The theme of the inevitability of the passage of time is at the core of this play. The old couple realizes that their lives are nearing the end and the event they have planned symbolizes the recounting of their days and the people who had been in their lives. Isolated by age, as symbolized by the island where they live, the old man gazes longingly out the window for the sight of any boat or sign of their former life to punctuate the monotony.

The ravages of age have taken its toll on their bodies as well as their minds, as evidenced by the old man's calling out for his mother and the old woman behaving vulgarly and totally out of character when in the presence of her ex-lover.

The guests symbolize phases of their lives: the young woman becomes the old woman who once...