Significance of glaciers

Glaciers are a symbol of grief and the processing of emotion that takes place after someone close to you dies. Iris and Grandma go on a tour of glaciers in Alaska, Grandma talking about how that was something she and her husband had planned to do before his death. The moment when they go is climactic; the glaciers, which are enormous, imposing structures, represent how someone's essence remains even after they die, since the glaciers have been there for so long and are constantly shedding parts of themselves but remain the same anyway.