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Part 1, Chapter 1
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Memory and Meaning
Love and Vulnerability
Freedom
Art, Creativity, and Expression
Wonder and Knowledge
Summary
Analysis
It’s March 10—Addie’s birthday. For 23 years, Addie hated the idea of birthdays and growing older. But then, as centuries passed, birthdays started to mean less. The night that really mattered was “the night she signed away her soul.” Still, it’s Addie’s birthday, and she feels like celebrating. She walks inside a boutique and changes into a new outfit in the dressing room. As she removes her jacket, a ring made of ash-gray wood falls out her pocket and onto the floor. Addie leaves it there. She finishes dressing and removes the tags; the price doesn’t matter.
That birthdays stopped mattering so much to Addie after she turned 23 suggests that something happened that year—perhaps “the night she signed away her soul”—that has caused her not to age. This explains why she’s still living 300 years later. It’s unclear what Addie means by “signed away her soul.” A Faustian bargain is a cultural motif (so named for the 15th-century German alchemist Faust) that refers to selling one’s soul to the devil in exchange for some reward or power. Could this be what Addie is talking about? It would explain the mysterious “darkness” she’s mentioned a few times now. Finally, the ring that falls from Addie’s pocket seems unremarkable in the abstract, but the fact that the narrative makes a point to mention it suggests that it’s worth paying attention to going forward.
Themes
Addie leaves everything but her jacket inside the dressing room. The jacket’s black leather is old and faded. It’s the only thing from New Orleans she saved from the fire—she just couldn’t leave it there, even though it smelled like “him.” The clerk waves goodbye to Addie as Addie exits the store. But the clerk is only being polite—she doesn’t remember Addie.
It's not clear to whom Addie is referring when she mentions “him.” Could it be the “darkness” she thinks about in the earlier section? Also note how Addie steals an entire outfit, reassured by the fact that the clerk doesn’t recognize her. This section suggests that it’s not just Toby who can’t remember Addie: it’s other people—maybe even all people.
Themes
