The finance sector is portrayed as enigmatic, where the processes occurring are counterintuitive. Before a company officially liquidates, its capital first dissipates, highlighting a strange sequence in financial collapse. The imagery suggests that loss is an initial, invisible phase preceding the formal end of a business.

This description by Joseph Conrad in "Victory" emphasizes the confusion and unexpected nature of financial matters. It implies that understanding these dynamics requires examining the unseen factors that lead to significant financial downturns, reflecting a disconnection between perceptions of value and the harsh realities of business operations.