Maureen Versus Harold's Departure

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

The marital conflict that drives the novel's tension, from Maureen's fury at Harold's abandonment to her journey toward reconciliation.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The Call From Loddiswell The Call From Loddiswell from "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry". The Call From Loddiswell The Stunned Wife Maureen answers the phone and learns Harold is five miles away and planning to walk to Berwick-upon-Tweed.

The Call From Loddiswell from "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry". The Call From Loddiswell The Stunned Wife Maureen answers the phone and learns Harold is five miles away and planning to walk to Berwick-upon-Tweed.

The Call From Loddiswell The Stunned Wife Maureen answers the phone and learns Harold is five miles away and planning to walk to Berwick-upon-Tweed. She tells him he cannot save people from cancer, and that he cannot even slice bread without making a mess. The Sound Of His Freedom Harold is laughing. He tells her about the garage girl and the burger with gherkins. The laughter is unbearable because it comes from a part of him she has not seen in years. The Bolt Of Fury Maureen hangs up, replaced by a galvanizing fury. How dare he leave her after forty-seven years? How dare he humiliate her in front of herself?

The Lie And The Locum The Lie And The Locum from "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry". The Lie And The Locum The Garden Of The Lie Maureen tells Rex that Harold is in bed with a twisted ankle.

The Lie And The Locum from "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry". The Lie And The Locum The Garden Of The Lie Maureen tells Rex that Harold is in bed with a twisted ankle.

The Lie And The Locum The Garden Of The Lie Maureen tells Rex that Harold is in bed with a twisted ankle. Then she visits a locum to suggest Harold has Alzheimer's and should be stopped. The words feel like a betrayal of him. The Shame Of Seeing The locum is baffled and almost laughs. Maureen rushes out with a prescription for sleeping tablets, sick with shame. Explaining Harold's life forces her to see his point of view. The Choice To Wait The conflict inside Maureen is between control and love. She cannot bring Harold home by force, and she is not sure she wants to. Waiting becomes her only weapon.

Darlington Tea Darlington Tea from "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry". Darlington Tea The Pilgrim Stranger Maureen finds Harold among his followers and is disarmed by his vitality.

Darlington Tea from "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry". Darlington Tea The Pilgrim Stranger Maureen finds Harold among his followers and is disarmed by his vitality.

Darlington Tea The Pilgrim Stranger Maureen finds Harold among his followers and is disarmed by his vitality. He looks like a weather-beaten pirate, a man she does not know. The Awkward Table The tea is warm but their words collide. She says she misses him and wishes he would come home. He says he misses her too, but he must finish the walk. The Sentence She Cannot Take Back When he asks her to walk with him, she says I think not. The phrase is her shield and her prison. She drives away without waving, and the conflict remains unresolved.

The Wooler Telephone The Wooler Telephone from "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry". The Wooler Telephone The Broken Pilgrim Harold calls from Wooler, barely coherent, asking for home.

The Wooler Telephone from "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry". The Wooler Telephone The Broken Pilgrim Harold calls from Wooler, barely coherent, asking for home.

The Wooler Telephone The Broken Pilgrim Harold calls from Wooler, barely coherent, asking for home. The tables have turned: it is Maureen who must insist he keep walking. The Map And The Weather She and Rex have worked out where he is. She tells him the forecast is full of happy sun shapes, that Queenie is still alive, and that he must stay on the B6525. The Reversal Of Roles Maureen has become the believer. Her earlier rage at his departure is replaced by a fierce desire that he finish what he started. The conflict shifts from enemy to ally.

Reconciliation On The Bench Reconciliation On The Bench from "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry". Reconciliation On The Bench The End Of Blame Maureen sits beside Harold and tells him she was wrong to blame him for David's death.

Reconciliation On The Bench from "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry". Reconciliation On The Bench The End Of Blame Maureen sits beside Harold and tells him she was wrong to blame him for David's death.

Reconciliation On The Bench The End Of Blame Maureen sits beside Harold and tells him she was wrong to blame him for David's death. She says there was nothing more he could have done for Queenie. The Return Of Love The years of silence break. She holds him, kisses his cheeks, and whispers I love you, Harold Fry. The fight is over. A New Marriage The conflict is not erased but transformed. They will go home together, face tests and colds and forgetting, one day at a time. The war has become a marriage.

First evening of the walk

First fortnight of the walk

Mid-June

Early July

After Queenie's death, Berwick seafront