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Chapter 8
Themes
and Colors
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
Maureen’s shock has turned to fury at Harold. His postcards and phone calls only exacerbate her anger. Rex keeps trying to bring Harold gifts, and Maureen regrets her lie. One night, Harold tells Maureen he thinks he’s walking for David, too. Maureen tells Harold to own up to his choices and hangs up on him. That night, she dreams she is sitting at a crowded table with her liver in her lap, panicking. The next day, she calls David, who urges her to visit the doctor, saying things she is “too afraid to say.” Surprisingly, he refers to Queenie as a good woman and reminds Maureen that she visited the house once with an urgent message. Maureen books a doctor’s appointment.
Maureen’s true emotions rise to the surface the longer Harold is away, indicating that she too is coming to terms with her dissatisfaction with their marriage. Harold’s claim that he is walking for David suggests he is trying to atone for the ways he failed as a father. But Maureen implies that Harold’s reasons are selfish and unrelated to their son, from whom Harold remains distant. Maureen’s dream confirms that she is struggling to pretend things are normal and repress unpleasant feelings, represented by the liver she cannot hide. David seems more direct than either of his parents, though his instructions to Maureen are intentionally concealed for dramatic effect. His mention of Queenie seems to shame Maureen for her dislike of the other woman.
Active
Themes
