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Part 1, Chapter 4: The Window
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Magic, Cinema, and Imagination
Friendship, Honesty, and Vulnerability
Meaning and Purpose
Hardship and Maturity
Summary
Analysis
Hugo returns to his room in the train station. Then, he uses a match to light some candles because the lightbulb in his room doesn’t work. Satisfied, Hugo reaches in his pocket to rub his hand on his notebook, only to realize it is not there. In one corner of Hugo’s room is a pile of boxes. Hugo moves the boxes aside and pulls out a large object covered in fabric. Underneath the fabric is an automaton sitting at a desk—it is the spitting image of what Georges saw in Hugo’s notebook. The automaton is built from an array of gears, metal, and other fine machinery. The automaton is incredibly important to Hugo and has been ever since his father first showed it to him.
The state of Hugo’s room reveals the extent of his impoverished conditions—he doesn’t even have electricity. Therefore, the few items he does possess are especially important to him—particularly the automaton and the notebook. Evidently, part of the reason Hugo cares about the notebook is because of what it can teach him about the automaton. Additionally, the automaton is linked to Hugo’s father who, for reasons that are soon to be revealed, is no longer in Hugo’s life.
Themes
Hugo’s father used to own a clock shop and took care of the clocks in one of Paris’s museums. In a flashback, Hugo’s father comes home late from work and tells Hugo about the automaton. He found the automaton in the attic of the museum and describes it as the most “beautiful” and “complicated” machine he’s ever come across. Hugo’s father tells him that the automaton can write; or, at least, it could if it was working properly. Right now, the automaton is too rusted and broken to do anything.
Hugo and his father share similar interests: they both work with clocks, and the automaton fascinates them. Both clocks and the automaton were built with cutting-edge technology for the time. Both are symbols of the modern world, and their complex, intricate designs helped create the aesthetic of technologically driven cities at the start of the 20th century.
Themes
Hugo asks his father who made the automaton. Hugo’s father says that no one knows—not even the people at the museum. However, Hugo’s father knows that magicians built the other automatons he’s seen and speculates that a magician could have constructed this one as well. He also teaches Hugo that some famous magicians started off as clock makers, which provided them the knowledge they needed to build fantastic machines. Magicians often used these machines in their acts to create the illusion of artificial life. All of this information impresses Hugo and he asks his father if he can fix the automaton; after all, his father is a clock maker. Hugo’s father says he is unsure whether that is possible because of the automaton’s extensive damage.
What Hugo’s father says is true: magicians were responsible for creating many of the humanoid automatons in the late-19th and early 20th centuries—often for use in their stage shows. Because no one had seen anything like an automaton before, the machines were like magic tricks in and of themselves. The machines were incredibly complex, meaning that it would take a talented person to be able to build or repair them. The fact the Hugo’s father is even considering making one therefore suggests that he is highly competent.
Themes
Like his father, Hugo is talented when it comes to clocks. His father taught him how to fix broken clocks at a young age, and by only six years old, Hugo could fix almost anything. As such, the automaton sounds amazing to Hugo, and he begs his father to take him to see it. Hugo’s father gives in and takes him to the museum a few nights later. They go up to the museum attic together where all sorts of strange objects— stuffed birds, jars with odd liquids, old signs—are scattered around. In the corner is the automaton, and Hugo falls in love with it as soon as he sees it. He thinks it is beautiful, even though it is rusted and broken.
Again, it seems as though Hugo and his father are similar people, with similar interests. Hugo’s father appreciates his son’s curiosity and does what he can to satiate it. Additionally, this section once again reinforces the important of the automaton—and, in turn, the notebook—to Hugo. For him, it is an object of beautiful object that he appreciates, even in its current state of disrepair.
