The imperial enterprise was about more than simply opening and solidifying trade routes or obtaining goods and raw materials. It was also very clearly about bringing “civilization” to Indigenous peoples in foreign lands. The “civilizing mission” was a myth used to justify the extraction of goods and the oppression of peoples in places outside of the imperial centers. Thus, the project of empire was divided against itself: On the one hand, it was allegedly a moral mission to reform and protect Indigenous peoples; on the other hand, it was undoubtedly a way to enrich the imperial powers under the guise of said mission. What the Indigenous peoples saw most often was an ambiguous presence: White men who would come and take what they wanted before they inevitably retreated. This pattern is evident in Jewel’s fear that Marlow (a representative of the imperial center) is going to take Jim away from her. Her belief that Jim will eventually leave, whether he wants to or not, is conditioned by her people’s long experience with white interlopers: “They always leave” (265). There is a hollowness at the heart of empire, and this sense pervades Lord Jim.

The many who surround Jim obviously believe that he will only be a temporary fixture in Patusan.