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
In her hospice room, Queenie notices a pink shimmering light twisting in the air. She remembers someone coming to visit, but now they are gone. The person had walked, but she can’t remember from where. Then she remembers: Harold Fry came to say goodbye. Queenie thinks of her life and how she used to fear losing it, but now she is tired. She remembers playing a game with someone—her father or Harold Fry—who pretended she was invisible. Queenie calls out that she is here. Her next breath never comes, and she passes away easily.
In Queenie’s perspective, the narrative confirms that Harold’s journey did make some kind of difference in Queenie’s life. She remembers his visit and the light from the quartz souvenir seems to bring her peace. In the end, Queenie dies comforted by her memories.