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Part 5, 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
Paris, France. July 29, 1789. The air in Paris smells of smoke and gunfire. Soldiers shout orders, and people cry out, “Vive la France.” A revolutionary spirit fills the air, and the city streets have become a maze of confusing barriers and dead ends. So, Addie isn’t shocked when she turns a corner and finds a stack of crates blocking her from moving forward. Then she hears a gun go off behind her. She turns and finds a group of men blocking her in. They’re armed with muskets. Addie calls to them, “Vive la France!” and attempts to make her voice sound as gruff and masculine as possible. She tries to tell them she’s just lost, but some of the men suspect she may be a spy. One man orders Addie to lay down her weapon and remove her hat. Addie hopes that the darkness will disguise her feminine features.
With the backdrop of smoke, gunfire, and revolutionary cries, it’s evident that the French Revolution is now fully underway. The precariousness of Addie’s situation in this scene reinforces the reality that her deal with Luc has not given her absolute freedom—she must still exist within a society where her gender limits what freedom is available to her and even puts her in physical danger.
Themes
As soon as Addie removes her hat, the mood shifts, and Addie can tell the men have figured her out. They draw nearer to her. Just then, the men stop in their tracks. Addie turns and sees Luc. He runs his hands along the blade of Addie’s sword. “My Adeline,” he says, and playfully scolds her for getting into trouble all the time.
Luc swoops in to save Addie, but this isn’t an act of grace—with his signature “My Adeline” address, he reminds her that he possesses her and that her freedom and wellbeing are his to control.
Themes
Luc steps sideways into a wall. Addie follows him and expects to crash into solid brick, but instead, she falls into darkness, and then she’s in a new place altogether. Here, there are no burning barricades. Luc tells Addie that they’re in Florence. Addie is angry and demands that Luc take her back, but he refuses. She follows him into an open courtyard. The air is warm; it’s summer here. Luc sits down on a bench and produces a bottle of wine and two glasses.
Luc saves Addie, but in the process, he totally upends her life, transporting her to a country she’s never been to, where people speak a foreign language she’s never encountered before. Just as his initial deal with her came at a significant cost, so too does every effort he makes to help her. But at this point, Addie is well aware that all her dealings with Luc are awash with manipulation and calculated power plays.
Themes
Luc hands Addie a glass of wine and toasts, “To long life.” Addie is confused. Sometimes, she tells Luc, Luc seems to enjoy watching Addie suffer. But other times, he is merciful. She wishes he’d stop toying with her. Luc’s face grows dark. He urges Addie not to see anything he does for her as kindness—because it’s not that. Its’s only that he “want[s] to be the one who breaks [her].” And with this, Luc vanishes.
Luc’s ominous remark about “want[ing] to be the one who breaks [Addie]” reminds Addie—and the reader—to be skeptical of everything Luc does, for he does everything with the same end in mind: to get Addie to surrender her soul to him. The reader should bear this in mind with regard to Luc’s apparent “mistake” of allowing Henry and Addie to cross paths—was this really a mistake, or is it part of some bigger plan to finally convince Addie to give up?
Themes
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