Themes
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Hugo tells his father to fix the automaton so they can watch it write. Hugo’s father says he’ll think about it, which he does for the next few days. During this time, he begins drawing the automaton in his notebooks. Then, he takes the automaton apart and draws each individual part. As he puts the automaton back together, he cleans the rust off of it. When Hugo’s birthday comes around, Hugo’s father gives him one of his notebooks as a gift. The longer the project goes on, the more the automaton preoccupies Hugo's father's mind. At one point, he brings Hugo to the museum and shows him how the automaton works. It still cannot write, but Hugo’s father is confident he knows how to fix it.
Here, the story reveals the full extent of the notebook’s importance to Hugo: the notebook once belonged to his father, who is no longer in his life. As such, the notebook is not simply an instruction manual: it also symbolizes Hugo’s connection to his father. This explains why Hugo rubs the notebook when he is nervous; it reminds him of his father and helps him to feel secure. Additionally, this section further emphasizes Hugo’s father’s competency, showing how he can break down the automaton into its smallest parts and then reconstruct it.
Themes
One night, a security guard accidently locks Hugo’s father in the museum’s attic because he forgot he was working up there. While Hugo’s father is in the attic, a fire starts somewhere in the building. Because he is locked in the attic, the fire burns Hugo’s father alive. Meanwhile, Hugo stays up all night and waits for his father to return home. However, he never does. The next morning, Hugo’s Uncle Claude knocks on the door. When Hugo opens the door, he finds Claude reeking of alcohol. All Claude says to him is, “Your father’s dead, and as your only living relative, I’m taking you in.”
A lot happens in this short section, and much of it goes unexplained for both Hugo and the reader. The story implies that Uncle Claude’s drinking is a regular habit rather than something he is doing because he is upset over the death of Hugo’s father. After all, his tone suggests that the death barely affected him. It also makes him seem like a poor choice of guardian for Hugo. He has no empathy for the young boy, as he doesn’t even try to take Hugo’s feelings into consideration.
Themes
Hugo barely registers what Claude says. He packs up his possessions in a daze, including the notebook his father gifted him. Hugo and Claude walk to the train station where Claude lives and works. On the way there, Claude tries to explain to Hugo what happened to his father. When Hugo understands what happened, he blames himself. His father was only in the museum’s attic because Hugo asked him to fix the automaton.
One of the novel’s main themes is how hardships affect young children. Although Hugo’s difficult upbringing will ultimately benefit him in some ways, it is also undeniably tragic and damaging. Claude only makes matters worse because he does not take Hugo’s emotions into account or try to make him feel better in any way.
Themes
Claude tells Hugo that he will serve as his apprentice in taking care of the clocks. As Hugo walks, he starts rubbing the notebook in his pocket. Then, he asks Claude what will become of his schooling. Claude says that Hugo won’t need to go to school anymore once he teaches him how to work in the train station. Claude claims that Hugo’s father would be proud of his son’s new job because Hugo will be working with clocks. Then, Claude takes a big drink from a flask.
Chronologically, this is the first time Hugo rubs the notebook, again reinforcing the idea that it is a source of comfort. Additionally, Claude once again shows that he is not fit to be a parent; he takes Hugo out of school and teaches him to do his job. The implication, here, is that Claude wants Hugo to do his job for him.
Themes
When he was very young, Hugo wanted to be a horologist (a clockmaker) like his father. However, after discovering the automaton, he decided he would prefer to be a magician instead. For a moment, he considers running away from Claude. However, before Hugo can do anything, Claude puts his hand on the back of his neck and keeps it there until they arrive at the train station.
Although Claude can be a brute when he drinks to excess, he is not stupid. In this passage, he reads Hugo’s mind and makes sure he cannot run away. After all, if Hugo leaves, Claude cannot make Hugo do his job for him.
Themes
Hugo starts spending his days working on the clocks in the train station. He loves the job and finds it satisfying, but his living conditions are poor. Claude is unkind and makes Hugo sleep on the floor. Plus, there is rarely any food to eat. Claude teaches Hugo to steal, but Hugo only does so if he is starving and there is no other way to get food. At night, Hugo cries himself to sleep and dreams of fires and broken clocks.
