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Part 2, Chapter 10: A Train Arrives in the Station
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
Six months later, Hugo puts on a tuxedo in the Mélièses’ apartment, where he now lives. Hugo even has his own room, which the French Film Academy furnished for him. The room includes a desk for Hugo’s schoolwork, and the automaton sitting where he can see it. Hugo leaves his room to find Georges in the living room, also dressed up. The occasion is a celebration of the life and work of Georges Méliès at the French Film Academy.
Although the real Georges Méliès’s reputation was revitalized in his lifetime, everything in this chapter is fiction. However, it is an important moment for the characters, as Georges finally gets the respect he deserves, and Hugo finally has the family he deserves.
Themes
At the Film Academy, Georges sees the picture of Prometheus and tells Hugo that he painted it. Hugo is surprised and happy that he managed to correctly guess the meaning of the painting. When the ceremony begins, Monsieur Tabard gives a speech about Georges. He talks about how wonderful it is to have discovered Georges is still alive, and about Georges’s impact on the film industry. Monsieur Tabard reveals that with the help of Georges, Isabelle, and Hugo, the Film Academy has managed to find and restore 80 of Georges’s films.
Hugo and Georges’s discussion of the Prometheus painting reinforces the notion that Georges sees himself as Prometheus and film as the fire he has given to the world. Although Monsieur Tabard and his speech are fake, the information he conveys is factually accurate. Méliès did make an indelible impact on the film industry and was a huge inspiration on many of the filmmakers of the 20th century.
Themes
Then, Monsieur Tabard plays several of Georges’s films. Like the photos Hugo saw in Georges’s room, the films are surreal and full of adventure. They feature mermaids, angels, space, and a giant armored horse. The last film is A Trip to the Moon. Hugo notices Isabelle crying while she watches it. After A Trip to the Moon ends, Georges takes the stage and gives a small speech about how the Film Academy’s audience are all explorers, magicians, and mermaids, just like the figures in his films.
As is the case in this section of the novel, the real Georges Méliès made all sorts of bizarre and often surreal adventure films that were unlike anything else available at the time. In this scene, Isabelle recognizes the grandeur of her godfather’s vision, and she cries in appreciation of his great achievements. She knows how much the night means to Georges, whom she has watched suffer for her entire life.
Themes
After the ceremony, everyone goes to a restaurant to celebrate. Hugo sits at a table and does magic tricks, which draw a small crowd. Georges introduces everyone to Hugo as "Professor Alcofrisbas," and describes the tricks as Hugo’s first public performance. At first, the name confuses Hugo, but once Georges explains, everything clicks into place and Hugo understands his purpose in life.
The name “Professor Alcofrisbas” comes from a film made by the real Georges Méliès called The Enchanter. Méliès himself played the character. Hugo spends much of the book searching for meaning and purpose in his life, and Georges finally gives him what he is looking for as the story comes to a close.
Themes
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