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 18, 2014. Bea enters The Last Word. She tells Henry that Robbie wants to know why Henry is avoiding him. Henry feels bad, but he can’t excuse Robbie’s rudeness at the corner shop or the dinner party. Then Henry introduces Bea to Addie. Bea repeats her observation about Addie’s face being “timeless.” Henry comments on the neon paint on Bea’s fingers, and Bea tells him about the Artifact, a cross between a carnival and an art exhibit. Bea describes her night, and Addie appears genuinely intrigued. Addie tells Henry they should go. Henry asks Bea to close the shop for him, and then Henry and Addie head out.
It's not totally fair of Henry to be mad at Robbie; after all, Robbie’s emotions and actions are being manipulated by not one but two curses: Addie’s curse prevents him from remembering her, while Henry’s curse ensures Robbie’s unnatural obsession with Henry. Also note how the name of the art exhibit, the Artifact, reflects the novel’s central theme of art’s ability to immortalize ideas and give meaning to life (an “artifact” is an object of cultural or historical significance, made by a human being).
Themes
