I've often wondered the same thing. Are we reading in way more than the author ever intended? Given the myriad different lenses one can view a work (feminism, Marxism, etc), it seems unlikely that the author has something to say that addresses each of these points of view. I've also seen interviews with modern authors, such as Stephen King (I know, not the best example of literature but it goes with my point), that go on to suggest that the authors themselves go back and add symbolism and themes after finishing the book, just because they are expected to have a deeper meaning hidden in there.
However, I don't think that means there's not a deeper meaning to "The Altar." The shaping like an altar was clearly deliberate and his language symbolic of less literal ideas than written on the page. The author may not have intended the meanings that some of us got out of it, but isn't that part of what makes literature interesting? That each of us can get something different out of a work?
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