The description of the valley of Ebro, in the opening paragraph, is often seen as having deeper meanings: "It has long been recognized that the two sides of the valley of the Ebro represent two ways of life, one a sterile perpetuation of the aimless hedonism the couple have been pursuing, the other a participation in life in its full natural sense." Critics also point to the various positions of the characters, with relation to the train tracks and the valley, to show a wide variety of possible symbolic interpretations.