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. August 2014. The next days are some of Henry’s happiest. Knowing that he’ll soon be dead is oddly freeing. He knows he should be scared, but he’s not. He and Addie rent a car and go upstate. As they drive, Henry realizes that Addie hasn’t met his parents—and that if he doesn’t see his family now, he’ll never have the chance to say goodbye. They miss the exit, though, and then it’s too late. Instead, they go to a state park and spend the day wandering around the woods. They make a picnic. At night, they look at the stars.
In his final days, Henry realizes that he’s been going about things the wrong way all along. He’s long thought that control and certainty about what he wanted would bring him meaning and satisfaction. Now, he sees that dwelling in uncertainty and the vulnerability that comes with that is what has made his life meaningful.
Themes
Late that night, lying on the blanket together, Henry asks Addie if she’d make the deal all over again. Addie says that her life has been long and lonely—but she wouldn’t change a thing about it. “Nothing is all good or all bad,” she tells Henry.
Addie’s response suggests that everything good and worthwhile in life comes at a cost—but for some things, like love, the cost is worth it. The same sentiment applies to the deal she made with Luc: the deal may have forced her to incur much loneliness and suffering, but it was worth it for all the freedom and adventure it allowed her to experience, too.
Themes
Before long, Henry has only days to live. He says goodbye to Bea and Robbie at the Merchant. Addie sits at the bar to give them some space. Everything is normal; Bea talks about her thesis, and Robbie talks about his latest performance. Henry lies and tells them he’s going out of town. He asks Bea to cover for him at the store. The goodbye is simple and perfect because his friends don’t know it’s a goodbye. When he starts to get sad, Addie is there. Henry’s watch inches closer to midnight.
Henry tried to control the way others felt about him when he made his deal with Luc, and now he’s ultimately paying the price for his foolish inability to be vulnerable and live in uncertainty. Henry’s decision not to tell his friends about his impending death shows that he’s internalized this lesson and now sees the value of uncertainty and letting people respond as they will.
Themes
