Shades

Shades has a man describing how the night falls onto the earth like a pair of shades. Then he sees the man that lights the lamps and wants to know about him. When he goes to his house no one really knows anything about him. He goes back a year later and the man has passed away.
I think that the story deals with death. Everyone in the beginning seems to fear the dark. It creeps out of all the corners and crevices and engulfs the earth. However, the lamplighter is still the soul within the person. When he dies the lighting of the lamps is gone until someone else takes over. I am gonna go out on a limb and make a connection, when the lamplighter dies he is obviously replaced, which in life someone is always getting replaced.
The lamplighter played an important part in the lives of the citizens of the town. He made it possible to go out at night and not fear the darkeness. However, no one knew the man who did this. He allowed the people to continue living their lives, yet no one seemed to bother, except the narrarator, to go and find out who this man was.