Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Memory and Meaning
Love and Vulnerability
Freedom
Art, Creativity, and Expression
Wonder and Knowledge
Summary
Analysis
New York City. March 17, 2014. Henry is supposed to work the next morning, but he lies and says The Last Word is closed on Mondays. Addie pretends that she believes the lie. Addie and Henry go to a corner store to get breakfast. Then Robbie walks in. Addie knows this will create a problem, and she doesn’t want to lose the good thing she has with Henry just yet. Robbie spots Henry and then Addie. He asks Henry who Addie is, and Henry thinks Robbie is being rude or drunk. Robbie, offended, claims he’s never seen Addie before.
Addie’s anxieties about her relationship with Henry literally stem from her fear that her curse will take over and ruin everything. But metaphorically, her fears highlight the way that a person’s relationships with others are inevitably beyond their ability to control—in other words, emotional vulnerability and uncertainty are the price one pays for meaningful, intimate relationships.
Themes
Henry angrily reminds Robbie that he met Addie last night. Addie pleads with Henry to drop it and just leave the store with her. Henry finally agrees. Outside, he apologizes on Robbie’s behalf. Addie tells Henry it’s not Robbie’s fault. Inwardly, she wonders if she can tell Henry the truth. With all the others, the words can’t physically come. But Henry remembers her—so maybe she can tell him her story, too. Addie pauses, and then she tells the full truth, beginning in 1691, when she was born.
This is a huge moment for Addie, since before Henry, she’s been physically unable to tell her life story—including her deal with the darkness—to any living being. Metaphorically, her willingness to open up to Henry represents her openness to emotional vulnerability as well. In telling Henry her fantastical story, she risks experiencing the disappointment and heartbreak that would come from him not believing her—and that’s apparently a risk she’s willing to take if telling him the truth is what it takes to salvage their relationship.
Themes
