The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2017

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Chapters 61-65Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 61 Summary

Celia is buried near Harry. Watching her wife being lowered into the ground, Evelyn is overcome and must step away. She finds Harry’s grave, seeking comfort only he could offer. Weeks later, Connor sends Evelyn a magazine clipping of Evelyn crying at Harry’s grave—the press thinks she’s there to mourn her ex-husband. Evelyn is frustrated by how wrong the press has always been. This is the moment she realizes she must tell her truth with a book.

Chapter 62 Summary

Evelyn remains married to Robert until his death. They move back to Manhattan, work with charities, and spend time with Connor. After Robert’s death, Connor stays with Evelyn. She urges her to leave, and when she does, Evelyn realizes how very alone she is, so she hires Grace. At 39, Connor is diagnosed with breast cancer. Evelyn spends every moment supporting and caring for her until Connor dies 18 months later. From then on, Evelyn feels “the devastating luxury of panic” (357).

Chapter 63 Summary

Evelyn’s story ends after the death of everyone she’s ever loved. She only wants Monique to emphasize how meaningful they were and how meaningless everything else was. She wants Monique to argue that Evelyn Hugo never existed, but she now says goodbye.

Chapter 64 Summary

Monique comforts Evelyn, assuring her that most people would feel the same as her and make the same decisions. Abruptly, Evelyn rises and hands Monique a crumpled piece of paper. She tells her interviewer that the man she left in the car was a Black man named James Grant.

Chapter 65 Summary

Monique is furious to learn that the truth behind her father’s death was taken from her. She and her mother were told he’d driven drunk and died, and his legacy in their eyes was “tarnished.” She hates Evelyn, suddenly afraid of what she might do to her. However, Evelyn urges her to read the paper because it is a note from Monique’s father to Harry; he ended his affair with Harry for the sake of his family. Monique finally understands that her father was in love with a man.

Chapters 61-65 Analysis

Chapter 61 uses the motif of news reports to convey the subjectivity and malleability of narrative; despite the press having clear evidence for the truth behind Evelyn’s grief, they choose to only see a story that serves them. In recognizing this, Evelyn recognizes the power of truth particularly because of how little it matters to the institutions she’d been working to hide it from. After the loss of Celia, she is confronted with the reality that only she can tell her truth, and it is perhaps her responsibility to do so.

The loss of Connor is the greatest loss of Evelyn’s life in Chapter 62. After finally achieving some privacy, Evelyn’s realization that she is becoming more and more alone heightens the agony of losing her only child. It also advances an argument present throughout the text: that a chosen family is as valid as a blood relation. Again, Evelyn chooses family by hiring Grace and supporting her family as well. However, this does not soften the blow of Connor’s early death. Watching Evelyn grieve deeply for the third time in her life further humanizes her, garnering great sympathy for her despite the mistakes she’s made.

The next three chapters serve as the true climax of the novel. First, Evelyn’s purpose for a tell-all is clearly articulated as she begs Monique to tell the world that she “got it wrong” by choosing fame over love (358). In recognizing that Evelyn Hugo is a concept that she created, Evelyn experiences Reconciling with One’s True Self and acknowledges The Cost of Fame. Chapter 64 holds the biggest reveal of the novel; by disclosing that it was Monique’s father who Evelyn left in the car, the text reveals the real reason for Monique’s presence. Evelyn, presumably, chooses the daughter of her greatest regret to give Monique the power of the truth.

However, perhaps the real reason for choosing Monique is that Evelyn does not want to be painted in a positive light—she wants the messiness of the truth—and Monique is in the best position to offer her that. The anger that overcomes Monique in Chapter 65 is indicative of the far-reaching consequences of one’s actions. Evelyn’s split-second decision impacted a family’s perception of a father for the rest of their life and stole his dignity. In the end, James’s profound love for his family is the focus of the chapter; in choosing his family over the love of his life, James’s image is restored in Monique’s mind, though complicated. The message of these chapters is that the truth is complex but necessary.