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Chapter 1
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Bad Beginning, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Family and Parenthood
Surveillance, Supervision, and Guardianship
Children vs. Adults
Intelligence and Ethics
Summary
Analysis
Lemony Snicket claims it would be “useless” to describe how the Baudelaire children feel, suggesting that only those who have lost loved ones can understand. They are so sad that Klaus loses interest in books, the “gears” in Violet’s brain stop whirring, and Sunny bites with less energy than before. As Lemony Snicket explains, the situation is even worse because their home burned down, so they cannot even grieve in the comforts of their old bedrooms. In fact, the children visit their old house with Mr. Poe only to find all their old possessions ruined by the fire.
Lemony Snicket, in keeping with his ironic narrative style, refuses to describe the feeling of sadness the Baudelaire children feel. He believes doing so would be pointless, for only those who have lost loved ones can understand what such grief feels like. He then proceeds, ironically, to describe the sadness the Baudelaire children feel. None of the children are interested in any of their old hobbies, like reading or inventing, illustrating the devastating emotional impact of death. The things that normally make them happy cannot bring them relief or joy.
Themes
With their home burned down, the Baudelaire children grieve at Mr. Poe’s home, which is less than ideal. Mr. Poe is never there, Mrs. Poe buys them ugly, itchy clothes, and Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are forced to share a room Mr. Poe’s two rude sons, Edgar, and Albert. Even so, when Mr. Poe announces that they will be leaving the next morning, the Baudelaire children are hesitant to leave. Mr. Poe explains that they will be moving in a distant relative named Count Olaf, and Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are unsure what to think: they don’t like Mr. Poe’s house, but they also have never heard of Count Olaf before.
The Baudelaire children stay at Mr. Poe’s house where, despite their recent trauma, they are largely neglected. Once again, Mr. Poe offers little emotional support to the children, disappearing during the day and leaving them with his two unkind sons. This highlights Mr. Poe’s coldness and emotional unavailability. He does not understand that the Baudelaire children might need more than what he is providing.
Themes
Mr. Poe explains why Count Olaf was chosen as their guardian, claiming that their parents’ will says they should be raised in the most “convenient” way possible. Since Count Olaf is the only relative living in the same city, he was chosen. Klaus and Violet are still uncertain about the choice, however, and question why their parents never mentioned Count Olaf or invited him over. Mr. Poe explains that he was likely busy, as he is an actor. The children have more to ask Mr. Poe, but he dismisses himself from dinner to return to work at the bank.
Mr. Poe explains who the children’s new guardian will be––Count Olaf–––and why he was selected. His explanation is unsatisfactory to the Baudelaire children, however, who question whether their parents would have wanted them to live with a stranger. Mr. Poe dismisses the children’s concerns, however, underscoring his blindness to their emotional considerations as well as his tendency to not take children seriously. He is following the will’s stipulations as narrowly as possible, interpreting “convenien[ce]” to mean geographical closeness, not emotional closeness.
Themes
The children glumly pack their bags and wonder what their future will bring. They do not sleep well, and Mr. Poe soon wakes them up to leave. Violet asks if they must leave so soon, and Mr. Poe says they do, as he is busy with work. They leave the house and travel across the city to their new home, arriving in front of the “prettiest” house on the block. An older woman stands in the doorway holding a flowerpot. She says hello to the children, stating that they must be Count Olaf’s new adopted children. Violet shakes the woman’s hand and notices how warm it is. She feels hopeful about their situation for the first time and introduces herself, her siblings, and Mr. Poe.
Even though their stay at Mr. Poe’s has been less than ideal, the children are nervous to depart for their new home. Mr. Poe is characteristically busy and unsympathetic, however, and ushers the children out of the house. When they arrive at what they think is their new house, the children are momentarily uplifted: the house is the nicest one on the block, and a kind woman waves to them from outside it. Having had such a traumatic time since their parents’ deaths, the children are hopeful about their future for the first time.
Themes
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The woman tells the children that she had heard of their parents’ accident. She introduces herself as Justice Strauss. She explains that she is a judge on the High Court, prompting Violet to ask whether she is married to Count Olaf. Justice Strauss emphatically expresses that she is not, claiming that he is her neighbor, though she does not know him well. The children look next door and see a dirty, ugly house with an ominous tower and an eye painted on the front door. Sunny shrieks her dislike for Count Olaf’s house, and Justice Strauss suggests that the children come help her garden sometime. Violet agrees but wishes they could live with Justice Strauss instead of Count Olaf. They say goodbye.
In a characteristically unfortunate turn of events, the children discover that Justice Strauss’s inviting house is not their new home, nor she their new guardian. They discover, instead, that their new home is the ugly, dirty house with a creepy eye on it. Though they have not met Count Olaf yet, his house implies bad things about his character. Sunny, whose instincts are often right (for instance, she sensed the misfortune that Mr. Poe’s ominous arrival would bring the siblings), shrieks in distaste at Count Olaf’s house, a foreboding omen.
Themes
Klaus knocks on Count Olaf’s door, and the door opens, revealing a tall, thin man in a stained suit. The man, Count Olaf, says hello to the children, who notice that his eyes are shiny, making him look both “hungry and angry.” He invites them in but asks that they wipe their feet to not dirty the house—an absurd statement given how dirty the house is. Mr. Poe comments as much, and Count Olaf apologizes sarcastically for his home not being as nice as the Baudelaire mansion. He suggests pointedly that money could make it nicer, to which Mr. Poe firmly clarifies that the Baudelaire fortune will not be used until Violet comes of age.
Unfortunately, Count Olaf’s personality matches his house. He is dirty, spooky, and foreboding, with threatening eyes like the eye on his house’s tower. Though his appearance does not necessarily indicate anything about the quality of his personality, it still does not bode well for the quality of life he can offer to the Baudelaire children. His nasty comments about the Baudelaire mansion are also concerning, as they suggest not only a lack of sympathy but also a jealous distaste for the children’s well-to-do upbringing. His interest in their fortune is also concerning, foreshadowing important developments later in the story.
Themes
Count Olaf turns angrily to Mr. Poe, and Violet thinks he is going to hit him. He recovers his composure, however, and claims it does not matter to him either way. He thanks Mr. Poe for bringing the children and offers to show them their new room. Mr. Poe says goodbye and wishes the children luck, saying they can always contact him at the bank. Klaus points out they don’t know where the bank is, but Count Olaf says he has a map and shuts the door. The children wish they could continue to live Mr. Poe house and notice that count Olaf has an eye tattooed on his ankle. They wonder how many more eyes are in the house—and if it will ever feel like Count Olaf isn’t watching them.
For a brief second, Count Olaf seems to show his true colors. Though he quickly masks his anger, Count Olaf is clearly unhappy that the Baudelaire fortune is off limits. This is concerning, for it suggests that Count Olaf’s motives for adopting them may be nefarious and related to their wealth. Mr. Poe, either out of neglect or ignorance—or both—takes little notice of Count Olaf’s concerning behavior, however. Though he says the children should contact him if they need help, he does not provide them any easy way to do so, suggesting, again, that he does not really care for them, nor does he want to deal with their problems. The children also take note of the many eyes which Olaf has around his house. The eyes make the children feel watched, a feeling which foreshadows Count Olaf’s uncanny ability later in the story to always be one step ahead of them.
Themes
