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Salvatore personifies the rare quality of goodness, and every event described in the story demonstrates his good nature. Most would expect a perfect, beautiful person to represent the ideal, but Maugham chooses an average fisherman, balancing his persona with a mix of positive and negative descriptions. For example, Salvatore has a "pleasant, ugly" face and a "clumsy, effortless" stroke. Salvatore's goodness lies in his gratitude for what he has, no matter how little it may be, as well as his learned resilience. His positive outlook only strengthens as he grows up and experiences disappointment in his life, such as his fiancée’s rejection. 

Salvatore has all of the same desires and prejudices as any other human, as shown through his unabashed courtship of the beautiful girl from Grande Marina and his immediate refusal of Assunta based on her appearance. He suffers when his fiancée rebukes him, but he never relents to anger or cruelty. When he finds later that his family knew about his fiancée’s change of heart and neglected to soften the blow by telling him themselves, he doesn't get mad, but instead looks to them for comfort. He accepts the circumstances, keeps going, and finds a way to locate happiness in what does happen. It's this quality that allows him to find such deep contentment in the family and life he creates with Assunta.

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