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Part 2, Chapter 4
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
New York City. March 13, 2014. Henry’s head is still pounding from last night’s party as he rushes to meet his sister, Muriel, for coffee. Henry steps inside the cafe and scans the room. Muriel isn’t here yet. Henry is grateful to have time to order a coffee, sit down, and try to clean himself up a bit. Not that it’ll make much of a difference—Muriel always sees him the same way anyway.
Whether Muriel always sees Henry the same way because she’s his sister or for possibly supernatural reasons (like the actress at the party with the cloudy eyes saw him) remains unknown, but it’s increasingly clear that there’s something mysterious going on with Henry and his interactions with others.
Themes
Muriel arrives. She’s 24 and has been fully absorbed within New York’s art scene since her first semester at Tisch. Henry loves Muriel, but she’s a lot. Muriel greets Henry enthusiastically. “You look great,” she says, even though it’s not true. Muriel gets her order and joins Henry at the table. She tells Henry that David has been asking about him. “Why?” asks Henry; David never asks about Henry. Muriel scoffs at Henry then replies, “because he cares.” Henry is doubtful. David, the youngest head surgeon at Sinai, cares about his career, his Jewish faith, and their parents. But David doesn’t care about Henry. Henry looks at his watch, which “doesn’t tell the time, or any time,” and tells Muriel he must leave to open the store. Before he leaves, Muriel embraces him and makes him promise to keep in touch.
There’s a major gap between the way Henry’s family seems to regard Henry and the way Henry regards himself. Henry’s family seems to treat Henry with love, affection, and concern; yet, meanwhile, Henry can’t imagine how this is possible, perhaps a sign of his low self-esteem. Regardless, this scene further develops Henry’s character, painting him as someone who feels dissatisfied with himself and disconnected from the world. There’s something odd about Henry’s watch, which “doesn’t tell the time, or any time,” and this seems to be something worth noting.
Themes
