I haven’t read IWWV but read the TSH about a year ago and it left a huge impression on me. I did find the thematic thread running through the entire book, because Henry lives by the ancient values and is basically crushed by what he sees as Julian abandoning everything he preached about. His actions are pretty much always driven by his devotion to those values and at the very end we can see how it leaves a lasting effect on all of them–just in different ways.