Ethan only recognizes the true implications of this light after losing himself entirely to corruption. Marullo, his Italian employer, is blind to his clerk’s moral degrada-tion and therefore, by giving him the store, makes Ethan his “down payment…so the light won’t go out” (226). In doing so, Marullo entrusts that Ethan, the epitome of honesty, will fend off the immorality that has overcome society, but instead, the Italian unkno-wingly hastens the demise of Ethan’s virtue. He forces Ethan to take care of his own life, the store, but Ethan, unable to escape corruption on his own, only falls deeper into his pit of immorality, now filled with regret and remorse for his many betrayals. When Ethan finally realizes that his “light is out” (275) and that there is “nothing blacker than a wick” (275), he goes to the Place, which will soon be “under dark water” (202), to commit sui-cide. He can find no glimmer of morality within himself, no ray of virtue, no gleam of honesty; he is as black and corrupt as the society in which he lives. Sitting in the Place, the “dark water” of the ocean surrounds Ethan, signifying that corruption has finally con-sumed him. Trapped in this void of darkness and despair, he realizes he has lost his most important possession: his virtue. But as he lies in the water, the talisman in his pocket reminds him of “the caressing, stroking hands of the light-bearer” (276), his daughter, to whom the talisman must be returned “else another light might go out” (276). At this mo-ment of enlightenment, Ethan becomes conscious of the meaning of his daughter’s light, that she must be the one to carry on the tradition of morality, and he must be the one to nurture her flame to prevent her following in his footsteps. For Ethan, Ellen represents the sole light of truth in a world of dishonesty; she is the moral beacon, the shining example that present and future generations must follow. Though Ethan’s own light has been extinguished, he hopes that his daughter’s will be the impetus for the survival of morality in the world.

Recognizing the corruption in the majority of society, Ethan succumbs to immo-rality and dishonesty, embracing the seemingly inevitable darkness. When he can find no light of morality in the world around him, he surrenders to depravity, and though his daughter opens a way for his salvation, he can never return to his former, honest ways. Since Ethan’s time, not much has changed, though controversial issues with questionable morality have surfaced. For example, abortion, euthanasia, and the death penalty all in-volve the same moral question: Is it right to take a human life? Though the circumstances vary in each of these cases, one thing is certain: due to different views on the idea of mo-rality, humanity will always dispute this question’s answer.