In this story by H. E. Bates a man recovering from a troubled marriage begins a passionate affair with a lonely woman working at a beach-side café. The climax is his sense of confusion, anger, and betrayal when, having lied and told her he is single, he learns she is also married. Her husband works away from home and returns on weekends. For her, the relationship with the man appears primarily sexual. She presses him to remain her mid-week lover, and he could well be too weak-willed to refuse. Themes include isolation, loneliness, insecurity, sexuality, deception, jealousy.
This and our previous H. E. bates story (The Kimono) are significant in that they reflect the change in social mores surrounding marriage and relationships brought about by the sexual revolution of the mid twentieth century. For the man, the lighthouse symbolizes his weakness and fear. For the woman, it symbolizes connection and passion.