The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Detailed Summary & Analysis
Evelyn Hugo to Auction Off GownsChapter 1Evelyn Hugo’s Coming CleanChapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 11Chapter 12Chapter 13Chapter 14Chapter 15Chapter 16Chapter 17Chapter 18Chapter 19Chapter 20Chapter 21Chapter 22Chapter 23Evelyn, Green’s Not Your ColorChapter 24Chapter 25Chapter 26Chapter 27Chapter 28Chapter 29Chapter 30Chapter 31Chapter 32Chapter 33Chapter 34Chapter 35Chapter 36Chapter 37Chapter 38Chapter 39Chapter 40Chapter 41Chapter 42Chapter 43Chapter 44Chapter 45Chapter 46Chapter 47Chapter 48Chapter 49Chapter 50Chapter 51Evelyn Hugo Divorces Harry Cameron…Chapter 52Chapter 53Chapter 54Chapter 55Chapter 56Chapter 57Chapter 58Evelyn Hugo Marries for the Seventh TimeChapter 59Chapter 60Chapter 61Chapter 62Chapter 63Chapter 64Chapter 65Chapter 66Chapter 67Chapter 68Chapter 69Evelyn Hugo, Legendary Film Siren, Has DiedEvelyn and Me
Characters
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The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
byTaylor Jenkins Reid
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Celia St. James is an actor and the love of Evelyn’s life. Celia intimidates Evelyn with her superior acting talent in rehearsals for Little Women, but eventually the two form a mutually beneficial relationship when Celia offers Evelyn acting coaching in return for Evelyn making public appearances with her. Though Celia is less cunning than Evelyn, her appetite for fame and success is almost as keen. Eventually, Celia and Evelyn begin a romantic relationship which reveals Celia to be naïve and idealistic in the face of Evelyn’s pragmatic realism (Celia was born rich and has never had to struggle financially, whereas Evelyn came from nothing). The couple breaks up twice, both decisions stemming from Celia’s disapproval of Evelyn prioritizing public admiration and success over their relationship. Though the couple endures hardship due to Evelyn’s obsession with her public image and the dangers of being openly gay, Celia never relinquishes her desire for happiness. Toward the end of her life, Celia asks Evelyn to move to a small town in Spain with her, where they can live anonymously and be together romantically in their later years. Not long after retiring to Spain, Celia dies of a pulmonary disease.
Celia St. James Quotes in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
The The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo quotes below are all either spoken by Celia St. James or refer to Celia St. James. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 2Quotes
There are two men seated next to her, names lost to history, who are staring at her as she looks ahead at the stage. The man next to her is staring at her chest. The one next to him is staring at her thigh. Both of them seem enraptured and hoping to see the tiniest bit farther.
Maybe I’m overthinking that photo, but I’m starting to notice a pattern: Evelyn always leaves you hoping you’ll get just a little bit more. And she always denies you.
Related Characters:Monique Grant (speaker), Evelyn Hugo, Celia St. James, Max Girard, Mick Riva
Page Number and Citation:16
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17Quotes
It was expensive wine. I liked drinking it as if it was water, as if it meant nothing to me. Poor girls from Hell’s Kitchen can’t drink this kind of wine and treat it like it’s nothing.
Related Characters:Evelyn Hugo (speaker), Celia St. James
Page Number and Citation:110
Chapter 30Quotes
“And now that I don’t have her, and I have more money than I could ever use in this lifetime, and my name is cemented in Hollywood history, and I know how hollow it is, I am kicking myself for every single second I chose it over loving her proudly. But that’s a luxury. You can do that when you’re rich and famous. You can decide that wealth and renown are worthless when you have them. Back then, I still thought I had all the time I needed to do everything I wanted. That if I just played my cards right, I could have it all.”
Related Characters:Evelyn Hugo (speaker), Monique Grant, Celia St. James
Page Number and Citation:192
Chapter 39Quotes
Harry laughed and put out his hand. I shook it. “Once again, Evelyn, you’ve got yourself a deal.”
Related Characters:Evelyn Hugo (speaker), Harry Cameron (speaker), Celia St. James, Rex North
Page Number and Citation:243
Chapter 45Quotes
What Max was talking about was a graphic portrayal of female desire. And my gut instinct was that I loved the idea. I mean, the thought of filming a graphic sex scene with Don was about as arousing to me as a bowl of bran flakes. But I wanted to push the envelope. I wanted to show a woman getting off. I liked the idea of showing a woman having sex because she wanted to be pleased instead of being desperate to please. So in a moment of excitement, I grabbed my coat, put out my hand, and said, “I’m in.”
Related Characters:Evelyn Hugo (speaker), Celia St. James, Harry Cameron, Don Adler, Max Girard, Rex North
Page Number and Citation:262
Chapter 54Quotes
“Did you ever love me?”
“Yes, I did. When you made love to me and you made me feel desire and you took good care of my daughter and I believed that you saw something in me that no one else saw. When I believed you had an insight and a talent that no one else had. I loved you very much.”
“So you are not a lesbian,” he said.
Related Characters:Evelyn Hugo (speaker), Max Girard (speaker), Celia St. James, Connor Cameron
Page Number and Citation:308
Chapter 59Quotes
Robert always claimed that he married me because he would do anything for Celia. But I think he did it, in at least some small part, because it gave him a chance to have a family. He was never going to settle down with one woman. And Spanish women proved to be just as enchanted by him as American ones had been. But this system, this family, was one he could be a part of, and I think he knew that when he signed up.
