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Chapter 20
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Human Connection
Faith and Control
Memory, Grief, and Atonement
Nature vs. the Modern World
Journeys and Growth
Summary
Analysis
On a stretch of country road, Harold senses someone is following him, though he can see no one. The unnerving feeling follows him all day and through the night. The next morning, a young man calls his name across the road. The boy, Wilf, claims he is also a pilgrim who wants to save Queenie Hennessy. He has a new sleeping bag and walking shoes. Wilf, with his nervous chatter, reminds Harold of David. The boy claims the Lord sent him a sign that he should accompany Harold, who he calls Mr. Fry. Harold discovers there is also a stray dog following him, which cannot be persuaded to leave. It continually brings a stone for Harold to throw.
Evidently Wilf related so intensely to Harold’s story that he decided to join him. It is worth noting that Wilf does not ask Harold’s permission and that he claims to be walking for Queenie as well—these details show that, despite his sincerity, Wilf is appropriating Harold’s journey for his own purposes. Despite this, Harold has sympathy for the boy, particularly because he reminds him of David, who he never successfully guided in any way. The dog’s appearance suggests that Harold’s walk has given him a strange magnetism.
Themes
A gardening woman recognizes Harold from the newspaper and invites him to supper. Harold calls Maureen, who tells him about the publicist. The gardening woman invites her friends, who toast Queenie’s health. Unlike Wilf, Harold feels separate from the others and longs to slip away. Wilf reports that the others have asked if he is Harold’s son, but he is too young. Harold, Wilf, and the dog depart. They make camp early beneath a fallen tree. Harold cooks wild mushrooms, instructing Wilf in his methods of foraging learned from the guidebook. Harold feels less afraid “out in the open,” reflecting that his civilized life was filled with trouble. Watching Wilf play with the dog, Harold realizes he has grown used to solitude.
Although Harold’s newfound fame facilitates further connections, the fame makes him awkward and unsure of people’s motivations. Unlike Harold, Wilf enjoys the attention. Harold’s longing to be alone in nature is evidence of how the walk is changing him: where he once relied on external validation, now he prefers solitude with his own thoughts. Here, the novel associates civilization with troubling distractions and the natural world with peaceful (and solitary) contemplation.
Themes
Wilf prays before bed. The boy is frightened at night, and Harold comforts him. He wonders if David would have fared better with a different father. They continue the next morning. Wilf speaks of his faith in the Lord, but Harold notes his moodiness and frequent panic. He instructs the boy in wilderness survival, feeling he is doing for him what he should have done for David. Wilf makes disparaging remarks about Harold’s foraging, which Harold ignores. Harold tells Wilf about Queenie and the ease of sharing his life with her while traveling. Wilf fiddles with Queenie’s souvenirs without asking and procures milk that he claims was “going free.” He reminds Harold so much of David.
Wilf’s professed faith in God seems at odds with his frequently surly attitude, implying it is performative. In comparing Wilf to David, Harold imagines their relationship as an opportunity to make up for the ways he failed his son. There is a sense that Harold cannot atone to David directly for some reason. Wilf’s problematic behavior doesn’t make Harold dislike him, as it reminds him of David, who was similarly troubled.
Themes
