The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: Chapter 31 Summary & Analysis

Evelyn’s biography picks back up as she proposes the idea of marriage to Rex, an extremely handsome Icelandic man who, like Evelyn, changed his name and had sex with several people in order to make it in Hollywood, he asks whether they’ll ever have sex with each other. She says she can’t guarantee she won’t because he’s so handsome. They agree that she’ll move into his house as long as she can bring her maid Luisa, whom she hired after firing Paula. 

Shortly after Evelyn hired Luisa, she heard her on the phone to her mother, calling Evelyn “crazy” in Spanish. She told Luisa in Spanish that she could understand her, and Luisa apologized and explained that Evelyn didn’t look Cuban. Though Evelyn’s offended at first, she realizes that there are no clues in her appearance or the house where she lives that she’s Latin American: she made the choice to distance herself from her heritage. She could tell Luisa felt uncomfortable after the phone call, so she made sure to tell her she was excited to see her the next day.

Evelyn is too insecure to speak Spanish to Luisa, but she admires how comfortable she is as a Latin American woman. She’s the first employee Evelyn cares about. Rex agrees that Luisa will move with Evelyn, and they decide they don’t need to sleep in the same bed as long as they make it seem like they do when they host parties. Evelyn tells Rex he can have sex with whomever he wants, as long as he doesn’t get caught; he reassures her he wouldn’t do anything to embarrass her. They shake hands on their agreement. Before Rex leaves to go on a date, they agree that Rex will propose two weeks before the film is released. Evelyn says the latest edit is looking great, but if they want people to pay to see the three-hour-long film, they have to cause a stir.

An article in Photomoment announces Evelyn and Rex’s engagement, reporting they fell in love “instantly” during rehearsals for Anna Karenina. The author goes on to mention that Don is separating from Ruby. Two weeks later, an article in Photomoment announces that Celia St. James is engaged to John Braverman, a New York Giants quarterback, amidst a streak of successful film releases. A week after that, a Hollywood Digest article reports that Anna Karenina has opened to excellent reviews, and there are rumors that both Evelyn and Rex will win Oscars.