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The ghostly couple are two people who lived in the house long ago. Readers may infer that they were husband and wife, although the narrator never refers to them as such. However, readers do know that they are female and male due to the narrator’s use of the pronouns he and she when referring to the pair.
The ghostly couple appears to love each other very much, even after death. They walk hand in hand, seek their treasure together, and even finish each other’s sentences, sometimes speaking as one voice. The woman died first, leaving her partner alone. He sealed up the house and left it empty when he began wandering the world. Later, he returned to the house to find what he sought. The ghostly couple share fond memories associated with specific places in the house and gardens in all seasons. They are kindly ghosts, and instead of attempting to frighten the living couple, they whisper and try not to disturb them. The ghostly couple seems to want the living couple to stay. The treasure the ghostly couple seeks is the joy and love they shared in life. They now perceive this love in the hearts of the living couple.
The ghosts may also be figments of the narrator’s active imagination, a sign of mental illness, or a representation the narrator’s attempt to create a metaphor for the nature of love.
