters/antonia_avellanos)

_romantic_

Antonia and Decoud are passionate lovers, bound by intellectual and political ideals, but separated by the chaos of revolution.

### [Emilia Gould](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/characters/emilia_gould)

_friendship_

Emilia Gould and Martin Decoud share a close, intellectual friendship, with Emilia acting as a confidante to Decoud's political schemes.

### [Nostromo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/characters/nostromo)

_friendship_

Decoud and Nostromo form a pragmatic alliance during the revolution, but their bond is strained by distrust and differing loyalties.

### [Emilia Gould](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/characters/emilia_gould)

_friendship_

Emilia Gould and Martin Decoud share a close, intellectual friendship, with Emilia acting as a confidante to Decoud's political schemes.

### [Nostromo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/characters/nostromo)

_friendship_

Decoud and Nostromo form a pragmatic alliance during the revolution, but their bond is strained by distrust and differing loyalties.

### [Antonia Avellanos](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/characters/antonia_avellanos)

_romantic_

Antonia and Decoud are passionate lovers, bound by intellectual and political ideals, but separated by the chaos of revolution.

### [Emilia Gould](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/characters/emilia_gould)

_friendship_

Emilia Gould and Martin Decoud share a close, intellectual friendship, with Emilia acting as a confidante to Decoud's political schemes.

### [Antonia Avellanos](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/characters/antonia_avellanos)

_romantic_

Antonia and Decoud are passionate lovers, bound by intellectual and political ideals, but separated by the chaos of revolution.

## In the story

### [Part I: The Silver of the Mine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/chapters/part-i-the-silver-of-the-mine)

A young intellectual from Sulaco, involved in political discussions and the silver mine's affairs.

### [Part II: The Isabels](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/chapters/part-ii-the-isabels)

Left alone on the Great Isabel with the silver, he experiences profound isolation and commits suicide.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/chapters/iii)

Returns to Costaguana with a consignment of rifles; agrees to direct the newspaper 'Porvenir' at Don Jose's urging; his cynical detachment gives way to involvement, partly due to his feelings for Antonia.

### [Chapter IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/chapters/iv)

Gloomy and detached; mutters 'Le sort en est jete'; engages Giorgio Viola in a pointed conversation about loyalty and the people.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/chapters/v)

Argues passionately for Occidental secession and criticizes political purity; confesses his love for Antonia and urges her to flee.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/chapters/vi)

Decoud argues for bringing the silver down to the harbor, reveals his conversation with Nostromo, and outlines a plan involving Barrios and Hernandez to resist revolution.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/chapters/vii)

Narrates the plan to smuggle the silver; reflects on the Goulds' passions and his own love for Antonia; accompanies Nostromo on the lighter, suffering physical and mental strain.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/chapters/viii)

Reflects on Nostromo's character and the danger of Hirsch; left alone on the island.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/chapters/ii)

Mentioned as being in charge of the lighter with the silver; his life is at risk.

### [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/chapters/viii)

Presumed dead; Nostromo and the doctor discuss his role in the silver's removal and his fate.

### [Chapter IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/chapters/ix)

Mentioned as having led Nostromo into the silver affair; Nostromo reflects bitterly on Decoud's lack of care for him.

### [The Solitude of Martin Decoud and the Regenerated Sulaco](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/chapters/x)

Decoud experiences profound solitude and despair on the Great Isabel, contemplating suicide after days without sleep and losing hope in love and purpose.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/characters/martin_decoud
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nostromo_se/characters