Related Characters:Evelyn Hugo (speaker), Celia St. James, Connor Cameron, Robert Jamison, Robert Jamison
Page Number and Citation:344
“I think being yourself—your true, entire self—is always going to feel like you’re swimming upstream.”
“Yeah,” she said. “But if the last few years with you have been any indication, I think it also feels like taking your bra off at the end of the day.”
Related Characters:Evelyn Hugo (speaker), Celia St. James (speaker)
Page Number and Citation:346
Evelyn and MeQuotes
I said, “Doesn’t it bother you? That your husbands have become such a headline story, so often mentioned, that they have nearly eclipsed your work and yourself? That all anyone talks about when they talk about you are the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo?”
And her answer was quintessential Evelyn.
“No,” she told me. “Because they are just husbands. I am Evelyn Hugo. And anyway, I think once people know the truth, they will be much more interested in my wife.”
Related Characters:Evelyn Hugo (speaker), Monique Grant (speaker), Celia St. James
Page Number and Citation:385
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Celia St. James Quotes in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
The The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo quotes below are all either spoken by Celia St. James or refer to Celia St. James. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 2Quotes
There are two men seated next to her, names lost to history, who are staring at her as she looks ahead at the stage. The man next to her is staring at her chest. The one next to him is staring at her thigh. Both of them seem enraptured and hoping to see the tiniest bit farther.
Maybe I’m overthinking that photo, but I’m starting to notice a pattern: Evelyn always leaves you hoping you’ll get just a little bit more. And she always denies you.
Related Characters:Monique Grant (speaker), Evelyn Hugo, Celia St. James, Max Girard, Mick Riva
Page Number and Citation:16
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17Quotes
It was expensive wine. I liked drinking it as if it was water, as if it meant nothing to me. Poor girls from Hell’s Kitchen can’t drink this kind of wine and treat it like it’s nothing.
Related Characters:Evelyn Hugo (speaker), Celia St. James
Page Number and Citation:110
Chapter 30Quotes
“And now that I don’t have her, and I have more money than I could ever use in this lifetime, and my name is cemented in Hollywood history, and I know how hollow it is, I am kicking myself for every single second I chose it over loving her proudly. But that’s a luxury. You can do that when you’re rich and famous. You can decide that wealth and renown are worthless when you have them. Back then, I still thought I had all the time I needed to do everything I wanted. That if I just played my cards right, I could have it all.”
Related Characters:Evelyn Hugo (speaker), Monique Grant, Celia St. James
Page Number and Citation:192
Chapter 39Quotes
Harry laughed and put out his hand. I shook it. “Once again, Evelyn, you’ve got yourself a deal.”
Related Characters:Evelyn Hugo (speaker), Harry Cameron (speaker), Celia St. James, Rex North
Page Number and Citation:243
Chapter 45Quotes
What Max was talking about was a graphic portrayal of female desire. And my gut instinct was that I loved the idea. I mean, the thought of filming a graphic sex scene with Don was about as arousing to me as a bowl of bran flakes. But I wanted to push the envelope. I wanted to show a woman getting off. I liked the idea of showing a woman having sex because she wanted to be pleased instead of being desperate to please. So in a moment of excitement, I grabbed my coat, put out my hand, and said, “I’m in.”
Related Characters:Evelyn Hugo (speaker), Celia St. James, Harry Cameron, Don Adler, Max Girard, Rex North
Page Number and Citation:262
Chapter 54Quotes
“Did you ever love me?”
“Yes, I did. When you made love to me and you made me feel desire and you took good care of my daughter and I believed that you saw something in me that no one else saw. When I believed you had an insight and a talent that no one else had. I loved you very much.”
“So you are not a lesbian,” he said.
Related Characters:Evelyn Hugo (speaker), Max Girard (speaker), Celia St. James, Connor Cameron
Page Number and Citation:308
Chapter 59Quotes
Robert always claimed that he married me because he would do anything for Celia. But I think he did it, in at least some small part, because it gave him a chance to have a family. He was never going to settle down with one woman. And Spanish women proved to be just as enchanted by him as American ones had been. But this system, this family, was one he could be a part of, and I think he knew that when he signed up.
Related Characters:Evelyn Hugo (speaker), Celia St. James, Connor Cameron, Robert Jamison, Robert Jamison
Page Number and Citation:344
“I think being yourself—your true, entire self—is always going to feel like you’re swimming upstream.”
“Yeah,” she said. “But if the last few years with you have been any indication, I think it also feels like taking your bra off at the end of the day.”
Related Characters:Evelyn Hugo (speaker), Celia St. James (speaker)
Page Number and Citation:346
Evelyn and MeQuotes
I said, “Doesn’t it bother you? That your husbands have become such a headline story, so often mentioned, that they have nearly eclipsed your work and yourself? That all anyone talks about when they talk about you are the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo?”
And her answer was quintessential Evelyn.
“No,” she told me. “Because they are just husbands. I am Evelyn Hugo. And anyway, I think once people know the truth, they will be much more interested in my wife.”
Related Characters:Evelyn Hugo (speaker), Monique Grant (speaker), Celia St. James
Page Number and Citation:385
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