The lighthouse symbolism is interesting. It stands not so much for Stede directly, but more so white patriarchy, a system Stede grew up within, and is now actively rebelling against deep into adulthood (he’s been inadvertently and passively rebelling his entire life).
In series one, Stede hasn’t let go of what he thinks he should be: a straight, married man in a white, male-dominant world. The lighthouse structure is symbolic of that, and Stede attempts to realign himself with it despite never truly aligning to begin with.
We say Ed cracks up on Stede’s rocks at the end of series one, but Stede is also cracking upon those same rocks, because they’re not really Stede. They are the ugly truth of white patriarchy, its expectations of masculinity, and the pain it causes for men such as Stede (gay, femme) and Ed (gay, femme, brown), and women also - Mary is a victim of it too.
The only difference is Stede is partly choosing (only partly, he’s given a good shove by Chauncey plus his own mind ghosts) to dash himself against those rocks because he is still clinging to their familiarity despite their dangers. Whereas Ed is dragged in the wake of it all, and almost successfully fights the riptide, until he is thrown finally against the rocks by Izzy, who reminds Ed exactly what white patriarchy’s expectations are of people such as him.
But what Stede learns after returning to Bridgetown is what he knew the first time he left. He was born into the lighthouse system (white patriarchy), but he is, and always has been, a stranger in his own land. He is reminded of the pain of those rocks pretty quickly, hidden below the seemingly-innocuous lighthouse structure.
Stede in fact represents the better part of the lighthouse system, the light or lamp within. The idea of being a guide, which white patriarchy can so patronisingly and dangerously force upon the world, Stede takes and uses a better way. It’s separating that light from the rigidity of the lighthouse structure and using it for good, that is Stede’s part of the extended metaphor.
The light (Stede’s positive attributes and societal advantages), and how Stede chooses to use that light, is representative of his continued growth as a person. Stede uses his light to help others find their own, and works towards a greater understanding of what makes for fairer community and a better world.
