Baudelaire family
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The Baudelaire family is one of several prominent fictional families in A Series of Unfortunate Events. The Baudelaires are the protagonists of the series. They consist of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny who go through many unfortunate adventures after the death of their parents, such as harpoon guns, falling houses, and the horrible Count Olaf.
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[edit] Family members
- Bertrand Baudelaire, Father of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. died in the large fire that destroyed the family home.
- Beatrice Baudelaire, Mother of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. died in the large fire that destroyed the family home.
- Violet Baudelaire, the oldest (age 14, 15 in The Grim Grotto and is sixteen at the end of the series). Violet is the inventor of the trio, and saves the lives of Klaus and Sunny at various times.
- Klaus Baudelaire, the middle child (age 12, 13 in The Vile Village and is fourteen at the end of the series ). Klaus is the only boy, and the highly intelligent reader which help the children at points in time.
- Sunny Baudelaire, the youngest (infant). Sunny enjoys biting and later cooking, a skill which her mother inspired her to do , when Sunny watched her make salad for people.
- Beatrice Baudelaire (II), the siblings' adoptive daughter. Aged probably 10 or 11 months old by the time Chapter Fourteen at the end of The End rolled around.
[edit] Extended family
Relationships are listed in relationship to the Baudelaire children, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. Relationships formed by adopting Beatrice are not listed here, but would include all members of the extended Snicket family and all relatives of Dewey Denouement. For further possibilities, see Snicket family#Family tree.
- Count Olaf, either the Baudelaires' third cousin four times removed or (more possibly) their fourth cousin three times removed.[1] Therefore:
- Count Olaf's father, either the Baudelaires' second cousin five times removed or their third cousin four times removed.
- Count Olaf's mother, either the Baudelaires' second cousin five times removed or their third cousin four times removed.
- Montgomery Montgomery, the Baudelaire's first cousin-in-law once removed (or more specifically, Bertrand's cousin's wife's brother).[2] Therefore:
- Bertand's unnamed cousin, the Baudelaires' first cousin once removed.
- Montgomery's unnamed sister, the Baudelaires' first cousin-in-law once removed.
- Josephine Anwhistle, the Baudelaires' second cousin-in-law (or more specifically, second cousin's sister-in-law).[3] This implies that Josephine has a sibling (and does not refer to Ike's sibling, Gregor). Therefore:
- Isaac "Ike" Anwhistle, the Baudelaires' second cousin's sister's-in-law husband.
- Gregor Anwhistle, the Baudelaires' second cousin's sister's-in-law brother-in-law.
- unnamed second cousin
- Josephine's unnamed sibling, the Baudelaires' second cousin-in-law.
- Mrs. Anwhistle, the Baudelaires' second cousin's sister's-in-law mother-in-law (or more specifically, Ike and Gregor's mother). She is described as having only one eyebrow and one ear.[4]
- Elwyn, the Baudelaires' uncle (whether he is maternal or paternal is not specified). He raised pigs.[5]
- Mr. Fagin, the Baudelaires' nineteenth cousin (his name is probably a reference to Mr. Fagin in Oliver Twist, who raises a gang of orphans). He refused to become the Baudelaires' legal guardian for fear of Count Olaf.[6]
[edit] Baudelaire Mansion
The Baudelaire Mansion is the former home of the Baudelaire family. The house was burned down in presumed arson. The movie based on the series implies that this was due to Count Olaf, using a massive refracting lens. The Baudelaire parents are said to have died in the blaze, leaving Violet, Klaus and Sunny orphaned.
The house is connected by a mysterious tunnel to 667 Dark Avenue, the home of Jerome Squalor and formerly Esmé Squalor. The purpose of this passageway was possibly to direct members of the secret organization V.F.D. to safe places before the schism. This passage is likely the reason Jerome Squalor was urged by Jacques Snicket to buy the penthouse of 667 Dark Avenue and never, ever, sell it. For the same reason, Jacques Snicket urged Jerome Squalor not to marry Esmé.
In Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography, in an excerpt from The History of Lucky Smells Lumbermill, written by Sir, and mentioned in The Miserable Mill as one of the few books in the Lucky Smells Lumbermill library, it is revealed that Lucky Smells Lumbermill supplied many buildings in its construction, including the Baudelaire, Snicket and Quagmire mansions, with its special "emerald lumber".
In the film, the Baudelaire Mansion is situated in 28 Prospero Place, Boston, Massachusetts.
