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Chapter 4
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 is back in Evelyn’s study, committed to staying as long as Evelyn wants to talk. Instead of sitting at the desk, Monique sits in the chair next to the sofa to make Evelyn feel like they’re on the same team. She opens her notepad and hits record on her phone. Evelyn says she’s ready to begin: everyone she loved is dead, and she has nobody she needs to protect by lying. Monique tells her to start at the beginning, with her first husband, Ernie Diaz.
Moving from the desk to the chair is a small way that Monique exerts her own authority in Evelyn’s domain, and it shows she can express her own preferences once she feels comfortable enough to do so. Evelyn’s statement implies that, while her loved ones were still alive, she was accustomed to lying in order to protect them—and suggests that what she’s about to tell Monique will change not only her own reputation, but the reputations of those close to her.
Themes
