Evelyn in Our Infinite Fates: Character Analysis

Overview of Evelyn in Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven — Character Analysis of Evelyn — Evelyn is the reincarnated protagonist and narrator of Our Infinite Fates, a being who dies before her eighteenth birthday in every life at the hands of Arden, the immortal who hunts her across centuries. The novel's central mystery—why Arden kills her in every incarnation—resolves in a devastating revelation: Evelyn is not a curse's victim but a devil who made a bargain with Arden in 1006 Lundenburg, offering to save his dying sister in exchange for his soul. The bargain failed, and the two have been locked in a cycle of love, death, and rebirth for nearly a thousand years. Evelyn's story is one of love, loss, and the search for an ordinary life that her nature will never allow her to have. Her character arc moves from unknowing victim to reluctant truth-seeker to active agent in her own fate, culminating in a confrontation with the Mother that shatters the cycle itself. This analysis traces Evelyn's motivations, relationships, key decisions, and thematic significance, grounding every claim in the novel's outline and evidence while distinguishing explicit facts from interpretive readings. For a broader understanding of the novel's structure and resolution, see the ending explained page. ## Plot Role Evelyn serves as both the novel's narrator and its central enigma. Across lifetimes spanning from 1006 to 2054, she lives, loves, and dies, always before turning eighteen. Her role is twofold: she is the hunted, the one who must die, and she is also the key to understanding the cycle itself. Her fragmented memories, which surface around age seven or eight in each life, drive the narrative's mystery. The reader experiences the story through her limited perspective, discovering the truth about her nature only when she does. In the 2022 Wales timeline, Evelyn lives as Branwen, a teenager trying to save her fourteen-year-old sister Gracie, who has leukaemia. Evelyn is Gracie's only tissue match and is undergoing injections for a stem cell donation. This creates the novel's central tension: Evelyn must survive until the transplant, but Arden is bound to kill her before she turns eighteen. Her desperate negotiation for six extra days—enough time to arrange an early marrow extraction—drives the final act of the novel. ## Motivations and Traits Evelyn's defining trait is her capacity for love. Arden describes her as 'ruthful'—a thirteenth-century word meaning endless compassion—noting that she 'loves over and over and over again, even though it can only ever end in tragedy' (chapter 10). This is shown through her actions: she offers herself for punishment in Northern Song to spare a peasant girl, she endures painful injections to donate stem cells to Gracie, and she repeatedly chooses closeness with Arden despite knowing he will kill her. Her motivations shift across the novel. In the 2022 timeline, she is driven primarily by the need to survive long enough to donate bone marrow to Gracie. This protectiveness—unusual for a devil, as the novel reveals—runs through all her lives. She longs for an ordinary human life, a desire she articulates as early as her time in Lundenburg, where she 'longs for an ordinary human life' (chapter 37). In the trenches of 1915, she fantasizes about growing old with Arden in a cottage by the sea. Evelyn also displays a provocative, defiant streak. In El Salvador, she makes provocative jokes at a tense family dinner, and in the 2022 timeline, she shoves a suspected Arden into flower buckets. She uses humor as armor, but beneath it lies a profound grief: she has lost everyone she has ever loved, in every life, and she carries that loss with her. ## Chronological Arc The novel presents Evelyn's lives non-linearly, but a clear arc emerges. Origin (1006, Lundenburg): As a young devil who has come of age, Evelyn faces a deadline to reap her first soul. She finds Arden grieving in a church for his dying sister Beorma. She offers to cure the girl in exchange for his soul: seven days on burning coals, then service to the Mother. When he asks who she is, she names herself Evelyn—the first time she has chosen a human name. The bargain fails; Beorma dies anyway. Early Lives: In Northern Song (1042), as Zhao Sheng, she throws herself beneath bamboo blows to spare a peasant girl, experiencing a strange recognition of past pain. In the Mali Empire (1290), as Thiyya, she discovers her best friend Lalla is Arden, destined to kill her. In the Ottoman Empire (1472), she meets Arden in a hammam, recognizing him by his leather notebook. The Wedding: At some point, they marry. The prologue shows the wedding on a pebble beach, where the Mother disrupts the ceremony and Evelyn slashes Arden's throat. Arden later reveals (chapter 28) that he 'had to kill you in front of all our loved ones' and that the memory still haunts him. Modern Lives: In the 1862 asylum, as Harriet, she