Once again, Claude shows he is a terrible role model for Hugo. He manages to turn a job that Hugo would like under most circumstances into a horrible situation. Throughout the story, Hugo’s dreams regularly express his inner turmoil. Here, the dreams of fire suggest that his father’s death is still on his mind. Meanwhile, clocks typically symbolize order, as a working clock helps organize people’s schedules. A broken clock, then, would suggest a state of disorder, in this case reflecting how Hugo’s life continues to unravel.
Themes
Claude starts disappearing for longer and longer stretches of time, until eventually he does not return at all. Scared and unsure of what to do, Hugo gathers up his belongings and decides to run away from the train station. It is cold outside, and Hugo desperately wanders around looking for shelter. Coincidentally, he ends up by the wreckage of the museum where his father used to work. Among the rubble, Hugo spots the automaton with its desk. The fire severely damaged them, but they are largely still intact.
Claude’s disappearance remains a mystery for most of the novel. It also creates even more problems for Hugo, who has nowhere else to turn. At this point, Hugo does not have people to care about and instead focuses on objects like notebook and the automaton, both of which remind him of his father.
Themes
Hugo looks at the automaton for a moment and it makes him feel guilty. Still unsure of what to do, he starts walking away. However, with each step, he looks back at the automaton and eventually decides he cannot leave it there. Although it takes several trips, Hugo picks up the various pieces of the automaton and brings them back to his place in the train station. It is a physically taxing job, and by the end, Hugo aches all over. However, he is glad he brought the automaton home, although he worries about what Claude will say.
The automaton is important to Hugo both because he finds it innately interesting and because it is one of the few objects connecting him to his father’s memory. At this point, the reader has a full understanding of why the automaton is important to Hugo, and why he wants to get the notebook back from Georges. Additionally, the painful memories attached to the notebook and the automaton explain why Hugo does not want to talk about them with other people.
Themes
As Hugo looks at the pieces of the automaton, he hears a voice say, “Fix it.” However, when he looks around, he doesn’t see anyone. Hugo doesn’t think he is up to the task. His father couldn’t fix the automaton, and it is in even worse shape now because of the fire. However, he decides to try anyway, using the notebook his father gave him. If he is successful, at least he will feel less alone.
The voice Hugo hears seems to come from his father, though, of course, his father is no longer around to say anything to him. Because he has no one else, Hugo wants to make the automaton his friend.
Themes
However, Hugo has other problems to worry about. Staying at the train station alone could be dangerous and if Claude comes back, it is unlikely he will let him keep the automaton. Not knowing what else to do, Hugo decides to keep maintaining the clocks around the station to make people think his uncle is still around. If Claude never returns, Hugo plans to cash his paychecks, though he is not sure how that works. Most of all, Hugo plans to make sure no one sees him, so the Station Inspector does not catch him and send him away.
Despite everything he has been through, Hugo shows that he is an intelligent, capable young man. He manages to perform an adult’s job and does so diligently, even though he is not paid for his work. Despite his abilities, Hugo knows that the Station Inspector wouldn’t hesitate to send him to an orphanage, which would separate Hugo from his precious automaton.
Themes
The flashback ends, and Hugo is in his room looking at the automaton. It has been three months since Claude left and did not come back. In that time, Hugo has made a lot of progress on the automaton. He wonders about what the automaton will write when he finally fixes it. For some reason he cannot explain, Hugo thinks that the automaton will write him a note that will “save his life” now that he is alone. Hugo often thinks about the note, and, in his mind, it is always in his father’s handwriting. He hopes his father had time to fix the automaton and teach it to write a note meant just for Hugo. However, Hugo will never know unless he can get his father’s notebook back from Georges.
Because the notebook and the automaton are connected to Hugo’s father, Hugo places all of his hope in them. His hope is childish, perhaps, but also inspirational. If nothing else, it keeps him going through a difficult time in his life. No adults are around to help Hugo process his father’s death, but he finds a way of doing so all by himself through his reconstruction of the automaton. It is not a conscious process on his part, but one that is happening, nevertheless.
Themes