[edit] Baudelaire fortune
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Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (April 2009) |
The Baudelaire fortune is an enormous amount of money (possibly over one billion dollars in cash) that would have later been inherited by the Baudelaire orphans when Violet turns 18. Count Olaf had always been after it since the time he met Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire, but always failed. Luckily he never got it, because he died by poisoning from the Medusoid Mycelium. In The Penultimate Peril, it is implied that Mrs. Bass, Klaus' teacher, robbed the Baudelaire fortune instead. It is likely that since The Beatrice sank when Violet, Klaus, Sunny, and Beatrice were near the city, the fortune was ultimately destroyed forever....meaning that Violet, Klaus, and Sunny might have died.
[edit] The fire
The fire which killed Mr. and Mrs. Baudelaire was the starting point for the first book of the series, The Bad Beginning. While it has not been explicitly stated whether the fire was accidental or the result of arson, Snicket has several times hinted that someone else was at the Baudelaire mansion when the fire started. In letter correspondence between Mr. Snicket and the Vineyard of Fragrant Grapes (where the wedding between Lemony and Beatrice was supposed to take place) the Sebald code is applied in The Unauthorized Autobiography and says something like "hello, if you are still alive watch out" and then something roughly implying "if you get married here, the count will burn you and Beatrice". The count is supposedly Count Olaf. This is a probable explanation as to who burned down the mansion, but has not been confirmed. In The Wide Window when Mr. Poe is listing the things Olaf is wanted for, he says, "The Lake Lachrymose Police Department will be happy to capture a known criminal wanted for fraud, murder, and the endangerment of children," and Count Olaf adds, "and arson." This implies that Count Olaf has been responsible for at least one fire. However, he cryptically implies that it wasn't him when, after the Baudelaires accuse him of murdering their parents, he asks "Is that what you think?". Sunny replies with "We know it."
Other characters, such as Duncan, Isadora and Quigley Quagmire have lost parents in similar fires, and members of V.F.D. are logical suspects.
In the movie version of the series, during the time when Olaf is forcing Violet to marry him, Klaus finds a giant magnifying glass which focuses the light. He finds that it is a clear shot to the house, heavily implying that Olaf used this glass as a method of arson.
[edit] Possible survivor
There is evidence that one of the Baudelaire parents survived. In The Hostile Hospital, the Snicket File, found in Heimlich Hospital's Library of Records, said "Due to the evidence discussed on page 9, experts now suspect that there may in fact be one survivor of the fire, but the survivor's whereabouts are unknown."
The Baudelaire children took this as meaning that one of their parents may be alive. In The Slippery Slope, Quigley Quagmire implied that he was the survivor of a fire and not Mr. or Mrs. Baudelaire. Lemony Snicket has said, at different times, that Beatrice and Bertrand are both dead but Mrs.Baudelaire did survive.
It is possible that the fire mentioned in the hospital records was actually the Quagmire fire, and that the survivor referred to was, in fact, Quigley.
In The Carnivorous Carnival, when the Hook-Handed Man says that one of the parents is alive, Lemony Snicket says that the statement is not true. However, this could be taken several ways: i.e. it could be that they are both dead, or that they are both alive. But Lemony Snicket also indicates that Beatrice Baudelaire had died, especially in his dedications in the beginnings in each book.
[edit] Poison darts
The Penultimate Peril also opens up more possibilities about the Baudelaire parents' past. Kit Snicket tells the children about a night that she attended an opera (La forza del destino) with the Baudelaires, and handed them a box of poison darts before Esmé Squalor sees them. Later in the book Count Olaf reveals that his parents were killed by poison darts, and also that he has good reason to hate the Baudelaires. This would imply that the Baudelaire parents murdered Count Olaf's parents, explaining Olaf's grudge against the family (and his motive for burning down the Baudelaire mansion, as many believe), and possibly also why he became a villain. However, this has never been truly confirmed.
One of the 13 Shocking Secrets You'll Wish You Never Knew About Lemony Snicket states that Lemony helped Beatrice to commit a serious crime before her death, which can possibly be the murder of Olaf's parents. Another reveals that Snicket is wanted for arson. However, in Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography, he mentions that he knows of other people starting fires, although he himself did not. There is a possibility that he is only reported to committed arson, and actually was framed.
In The End, Count Olaf, a known arsonist, refuses to confirm or deny the charge that he was responsible for the death of the Baudelaire parents and tells the Baudelaires that they don't know anything.
[edit] References
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