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Part 6, Chapter 6
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
Occupied France. November 23, 1944. The German soldiers shove Addie against the stone wall of the prison cell, and she coughs up blood. Addie wills herself to rise and confront them. She tries in vain to pry open the cell door. She realizes how stupid it was to assume “that forgettable was the same as invisible,” and she wishes she had just stayed back in Boston. There, the biggest hardship was rationing. Here, it is far worse. And yet, France will always be her home, and she had wanted to help. She had returned as a spy, and the one thing she had to do was avoid getting caught—and she failed.
Addie’s willingness to return to Europe to help with the war effort fits her character: she’s not content to stand passively by, even if this passivity guarantees her safety. Instead, she delves into the adventurous and unknown. Sometimes her boldness and curiosity works out for her, but other times, as now, it backfires and lands her in hot water.
Themes
When the soldiers captured Addie, they searched her and took anything she could possibly use as a weapon. They even took her wooden ring. Yet now, as she searches in her pocket, she feels the ring. She’s managed not to use it for 29 years, but now she has no choice. She’d rather deal with Luc’s gloating than remain here any longer. Addie twists the ring onto her finger. Nothing happens at first, but then, the men sitting across from her fall silent. They just stare into space. Then Luc is there, his fingers rapping against the bars. She hasn’t since him since that night in Chicago. Luc laments her sorry state.
Addie’s ring has held changing associations as the years pass. First, it held positive associations: it reminded her of her father, her favorite person, and his dedication to his craft. Now, she no longer cherishes the ring, for it only reminds her of her deal with Luc, all she gave up when she agreed to the deal, and how the deal has made her beholden to Luc. Addie thought that the deal would give her freedom, but it’s only tied her to another person who relishes controlling and manipulating her.
Themes
Luc asks Addie how she plans to get herself out of this bind. Addie realizes that Luc wants her to beg him for help, but she won’t do it. Luc is about to leave, but Addie pleads with him to wait for her. He smiles and then offers her his hand. They leave the cell together, and the prison dissolves behind them. Suddenly, Addie is back in Boston. The wooden ring is still on her finger. She considers what just happened: she asked Luc for help, and he helped her. She knows he’ll leverage this against her, but she doesn’t care. She just doesn’t want to be lonely anymore.
Luc continues to emotionally manipulate Addie. He takes pleasure not simply in controlling her, but in watching her realize that her fate is in his hands. Still, this moment marks something of a turning point for Addie and Luc’s relationship. Luc may be cruel to her, but he still comes when she calls for him—and he really has no reason to do this unless he wants to. One can hardly consider their relationship a romance, but this scene hints that there’s a tenderness forming between them.
Themes
