Death

The inevitability of separation and loss is a major theme in "Souvenir". For the six years since her father's death, the protagonist has sent her mother a Valentine's Day card, to commemorate the day that her parents always celebrated together in some way. The day after the first Valentine's Day she forgets to send the card, she learns that her mother might die from a brain tumor. The rituals that serve to maintain human connections are inadequate in the face of inevitable loss.

Cycle of Life

The story ends with Kate and her mother at the top of a Ferris wheel. As the ride began, Kate asks her mother if she is "ready for the big sky," unwittingly voicing her concerns about her mother's now precarious hold on life. This unconscious reference suggests the ultimate separation of parent and child by death. Nevertheless, it is important that the...