escapes both the institution and Arden. In 1898 Vienna, as a deaf narrator, she shoots Ferenc (Arden) with a gold pistol. In 1915 France, she serves in the trenches and is killed by a grenade when she runs toward the white-haired woman (the Mother). In 1932 Algeria, she begs Arden to kill her after her father's death. In 1986 Siberia, as Nadezhda, she and Mikha (Arden) die together from poisoned liqueur. In 2004 El Salvador, as Adella Sola, she and Arden drown together in a pool. 2022 Wales: As Branwen, she is trying to save Gracie. She discovers Arden has been embedded in her family as Dylan, the farmhand. She negotiates six days to arrange an early marrow extraction. On the cliff, she learns the truth: she is the devil. She proposes they destroy the Mother. In the Underrealm, the Mother attempts to drain their love, but the force of it kills her instead. ## Relationships Arden: The central relationship. Arden is her fated killer and her eternal love. He keeps his distance to protect her from 'the complication of loving him' (chapter 28), but their connection persists across lifetimes. In Siberia, they exchange declarations of love before dying together. In the 2022 timeline, their relationship evolves from hunter and prey to reluctant allies to lovers again. Gracie: Evelyn's fourteen-year-old sister in the 2022 life, who has leukaemia. Evelyn is her only tissue match and is undergoing injections for a stem cell donation. Gracie's need creates the novel's central tension: Evelyn must survive until the transplant, but Arden is bound to kill her before she turns eighteen. The Mother: Evelyn's creator, who raised her as a daughter. The Mother admits she 'felt everything you have felt for a thousand years' (chapter 41) and that she disrupted the wedding because their joy was intolerable. Evelyn feels a complicated, childlike love for her even as she plans to destroy her. ## Key Decisions and Consequences 1. The bargain with Arden (1006): Evelyn offers to save Beorma in exchange for Arden's soul. The bargain fails, Beorma dies, and Arden endures seven days on coals. This decision creates the cycle that defines the novel. 2. Choosing the name Evelyn: In Lundenburg, she assigns herself a human name, a small act of defiance against her devil nature. The name becomes her identity across all subsequent lives. 3. Negotiating for six days (2022): Evelyn pleads with Arden for time to arrange an early marrow extraction for Gracie. This decision buys her time but also forces her into closer proximity with her killer. 4. Proposing to destroy the Mother: After learning the truth, Evelyn insists they try to kill the Mother rather than continue the cycle. This leads to the Underrealm confrontation. 5. Accepting the Mother's deal (in the Underrealm): When the Mother offers to drain their love, killing them but freeing them from the tether, Evelyn initially refuses but reluctantly accepts. The love proves too powerful and kills the Mother instead. ## Themes and Symbols Evelyn embodies the novel's central themes. The eighteenth-birthday death curse is the structural device that creates urgency in every life. The ancient bargain that binds the cycle is the origin of her suffering. Her fragmented memories raise questions about memory erasure and the persistence of identity. Her love for Arden is a double-edged force—it drives her to accept the bargain, to keep returning to him, and ultimately to destroy the Mother. And her repeated desire for a normal life connects to the longing for an ordinary life. ## Questions and Answers 1. Why does Arden kill Evelyn in every life? Arden is bound by the bargain Evelyn made with him in 1006 Lundenburg. She reaped his soul in exchange for saving his sister Beorma, and the failed bargain locked them into a cycle where he must kill her before she turns eighteen. 2. What is Evelyn's true nature? Evelyn is a devil, born to the Mother in the Underrealm. She is not a human who made a deal with the devil—she is the devil who made a deal with Arden. Arden reveals this on the cliff in chapter 36: 'We didn't make a deal with the devil, Evelyn. You are the devil.' 3. Why does Evelyn choose the name 'Evelyn'? In Lundenburg, when Arden asks who she is, she assigns herself a human name—one that feels 'right on my tongue' and is 'close enough to devil' that she could argue it was a slip of the tongue to the Mother. 4. What happens to Evelyn and Arden in the Underrealm? When the Mother attempts to drain their love, the overwhelming force of it kills her instead. The Underrealm crumbles as they begin to die, with Evelyn losing memories of Arden. 5. Does the cycle end? The novel's final chapter (Scotland, 2054) shows León Cazares, a fashion designer, feeling an inexplicable pull toward a café and encountering a red-haired man reading Ten Hundred Years of You. This suggests the cycle has ended and they may meet again without the curse. See the ending explained page for more. For further discussion, visit the questions and answers page.