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Chapter 53
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 calls Celia, and Celia picks up. Evelyn tells her that she used to love Max but doesn’t anymore; she’d like to see Celia. Celia refuses. Evelyn insists, telling Celia she still loves her, and that things are different now—Elton John is out of the closet. Celia tells her it’s different for them and they’ll lose their jobs. Evelyn tells Celia she’s ready to give up her career to be with her. They both say they still love each other, and they agree to meet for dinner in LA in two weeks’ time.
Celia has become more of a realist, aware of the dangers of coming out that she previously told Evelyn were cynical worries. Evelyn, conversely, is willing to risk everything to be with Celia. It seems they appreciate each other’s ability to see from different perspectives.
Themes
The morning Evelyn leaves for LA, she can’t decide whether to take the letters from Celia with her. She’s been rereading them every day, but she decides she doesn’t need them since she’s flying to see Celia in person. She leaves while Max is still asleep, saying goodbye to Connor, who rolls her eyes at Evelyn’s farewell. But when Evelyn gets downstairs, she realizes she wants to take the letters with her, so she goes back up to the apartment to get them. She finds Max in the closet looking through the letters. He accuses her of having an affair, and when she protests, he says it’s worse that she’s a “dyke.” If the letters are merely referring to Celia’s past feelings, he’ll forgive Evelyn, but if they influenced Evelyn’s decision to go to LA, he’ll be angry.
The letters are physical proof of Celia’s love for Evelyn, and they presumably make Evelyn feel more confident in her decision to fly to LA to meet Celia—a decision that might not lead anywhere concrete. Max’s response to the letters isn’t one of love and understanding, but defensiveness and presumptions. It’s an attitude he has in common with most of the tabloid pieces that have reported on Evelyn’s life, which proves Max’s inability to understand Evelyn in any kind of depth. And in the end, his anger isn’t even about Evelyn: it’s about his need to possess her.
Themes
Evelyn’s instinct is to lie to Max and tell him that she’s not planning to see Celia. But when she opens her mouth, she tells him the truth: she was going to leave him, for herself if not for Celia. Evelyn tells Max she loves Celia, and he calls her a “dyke” again. She argues with him, saying she also loved him once, too, but he didn’t show her any love—he just wanted to own her. Max blocks the door, trying to get Evelyn to explain herself to him. He threatens to tell people about her relationship with Celia, but Evelyn pushes him out of the way and goes down to the car.
When Max feels as though he’s losing control of Evelyn, he physically intimidates her, which does nothing to disprove her claim that he wants only to possess her. Instead of trying to understand Evelyn’s anger and frustration, Max doubles down and threatens her: he clearly only wants to stay connected to her for his own gain; whether she loves him is irrelevant.
Themes
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