I'm in the middle of my third play through and I've just completed the wine cellar puzzle. I noticed that when Raoul the waiter is let out of the pantry he says "No man should ever be locked up in such a small, dark place." I found this comment ironic because a coffin could be described as a small, dark place and here we have Raoul, who would most likely have been buried in a coffin, saying that no man should suffer such a fate. Perhaps its a metaphor for how the dead still have fears and vulnerabilities even after dying and leaving the land of the living. Or maybe what we, the living, intend for the dead may not be appreciated by the dead.

Even if Tim Schafer wrote it as nothing more than a throw away line I still find it interesting.To me it's just another example of how well written this game is.

That's a very interesting thought. And it makes you think.

Yeah. That's the kind of thing that makes me love Grim Fandango :)

Heh, I never noticed that.

I feel kind of stupid for not getting it the first time, though.

It's a bit late, but anyway I'm answering it.
It's a very deep thought the one of yours, I had never thought of that.
I believe there are a lot of subtle themes in GF, like a revolution, romance, etc. (communism can be considered as another subtle theme in GF)