Henry’s letter allows him to convey his love for her from beyond the grave. It also gives her the encouragement and support she needs to find a way back into the world in the aftermath of her great loss. Citing Richard’s broken state in the aftermath of Annette’s death as an example, Henry suggests that while absence can be a positive thing, making one feel their love for their absent partner more acutely, Clare shouldn’t let her love and grief for Henry consume her to the point that she cannot exist without him. Henry recognizes that Clare has spent her entire life waiting for him and that it’s finally time for her to start living on her own terms. He wants her to be a free, winged bird rather than a trapped, “dark bird.”