The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Literary Elements

Historical fiction

The novel is set in New York, with much of the plot action (conveyed through Evelyn's retrospective narration) taking place in Los Angeles. The plot events span all of Evelyn's life, and take place between the 1950s and her death in 2017.

The novel is narrated using a frame narrative structure; Monique is the primary narrator, who narrates events in the first person and in the present tense, as they are unfolding. The novel also includes an embedded narrative, in which Evelyn provides a retrospective narration of the events of her life. Evelyn narrates in both the first person, and occasionally in the second person.

The tone varies depending on whether or not Monique or Evelyn is the one narrating. The tone of Monique's narrative is often contemplative, surprised, moved, and awestruck. Her narrative largely mirrors the experience of the reader as she listens to Evelyn's story. The tone of Evelyn's narrative is much more pragmatic, matter of fact, and didactic; Evelyn uses her narrative to convey life lessons to Monique based on the experiences she has lived through. The mood of the novel is often suspenseful and dramatic; Monique is on edge throughout the plot, waiting to learn the full truth of why Evelyn chose her. At times, the mood is also melancholy and bittersweet; Monique learns to live with loss, and Evelyn reflects on how, at the end of her life, she has lost everything that really matters.

Evelyn Hugo is the primary protagonist; Monique is the secondary protagonist. There is no single antagonist; Evelyn's various husbands sometimes function as antagonists at certain points in the plot.

The main conflict occurs between Evelyn's desire to be wealthy, successful, and powerful, and her desire to be authentic and honest. This conflict plays out in her relationship to Celia and at times nearly costs her the relationship with her true love, and also plays out in her covering up the true circumstances of Harry's death. The whole project of conveying her life story to Monique represents Evelyn's effort to resolve this conflict prior to her death: she wants the truth about her identity and her actions to be known, even if it is only revealed once she dies.

The climax occurs when Evelyn reveals that the man who died in the car accident with Harry was James Grant, Monique's father.

At various times, Monique thinks that there must be a reason why Evelyn specifically chose her to write the biography, foreshadowing the climactic reveal that Evelyn was involved in misrepresenting the death of Monique's father. Monique also foreshadows that Evelyn is going to reveal something that will make her hate Evelyn. The closeted queer sexuality present in Evelyn's narrative foreshadows Monique learning that her own father was involved in a relationship with another man.

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See Imagery section.

Evelyn's celebrity is a form of paradox: she is extremely famous and well-known, but no one knows the most important things about her.

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