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
March 16, 2014. Addie wakes up at Henry’s apartment and finds him cooking breakfast in the kitchen. This morning is different than all the others: finally, somebody remembers her. Then Henry holds out Addie’s ring to her—she must have dropped it last night, he says. Addie panics upon seeing the ring. Henry notices and asks if something is wrong. Addie tells a half-truth, explaining that the ring is important to her—but something she also wishes she could get rid of.
Especially coming right after the chapter that recalls Addie’s heartbreak over Remy, Addie’s morning with Henry takes on a special significance. Also note the reappearance of Addie’s ring—it’s yet unclear why Addie attaches such a negative association to an object in which she took such pride, but the ring’s regular reappearances suggest that whatever this association is will be important later on, so it's something worth paying attention to.
Themes
Henry finishes cooking, and he and Addie eat breakfast together. Addie wolfs down her food; she’s so happy to finally enjoy breakfast with someone who remembers her from the night before. She knows this can’t last, but she’s going to enjoy it while she can. They chat a bit, and then Henry realizes that he’s late for work. Addie lies and says she should get home, too. They make plans to meet at a food truck rally later that day. Henry tells Addie she can take a shower and just let herself out whenever she’s ready.
Addie has been so devoid of genuine human connection over the past 300 years that even the simple act of sharing breakfast with someone who recognizes her takes on a special significance. She’s been alone in people’s homes before, but never because they explicitly, knowingly told her she could be there. Finally, she’s able to shed one layer of her invisibility.
Themes
After Henry leaves, Addie investigates the apartment, examining all the small things she missed last night. There are vintage cameras, and photographs cover every wall and surface. There’s a photo of Bea in an art gallery, and one of Bea and Henry together. There’s also a posed photograph of Henry with his family. In every photo, Henry looks so sad and lost.
With the many photographs Henry displays around his apartment, the novel once more foregrounds art and creativity. The photos of himself with his family and friends that Henry displays around the apartment, in a way, are more telling of who Henry is than Henry himself.
Themes
Addie turns her attention to Henry’s laptop on the coffee table. She puts her thumb on the trackpad, but nothing happens. She expected this, though. The curse stays the same, even as technology advances. Why, then, Addie wonders, can Henry remember her? Addie moves to the bedroom and sees a photo of Henry and Robbie. Their faces are close together. Henry looks so comfortable and happy with Robbie. In the top drawer, Addie finds a handkerchief with spots of blood on it—wrapped around an engagement ring. Addie wonders who the ring was meant for, and how different Henry was before he met her.
The novel has already shown how Addie is incapable of leaving her mark on the world, and her inability to use her thumbprint to unlock Henry’s computer is further evidence of this. Addie’s discovery of the engagement ring should make enough sense to the reader, who can logically assume that the ring was meant for Tabitha, the woman Henry is hung up over. But the presence of the bloody handkerchief wrapped around the ring adds a layer of tension and mystery to Henry’s past—what is he keeping from Addie, and does it have something to do with why he can remember her?
Themes
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