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Part 1, Chapter 12: The Message
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 looks at the automaton’s drawing and recognizes it as a shot from the movie his father described to him. Hugo assumes that the image must be a message from his father, but he doesn’t know what it means. The automaton keeps moving and only stops after it signs the name “Georges Méliès” at the bottom of the drawing. Confused, Isabelle tells Hugo that Georges Méliès is Georges’s full name. Then, she gets angry at Hugo because she thinks he must have stolen the machine.
Hugo briefly gets a message from his father after all, only to have it quickly wiped away when he sees Georges’s name. The automaton’s signature combined with Georges’s card skills imply that he used to be a magician. However, Isabelle’s confusion suggests that she does not know about Georges’s magic skills, meaning that he must have performed before she entered his life.
Themes
Hugo is confused; he tells Isabelle that the machine belonged to his father, and he does not know why it signed Georges’s name. Isabelle grabs the key out of the automaton. Hugo tries to take it from her, and the two of them begin fighting. Their fight causes the automaton’s picture to rip in half. Isabelle takes half of the drawing and then leaves. Before she goes, she tells Hugo that she is going to ask Mama Jeanne about what is happening.
Hugo is in a difficult position because he thinks he is telling the truth. The problem is, he has lied to Isabelle too many times, and she no longer gives him the benefit of the doubt. The split picture represents the fracturing of their friendship, as well as their respective claims to ownership. Both feel that the automaton and picture belong to them, but neither knows the full story.
Themes
Isabelle asks Hugo not to follow her, but he runs after her anyway. Isabelle makes her way home with Hugo on her heels. As they run, Hugo asks Isabelle questions about where she got the key. However, Isabelle refuses to answer him. When Isabelle gets to Georges’s apartment, she opens the door and slams it shut. Hugo tries to stop her, but he ends up getting his hand caught in the door instead.
Now, Isabelle behaves like Hugo has the entire book. She clearly has some secrets of her own and does not want to disclose them to someone who does not trust her.
Themes
The commotion causes Jeanne to come downstairs. Isabelle feels bad because Hugo starts to cry, so she lets him inside and introduces him to Jeanne as her friend. Jeanne inspects Hugo’s injured hand and gives him some ice to put on it. Then, Hugo hands Jeanne his half of the automaton’s drawing and asks her what she knows about it. Jeanne is shocked when she sees the drawing and asks where he got it.
Jeanne provides a parental presence for Hugo, which he greatly needs. The story never mentions Hugo’s mother, but she obviously is not in his life. Like everyone else in the novel, Jeanne knows more than she is willing to say. Her reaction is similar to Georges’s when he first saw the notebook.
Themes
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Hugo explains where he found the automaton and how he got it to draw the picture. When Hugo mentions the key, Jeanne asks Isabelle what key he is referring to. Isabelle gets nervous; she stole the key from Jeanne and did not want her to find out. Isabelle explains that she only took it because she thought it was pretty and gives Jeanne a sincere apology.
Hugo accidentally gets Isabelle in trouble for stealing the key, just like she got him in trouble by stealing the notebook. Their thievery is yet another thing they have in common. Notably, Isabelle’s reaction to being caught is mature and gracious for such a young girl.
Themes
Jeanne orders Hugo to get the drawing out of the apartment. She also tells him to make sure Georges doesn’t see it. Additionally, she gives the key back to Isabelle and tells her to take good care of it. Hugo begs Jeanne to explain what is going on, but she refuses because she wants to protect Georges.
More secrets continue to pile up because no one wants to tell anyone else the full truth about what they know. Clearly, there is some relationship between Georges, the automaton, and the drawing, but the nature of the relationship is still opaque.
Themes
