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The Baudelaire family (pronounced /ˌboʊd(ə)ˈlɛər/) is one of several prominent fictional families in A Series of Unfortunate Events. The Baudelaire children, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny, are the protagonists of the series. After the death of their parents, they experience many unfortunate and scary adventures that involve, among other things, harpoon guns, falling houses, and the horrible Count Olaf.
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Family members
- Bertrand Baudelaire, Father of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. Died in the fire that destroyed the family home.
- Beatrice Baudelaire, Mother of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. Died in the fire that destroyed the family home.
- Violet Baudelaire, the oldest (age 14 at the start of the series, then 15 in The Grim Grotto and 16 by the end of the series). Violet is an intelligent, avid inventor and on numerous occasions saves the lives of her siblings Klaus and Sunny.
- Klaus Baudelaire, the middle child (age 12 at the start of the series, 13 in The Vile Village and 14 by the end of the series). Klaus is an intelligent, avid reader and he taps into his vast book knowledge to help get the three children out of numerous scrapes.
- Sunny Baudelaire, the youngest, is an infant but. Sunny enjoys biting and cooking. She often manages to get the siblings out of trouble.
- Beatrice Baudelaire (II), the siblings' adoptive daughter. Aged one year old by chapter fourteen of The End, the last book in the series.
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. It may be implied that he was murdered by Bertrand Baudelaire, Beatrice Baudelaire, and Lemony Snicket.
- Count Olaf's mother, either the Baudelaires' second cousin five times removed or their third cousin four times removed. It may be implied that she was murdered by Bertrand Baudelaire, Beatrice Baudelaire, and Lemony Snicket.
- Montgomery Montgomery, the Baudelaire's first cousin-in-law once removed (or more specifically, Bertrand's cousin's wife's brother).[2] Therefore:
- Bertrand'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 presumably a reference to Mr. Fagin in Oliver Twist). He refused to become the Baudelaires' legal guardian for fear of Count Olaf.[6]
Baudelaire mansion
The Baudelaire mansion, the former home of the Baudelaire family, was burned down in an apparent arson. The movie based on the series implies that this was carried out by 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 to 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.
Baudelaire fortune
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The Baudelaire fortune is to have been inherited by the Baudelaire orphans as soon as Violet turns 18. From the time that Count Olaf got custody of the orphans, he always had his eye on the fortune, but always failed in his attempt to acquire it. Olaf never achieved his goal as he died by getting struck from a harpoon gun in "The End", It is implied that Mrs. Bass, Klaus' teacher, robbed the Baudelaire fortune instead.
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.
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.
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 their parents and handed them a box of poison darts before being seen by Esmé Squalor. Later in the book Count Olaf reveals that his parents were killed by poison darts and that he has good reason to hate the Baudelaires (obviously implying that the Baudelaire parents were the ones who murdered his parents). This would explain Olaf's grudge against the family, his motive for burning down the Baudelaire mansion (as many believe he did), and possibly also why he became a villain in the first place. None of this is ever confirmed in the book, however.
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.
See also
- Violet Baudelaire
- Klaus Baudelaire
- Sunny Baudelaire
- Beatrice Baudelaire
- Snicket family
- Quagmire family
References
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