Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Ambition vs. Morality
Femininity, Sexuality, and Power
Truth and Identity
Family
Summary
Analysis
Evelyn’s biography picks back up as she continues to transform her identity. Right after Evelyn dyes her hair, the studio places her in several inconsequential comedy films, the first of which is Father and Daughter. She goes along with it, firstly because she has no choice, and secondly because she knows she’s gaining momentum. Harry pushes her to go on a date with Brick Thomas, a former child star with a huge ego. One night, Evelyn and Brick go on a date, fully styled and driving Harry’s Cadillac. Before they even sit down at the restaurant, photographers begin to take their picture. At the end of the date, Brick tells Evelyn that people will start rumors about them tomorrow and offers to “make ‘em true.” Evelyn replies, “Don’t hold your breath.”
At this juncture, Evelyn relies on the patience she’s cultivated, riding out the process of filming less important movies because she knows she’ll reap the rewards eventually. Her distaste for Brick shows that, no matter how much effort she puts into cultivating her hyper-feminine, people-pleasing persona, she finds it hard to pander to men with oversized egos. Her date with Brick is fully styled and choreographed, highlighting the fact that romance is simply another part of her job as an actor.
Themes
Harry drives Evelyn home from the date and tells her that, while she doesn’t have to like every man she dates, it’d be good if she could take some of them seriously. When Don Adler shows up at her house for their first date, he tells her he’s been begging Harry to meet her. Evelyn knows he’s equally as handsome as her other dates, but for some reason—perhaps because, at least early on, he treats her like a person and not a possession—she genuinely likes him. Their first date lasts the whole night. Don and Evelyn dance for hours at a club filled with celebrities. When Don drops Evelyn home, he asks to see her again—not arranged by Harry, and not a photo op, but a real date. She agrees, and he cancels his prior arrangement to go out with her then instead.
Don’s immediately humbler and more vulnerable than Brick, and it’s clear that Evelyn finds these qualities attractive. She’s less excited by handsomeness—which, she’s discovered, is everywhere in Hollywood—and more delighted by what she perceives to be a genuine connection. It’s also important to her to be prioritized, a desire that Don fulfills by choosing to cancel a prior arrangement to go out with her. Evelyn’s inflexibility in the date she sets for Don is a way she exerts power in a male-driven society.
Themes
