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
Los Angeles, California. April 7, 1952. Max tells Addie she’s beautiful, and Addie blushes behind her martini. They “met” outside the Wilshire that morning just after Addie had left from spending the night in his room. They’ve spent the rest of the day together. Addie lied and said it was her birthday. She’s not sure why she lied; maybe she’s tired of having the same day repeatedly. Then a server approaches them carrying a bottle of Champagne. Max says it’s for Addie’s birthday. Addie sips the Champagne, relishing its luxurious and authentic taste. Max is wealthy and can afford the real thing. He’s a sculptor whose wealthy family foots the bills.
Max is just the latest in the string of artists Addie has gravitated to in her many years on earth, reaffirming art, creativity, and expression’s central role in the novel. Also note that Addie is sipping Champagne—the drink that Luc typically orders for her to announce his presence. Is Addie’s choice of alcohol an attempt to taunt Luc—to make him jealous? The novel has hinted at a past romance between Luc and Addie, and Addie’s actions in this scene support this theory.
Themes
Max raises his glass to toast Addie’s birthday. Just then, Luc approaches their table. Addie tells Max that Luc is “an old friend,” and Luc rudely orders Max to leave so they can catch up. After Max leaves, Addie swears at Luc for interrupting her date. Luc asks how long Addie has been seeing Max. Two months, Addie says. And it’s not so bad: he falls in love with her again every day. Plus, he “keeps [her] company.” Luc pause and then says that he, too, would keep Addie company—if she’s interested. Addie feels herself blush. She doesn’t want Luc to know that she’s missed him, though. She plays it cool, saying that they might as well spend the evening together since Luc ruined her existing plans.
Addie’s conflicted reaction to Luc’s arrival—and the way she blushes when he tells her that he’d like to keep her company—further suggests that Addie harbors romantic feelings toward him. She seems to be letting her guard down around him, interpreting his actions not as calculated efforts to manipulate and control her, but as the actions of a vulnerable, lovesick equal.
Themes
Luc leads Addie to the Cicada Club. It’s decorated in an art deco style and has a crushed red carpet and balcony seats. A brass band plays in the corner, and the place is packed. A new performer takes the stage; “Sinatra,” Luc informs Addie. Addie invites Luc to dance with her. They move to the dance floor. Addie doesn’t think they’ve ever been so physically close before. His body folds around her and feels “like a blanket,” not at all like “shadow and smoke.”
Addie’s romantic feelings for Luc come through in the way she now sees his body as comforting, "like a blanket," as opposed to the “shadow and smoke” that overtook her so many years ago in the woods outside Villon.
Themes
As they dance, Luc whispers in Addie’s ear that even if people remembered her, he’d still know her best. Also, Addie is the only person who knows him. Then he tells Addie that he has always wanted her. But Addie accuses Luc of seeing her “as a prize” or “a meal” to be won and “consumed.” Luc asks Addie if there’s anything wrong with this. Their mouths hover close as Addie considers this. Looking back, she won’t know who kissed whom first. But when Luc kisses her, he does so “like someone tasting poison,” as though he fears her.
Luc’s observation that he and Addie know each other best attempts to paint himself and Addie as companions rather than adversaries. He’s suggesting that they are the same—that they are equals. Addie’s observation that Luc kisses her “like someone tasting poison” suggests that Luc’s apparent feelings for her have made him vulnerable—have given her a degree of power over him, or, at least, that his feelings have leveled the playing field. But is this really the case? Recall that it wasn’t so long ago that Luc explicitly reminded Addie never to mistake any of his actions toward her as “merciful.” Has Luc changed, or is he merely fooling Addie?
Themes
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Suddenly, darkness is all around Addie, and the Cicada Club dissolves into nothing. She falls and lands in a hotel room. Luc’s arms wrap around her like a cage. She could escape—but she doesn’t. Luc kisses her again, and she realizes that it is like no other kiss: he is made for her as nobody else is. The first time they have sex, it’s like a fight: two people not wanting to give in to the other. In the morning, Luc says he finally doesn’t want to leave—but he must, for he’s “a thing of darkness.” Addie gets up and draws the curtains closed. Luc laughs and pulls her back into the bed.
Addie’s realization that Luc is made for her seems an admission of romance. And her action to draw the curtains closed so that Luc, “a thing of darkness,” doesn’t have to leave her side, is further proof that she’s developed feelings for him. This is obviously a major turning point in their relationship: it’s the first time they’ve been physically intimate, and this marks a major shift in Addie’s willingness to show vulnerability around Luc. The question is whether Luc reciprocates Addie’s feelings—or whether he is simply playing her, as he’s done all along.
Themes
