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
Addie and Henry are at the food truck festival. Addie watches Henry order falafel from a middle-aged woman who leans forward to talk intently to Henry. It’s a little odd. Henry eventually gets his order, and then he and Addie sit down on a slope of grass to eat. Addie asks Henry about the woman at the food truck. Henry says that the woman said he reminded her of her son. Addie can tell Henry isn’t telling her the full truth, but she drops it.
The middle-aged woman’s enthusiasm to talk with Henry is the latest in a series of total strangers who seem to take an unnaturally keen interest in the altogether subdued and unremarkable-seeming Henry. Once more, the novel teases whatever is going on with Henry’s character that he’s keeping from Addie (and from the reader). Addie’s decision not to press Henry on the subject, though, shows that she’s willing to accept the degree of uncertainty and instability inherent in intimate, meaningful relationships.
Themes
Henry’s phone rings; it’s Bea. Henry hangs up and explains that Bea is having a dinner party tonight—and Henry was supposed to bring dessert. He’s worried it’s too late to find something, but Addie has a plan. Addie brings Henry to a French bakery in Brooklyn that belongs to a man named Michel. The shop is closed when they arrive, but Addie speaks to Michel in French, pretending she’s friends with Michel’s daughter, Delphine, and Michel gives Addie the day’s remaining pastries and refuses to accept payment. Henry is amazed and invites Addie to attend the dinner party. Addie doesn’t know how to explain why she can’t go, so she says yes.
Though Addie can’t make a lasting impression on people (other than Henry), she makes an effort to engage in fleeting moments of human connection where she can, as evidenced by her conversation with Michel, in which their use of the French language immerses Michel in a culture he seems homesick for. This scene also builds tension: the dinner party will likely create a lot of questions for Henry, as it’ll put Addie in contact with a whole apartment full of people who will repeatedly fail to remember Addie each time they or she leave the room. Addie likely fears that this peculiarity will be the nail in the coffin for this brief respite of familiarity she’s enjoyed with Henry.
Themes
On the way there, Henry gives Addie the lowdown about the guests. Robbie is nice but “difficult.” Henry also explains that he was dating a girl named Tabitha. He proposed to her, but she said no. Addie realizes that this is the story behind the ring she found earlier. She also senses that there’s more to the story, and that Henry has a habit of “leaving truths half-told.” She tells Henry it’s okay—they all have baggage.
Henry confides in Addie about Tabitha, but his omission of the bloody handkerchief from the story is evidence that he’s “leaving truths half-told,” though Addie seems fine to let Henry be. Thus far, she seems to value his human fragility above all else, as this sets him apart from Luc, so his discomfort with sharing something personal is almost a positive thing, as it’s a reminder that he’s human and imperfect.
Themes
Addie and Henry arrive at the party. Bea greets them at the door. Then she turns to Addie and asks, “who’s this?” Henry is puzzled—he introduced Bea to Addie at the shop earlier. Bea thinks Henry is joking. Then she calls Addie’s face “timeless,” just like before. Henry frowns, confused. Before Addie can explain, Robbie arrives. He asks who Addie is and asks probing questions about her work as a supposed “talent scout.” Henry tells Robbie to stop being rude.
From the start, Addie’s fears about the dinner party seem to be coming true—Bea fails to recognize her, and Henry responds to this with understandable confusion. But no unseen force causes Henry, too, to dissolve into unfamiliarity, so this is at least a positive sign for Addie.
Themes
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