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Chapter 2
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
Monique wakes up before her alarm. She has an email from Frankie that reads “KEEP ME UPDATED.” While she’s getting ready, she realizes she’s lost the weight she gained while living with David. She admires her slimmer appearance before heading out the door. She takes the subway to Evelyn’s apartment, which is on Fifth Avenue and overlooks Central Park. It’s one of Evelyn’s two residences, the other being a seaside house in Spain, and as Monique approaches, she notices its outstanding beauty.
Monique’s early wake time betrays her nervousness. Frankie might be almost as nervous as Monique is, given her early, emphatic email. Monique’s self-assessment shows that she’s focused on her appearance—one thing that connects her to Evelyn even before the two meet. In addition, the fact that her weight gain pleases her shows that she conforms to the societal expectation of slimness as a positive female trait.
Themes
A kindly doorman lets Monique up to Evelyn’s apartment, which is on the top floor. Monique rings the doorbell at 11 a.m. exactly. A woman who looks around 50 greets her; she knows Monique’s name and introduces herself as Grace. When she offers Monique coffee, Monique has a hard time expressing her preference for cream, but Grace, picking up on Monique’s nerves, tells her not to worry: Evelyn’s very kind, and she’s better than the other people Grace has worked for.
Evelyn’s apartment is a penthouse, which emphasizes her wealth and the comfort it provides her. Grace’s kindness and patience, and her obvious respect for Evelyn, suggest that Evelyn is a gracious employer and a kinder person than most people would assume a celebrity to be. Monique, meanwhile, is clearly unused to expressing her preferences and desires, especially when she feels intimidated.
Themes
As Monique struggles to reply to Monique’s mother’s good luck text, Evelyn walks down the stairs towards her. She looks as beautiful as any of the pictures Monique has seen of her. Though she’s certainly had cosmetic surgery done and has had her hair treated, she gives off the impression of someone aging gracefully. Instead of shoes, she’s wearing thick socks. Evelyn greets Monique by name and, carrying her coffee for her, leads her to the living room. The two images on the wall are in black and white: one is of Harry Cameron, and the other is the poster for the Little Women adaptation that Evelyn and Celia St. James starred in.
The photos Monique has been poring over are mostly decades old, which means that even though Evelyn has grown significantly older, she’s still beautiful. This suggests that Evelyn’s beauty is partially intangible—it’s more a feeling or an aura, which contributes to her mysterious star power. At the same time, Evelyn’s choice to wear thick socks shows that she prioritizes comfort over glamor, and by carrying Monique’s coffee for her, she demonstrates she’s not interested in maintaining a sense of superiority—she doesn’t need to act like a star in order to appear as one.
Themes
Just as Monique settles in with her pen and notepad, Evelyn says she’s called her there under false pretenses. Instead of discussing the auction of her gowns, Evelyn wants to give Monique her life story. She doesn’t want to give the story to Vivant, but to Monique directly. Monique takes a while to process the information: Evelyn must have an underlying motive, but Monique can’t work out what. When she suggests that Evelyn will be confessing her “sins,” Evelyn loses her composure but continues to explain that she wants to give her story to Monique: not to ghostwrite, but to use for a biography which will be published after her death.
Evelyn is quick to reveal her true intentions for the interview with Monique, which suggests that she’s confident her plan will succeed without the need to play the long game or trick Monique somehow. Even when Monique offends her with the word “sins,” Evelyn continues with her plan—so it’s clear that she needs Monique specifically and not just because she’s a pliable junior reporter.
Themes
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Monique is so shocked by Evelyn’s proposition that she chokes on her coffee and stains the white carpet. Grace comes in to clean it up, at which Evelyn suggests she and Monique go down the street to a restaurant. There’s a chill in the air, and Monique notices the signs of Evelyn’s age more clearly, particularly in the papery skin on her hands. As they walk to the restaurant, Monique asks Evelyn whether her request for the book means she’s dying. Evelyn retorts that everyone is dying.
Monique’s behavior in this moment reinforces her feeling that she doesn’t belong in Evelyn’s apartment or on this assignment—she’s already damaged something, and it’s only the first hour of her first day on the job. Evelyn’s suggestion to leave the apartment shows two things. First, the book project is so precious to her, and so secret, that she can’t even share it with Grace, whom she clearly trusts. Second, Evelyn seems to have an awareness of how intimidating her apartment is for Monique and is thoughtful enough to move to a more neutral location for Monique’s benefit.
Themes
At the restaurant, Evelyn orders the chopped salad and Monique follows suit. She continues to question Evelyn about the proposed book, but Evelyn is unforthcoming. She takes issue with the idea that she’d be confessing any sins or regrets: she forgives herself for the things she did in the past, and she knows she had reasons for even her most questionable actions. Monique reassures her that she’ll try her best to faithfully interpret what she says. She knows that Evelyn is giving her a lot of power by offering her whole story, and she intends to treat that story with the utmost respect.
It's important to Evelyn that the proposed biography is as accurate as possible, and she needs Monique to take it seriously, which is why she’s unwilling to provide any further details until she feels Monique is on the same page. Monique’s commitment to telling Evelyn’s story, despite Evelyn’s unwillingness to provide even basic details at this stage, shows that Monique is an ambitious writer and also that she trusts Evelyn, though it’s unclear why.
Themes
Convinced by her sincerity, Evelyn allows Monique to ask specific questions about her intentions for the book. But when Monique asks what the book’s timeline will be—in other words, when Evelyn will die—Evelyn refuses to answer. Instead, she tells Monique that they will meet for several days, she’ll tell her story, and after that, Monique will be free to turn the story into a book and sell it for the highest price she can get. All money made from the book will be hers. Monique is perplexed: why would Evelyn give her this gift? But Evelyn refuses to offer an explanation. She tells Monique that she’s giving her the chance of huge financial and career prospects, so she doesn’t owe her an explanation.
Evelyn’s attitude in this scenario shows she’s accustomed to making deals that revolve around money and ambition, which suggests that stardom and her time in Hollywood have jaded her. She’s offering Monique her big break and a huge amount of money—terms she believes will more than make up for the frustrating vagueness of the assignment. It's also clear that despite—or perhaps because of—decades of media exposure, Evelyn is a guarded person: she won’t reveal the details of her life very easily.
Themes
Monique knows this opportunity would change her life, but she could also lose her job if it seemed like she were stealing a story from Vivant. Evelyn tells her to “grab life by the balls”: she should think of herself as a business just like Vivant does. Though Evelyn still won’t explain why she chose Monique, she says that by the time she’s finished telling her story, Monique will understand everything. Monique knows she wants to climb the career ladder to the top, so she agrees to Evelyn’s proposition.
This is the first of many moments in which Monique wrestles with the question of honesty versus ambition, but it’s clear that Evelyn has become so used to that question that it doesn’t bother her anymore. Evelyn’s use of the phrase “by the balls” suggests she’s not one to avoid a crass expression if it’ll help her to get her point across.
Themes
