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Chapter 40
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 loves baby Connor, who mostly loves to eat and sleep on her. In the first few months of Connor’s life, Celia and John go out of town to shoot films, leaving Harry and Evelyn to live essentially like a traditional married couple, with Luisa’s help. During this time, Evelyn feels closely bonded to Harry through Connor. When Celia and John return, life returns to the same structure as before Connor was born, with Celia living with Evelyn and Harry living with John. The first morning she’s back, Celia makes oatmeal for everyone, taking over Harry’s job of making breakfast and staking her claim as Evelyn’s partner.
Though Harry and Evelyn agreed to have a baby in a nontraditional setting, their first months of parenthood together are surprisingly conventional. Meanwhile, Celia’s departure, particularly at a time when one could assume Evelyn needs her support, emphasizes her desire to distance herself from Connor and from Evelyn’s motherhood. Once she’s back, it's clear she’s decided to cope with the situation by ensuring her own territory—hinting that she might feel some anxiety about losing Evelyn because she’s not co-parenting with her.
Themes
Celia tells Evelyn she thinks she should star in Max Girard’s next film, Three A.M. Evelyn’s surprised by her suggestion: Celia hates Max and thinks he’s too interested in Evelyn. She says that Evelyn’s perfect for the “bombshell” part, and that she should do it especially because she’s just become a mother: she needs to prove she can still play a sexual role. Evelyn knows Celia wants her to do the film for her own good—Evelyn values being able to play roles of all kinds—but knows that Celia also wants her to do it because she doesn’t want motherhood to change her.
Celia’s love for Evelyn has a firm foundation in sexual desire; her suggestion of Max’s film means she wants Evelyn to prove to her, as much as to audiences, that she’s still a sexual figure. This also demonstrates that Celia’s attraction to Evelyn is at least partially founded in her appreciation of Evelyn’s celebrity persona and screen presence. These things are inextricably linked to the Evelyn she knows and loves.
Themes
Evelyn reads the script and eventually rings Max to tell him she wants the part. When he hesitates, she reassures him her body is still up to it, but he says what he’s worried about is that Don Adler will be playing opposite her for the whole film.
Presumably, Evelyn and Max—who at this point don’t have a particularly personal relationship—haven’t discussed Don in depth, so Max’s awareness of Evelyn’s relationship with Don demonstrates the scale of the media attention Evelyn and Don received as a married (and eventually divorced) couple.
Themes
