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. December 9, 2013. Henry feels a sense of dread as he approaches Dean Melrose’s office. The dean greets him enthusiastically before offering him a seat. Dean Melrose cuts straight to the chase, explaining that the position he has in mind for Henry is a tenure-track position. Henry nearly chokes. Dean Melrose asks Henry, “What do you want for yourself?” It’s the same question he asked when he pressured Henry to leave in his third year of the PhD program. Henry had told him he wasn’t sure what he wanted. And back then, that answer hadn’t been good enough. Now, though, when Henry once more says he doesn’t know, Dean Melrose applauds him for “be[ing] open.” Henry reminds Dean Melrose that he’s completely unqualified for a tenure-track position. But Melrose, his eyes foggy and gray, rebuts all of Henry’s protestations. Henry says he’ll think about it.
Dean Melrose’s enthusiasm for Henry’s uncertainty—an uncertainty Melrose earlier condemned—is yet further evidence to Henry that his new, post-deal life is more of a curse than a blessing. It shows Henry that nothing he says matters, since the curse has enchanted Melrose to approve of anything that Henry says or does. And so, while Henry thought the curse would make him matter more, it has, in fact, made him matter less.
Themes
Henry returns to work. By noon, he can’t take it anymore. He uncorks Meredith’s bottle of whisky and pours himself a drink. An off-duty police officer wanders into the shop as Henry is drinking. Henry doesn’t try to hide the liquor, but the police officer only smiles and says, “Cheers,” his eyes as misty as everyone else’s have been.
Increasingly, the novel suggests that Henry and Addie’s curses aren’t so different: both render them invisible to others, though in different ways.
Themes
