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Chapter 22
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
Unable to bear her loneliness any longer, Maureen drives to Darlington to see Harold, accompanied by Rex. Harold is easy to find, accompanied by other pilgrims and surrounded by a crowd of locals. To Maureen, he looks like “the man he should have been all along.” Harold laughs with joy when he sees her and joins her for a cup of tea. He autographs the arm of the waitress who takes their order without a second thought. Maureen feels proud of him but out of place. Everyone in the restaurant watches them, seated near a window so Harold can watch his dog, who waits outside. Though they have been together 47 years, Maureen feels inexplicably shy.
Maureen reaches a stage in her own growth journey where she cannot move forward without knowing where she stands with Harold. Harold’s popularity is disorienting, making him feel like a stranger to her. That this stranger seems self-fulfilled without her seems to confirm that Maureen herself has been holding Harold back in some way.
Themes
Harold tells Maureen about the kindness of strangers and the field he slept in last night. She feels ashamed for not understanding his journey, feeling dull in comparison. Maureen misses Harold and asks him to come home. Harold contemplates this. He misses Maureen too, but feels he is finally doing something with his life. Queenie is waiting for him. Maureen considers their marriage, so many moments seeming far away. Harold invites Maureen to let go of her possessions and walk with him, but she declines. She apologizes for asking Harold to give up his walk, but he says he is the one who needs forgiveness. Maureen leaves Harold behind and returns home.
Though Maureen understands Harold’s desire to do something meaningful, she feels his pilgrimage has further separated them. Here, the novel explores how personal growth and change can lead to people leaving the things and relationships which no longer serve them. Harold and Maureen’s marriage, already damaged by past pain, seems unsalvageable in this moment, especially since neither one is willing to give up their current journeys to be together. Though Maureen and Harold both need the other’s forgiveness, they are unable to bridge the gap between them in this moment.
Themes
