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Chapter 20
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Ambition vs. Morality
Femininity, Sexuality, and Power
Truth and Identity
Family
Summary
Analysis
Evelyn says at Celia’s apartment for a week. They sleep side by side in Celia’s bed, and during the day, Evelyn stays inside reading. Though Evelyn wants to kiss Celia again, she doesn’t know how to proceed and wonders whether her feelings are merely platonic. She isn’t ready to identify as homosexual, so she tries to convince herself that her feelings for Celia are just a “quirk.”
Evelyn retreats from public life: she can barely understand her own changing feelings and circumstances, let alone work out which persona to present to the world. It’s hard for her to untangle her feelings for Celia from the celebrity identity she must perform in public.
Themes
One morning, Harry visits the apartment to deliver Evelyn her divorce papers. The main highlight is that Evelyn will keep the house, her own money, and half of Don’s, as long as she agrees never to talk about the marriage. The same rules do not apply to Don. Harry continues by saying that Sunset Studios will drop Evelyn. She proposes to go freelance, which Harry encourages, but he adds that, on Don’s request, Ari will blackball Evelyn from an Oscar nomination. Sunset is staying afloat because of stars like Don, so they can’t afford not to keep him happy.
Don is clearly still threatened by Evelyn even outside of his marriage to her, and he knows he’s at fault for the dissolution of their marriage. His offer to Evelyn proves that his reputation and career are more important to him than money. Don’s connections in the industry give him more power than Evelyn, and it’s clear in this moment that no matter how much wealth or success she has, she’ll always be at the whim of a more powerful man.
Themes
Evelyn tells Harry she can rebuild her career from scratch—she’s done it before. Harry doesn’t doubt her, and when he says he wants to stay friends, Evelyn says that will never change. When he leaves, she realizes she’s going to lose everything she worked toward—everything but the money—but then she remembers Celia. She goes into the bedroom where Celia’s getting dressed after a shower and tells her she loves her. She pulls Celia’s robe open, and the two have sex for the first time.
Though Harry and Evelyn’s friendship began as a professional relationship, it’s clear now that their friendship transcends work. This passage also shows that money is an afterthought to Evelyn: while it’s nice to have, it doesn’t make up for the loss of the career she’s been patiently building. The divorce papers seem to set Evelyn free from qualms about her identity, as evidenced by her first sexual encounter with Celia, which takes place immediately after Harry delivers the divorce papers.
Themes
An article in Sub Rosa announces Don and Evelyn’s divorce, pinning it on Evelyn’s jealous behavior. The article goes on to suggest that Don is set to see more success, while it looks like Sunset Studios will be getting rid of Evelyn.
The editors of Sub Rosa know how to pander to the status quo, so they spin the divorce to pin as much blame on the woman as possible: the story of the jealous lover is an easy sell.
Themes
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