A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

“‘Last week he tried to commit suicide’ one waiter said.

‘Why’

‘He was in despair.’

‘What about?’

‘Nothing.’”

The old man’s attempted suicide was not caused by a tangible event but by an overwhelming sense of despair, which sprang from nothing. Life’s purposelessness drove him to attempt suicide, alluding to the theme of Despair as a Human Condition.

“He has plenty of money.”

The old man can buy things, which should make him comfortable and content. However, he still faces despair and meaninglessness. Money cannot prevent this existential dilemma, alluding to its universality.

“What does it matter if he gets what he’s after?”

This question suggests that meaning and consequence are irrelevant, and one should just exercise the freedom of choice. Any consequence that the soldier may face for being out late is of little meaning if he can do and act as he chooses.

“I’m sleepy now. I never get into bed before three o’clock.”

The young waiter seems to be most connected to a sense of time. He is aware of how he is feeling in the moment—sleepy—as well as the time of night. Time, as defined by societal norms, has meaning to him, while the others perceive time as more individual. Its meaning comes not from how others measure time but from how one values it themselves.

“‘Who cut him down?’

‘His niece.’

‘Why did they do it?’

‘Fear for his soul.’”

The old man’s niece cut him down to save his life. Her motive was to save his soul, as it would be considered a sin to take his own life. The old man, though, has no such fear. He has embraced the disillusionment of the time and no longer finds value and meaning in institutions that promise salvation. This also proves that though the old man and the older waiter struggle with the idea that religion is meaningless, not everyone shares their beliefs.

“‘I wish he would go home. I never get to bed before three o’clock. What kind of hour is that to go to bed?’

‘He stays up because he likes it.’”

The older waiter identifies with the old man and explains why he remains in the café. This further exemplifies the differing senses of time between the old man and the younger waiter, emphasizing the story’s meditations on the generational divide.

“‘I wouldn’t want to be that old. An old man is a nasty thing.’

‘Not always. This old man is clean. He drinks without spilling. Even now, drunk. Look at him.’”

The young waiter is rude to the old man and is disgusted by him. The old man, though, does not look or act in a way that warrants such treatment. He is not dirty and is even later called “dignified.” This indicates that the younger waiter is appalled by something internal to the old man; it is his despair that he cannot shake.

“‘What is an hour?’

‘More to me than to him.’

‘An hour is the same.’”

The younger waiter again points out his different view of time. He feels he values it in a way that the older characters do not. They sit in the café, facing a paralysis, while he yearns to get home and make the most of his time. The older waiter warns him against this, pointing out that an hour is the same for everyone.

“‘He can buy a bottle and drink at home.’

‘It is not the same.’

‘No, it is not,’ agreed the waiter with a wife.”

The younger waiter, even in his hurried desire to get home to his wife, recognizes the significance that the café holds. He, if only for a moment, acknowledges that being in a clean, well-lighted place such as the café does provide something that drinking in other places does not.

“‘I am one of those who like to stay late at the café,’ the older waiter said. ‘With all those who do not want to go to bed. With all those who need a light for the night.’”

The older waiter directly identifies with the old man and aligns himself with those who like to stay at the café late at night. This emphasizes the generational divide. He understands that it is a refuge for those like him who do not want to go to bed and face their own thoughts and despair.

“It was all a nothing and a man was nothing too. It was only that and light was all it needed and a certain cleanness and order.”

The despair plaguing the two older men is “nothing,” the same nothing that drove the old man to attempt suicide. The only way to tame or manage that despair is to find a place that is well-lit, clean, and orderly. Clarity and order amid chaos are necessary to find solace from despair.

“Our nada who art in nada […]”

This short phrase annihilates both God and heaven. In this well-known prayer, the older waiter replaces God and heaven with “nada,” Spanish for nothing. It is reflective of the time’s disillusionment, as people had lost faith that religion could provide the security and salvation it promised.

“‘The light is very bright and pleasant but the bar is unpolished,’ the waiter said.”

The older waiter points out that the bar, though bright and pleasant, lacks the one element critical to creating a refuge from despair and nothingness: order. The bartender refuses to engage with the waiter’s comment, so this is a moment that emphasizes the waiter’s loneliness.