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Part 5, Chapter 3
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 23, 2014. Addie sits in a corner of The Last Word as Henry works. Now that Henry has told her about his deal, Addie sees evidence of it everywhere: in the man who laughs at everything Henry says, or the teenage customer who stands as near to Henry as she can and blushes when he notices. Henry closes the shop for the day, and he and Addie step out into the cool evening. Henry says he wants to take Addie somewhere she’s never been before.
In light of the previous chapter, in which Addie praised “wonder” and devalued “the truth,” Henry’s curse/deal seems all the more tragic. Henry’s love life is devoid of wonder and intrigue—he knows exactly what people see in him, and he also knows that what they see is superficial and unreal.
Themes
Henry leads her to Grand Central. Addie is confused, at first—she, along with most people, has been to Grand Central—but Henry instructs her to place her ear against the tiled wall. Then he jogs to the opposite corner and does the same—and then he whispers her name, and she hears him. Addie is startled and whispers back, “How are you doing this?” Henry explains that the sound waves travel along the curve of the arch in the hall’s ceiling; they’re in what’s called a “whispering gallery” right now. Addie is happy that after so many years, there are still new things to discover. Henry whispers to Addie to tell Henry a story, and she obliges.
When Henry shows Addie the whispering gallery, it’s further confirmation of the principle that has kept her going all these years, despite the loneliness and suffering she’s incurred because of her invisible life: that there is always something new and interesting to discover, and this is what makes life worth living. Mystery and uncertainty might bring about hardship and suffering, but without mystery and uncertainty, life is dull and meaningless.
Themes
