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 finishes his story. At first, Addie says nothing. Then she cries tears of happiness. She finally realizes how Henry has been able to remember her when nobody else can: Luc made a mistake! Henry doesn’t understand. Is she saying that their “deals cancel out?” Not quite, Addie explains. Addie does “see exactly what [she] want[s]” in Henry, but she doesn’t want looks or ambition. Instead, she wants someone to remember her—this, for Addie, “will always be enough.” Then Addie turns to Henry and asks how long he made his deal for. “A lifetime,” Henry replies after a pause. Technically, it’s not a lie.
Addie’s optimistic assessment that Luc made a mistake is misguided in at least one regard: unbeknownst to Addie, her time with Henry is severely limited, as Henry will owe Luc his soul exactly one year after they made their deal. It also seems rather imprudent to believe that Luc, an all-powerful god, would make a mistake and allow to people he has cursed to circumvent their doomed fates to find happiness with each other. It just doesn’t make sense, given all the documented ways that Luc has made Addie’s life miserable over the centuries. So, this scene builds tension, leading the reader to wonder what Luc has up his sleeve in letting Addie and Henry meet and connect with each other.
Themes
