The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue: Part 1, Chapter 14 Summary & Analysis

Villon-sur-Sarthe, France. July 30, 1714. George’s boots are far too big for Adeline’s feet, and they rub her skin raw. She has decided to walk toward Le Mans, the farthest from home she’s ever been. As she walks, she can hear the stranger’s voice in her head: “You wanted to be free[.]” Adeline reaches an orchard, where she picks fruit from the trees and eats it greedily. When she reaches a riverbank, she sits down to see how badly the boots have injured her feet. But when she removes the boots, her feet are unmarred. It’s dusk now. Adeline settles down in a nearby field to sleep. She removes the carved bird from her pocket. Adeline considers how she could take—but not break—the bird and wonders what other rules there are to learn.

Now, unable to tell her story to any living being, Adeline looks at the bird and tells it the story of her life. Adeline fears that if she doesn’t tell her story to someone, she’ll start to forget it herself. Eventually, dusk gives way to night. Later, she will experience weak nights and curse at the darkness, dare him to confront her. But not tonight. Instead, she thinks of home: of Estele, who used to stand outside in the rain and preferred her own company to the company of others. Estele could have handled this solitary life.

Adeline curls herself into a ball and tries to sleep. When she wakes, the sun is shining down on her. She feels woozy with hunger and sets out to find food. She reaches a larger town and smells fresh bread. She follows the scent to the village square, where a group of women are gathered around a communal oven, baking bread. Adeline has no money, which means she’ll have to steal. She kicks a nearby mule, who bucks and lurches in response. The ensuing chaos distracts the women long enough for Adeline to snatch a loaf of bread from the oven. 

Adeline runs with her bread to a stable at the edge of town. The bread is underbaked and doughy, but she doesn’t care. “My name is Adeline,” she thinks to herself as she eats. Then she stops. She never liked the name Adeline, and now she can’t even say it aloud. Addie, though, “was a gift” that Estele gave her. It was the name of the girl who dreamed of freedom. She decides to become Addie from this day forward.