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Chapter 4
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
Even though nothing has changed, the Baudelaire children feel better after having cried all night long. As they chop wood in the backyard, Violet and Klaus discuss what they can do to improve their situation. Klaus says he would rather be homeless than stay with Count Olaf, but Violet is unsure, suggesting it may be better to have a roof over their heads. Klaus then expresses his wish that they could use their parents’ money to buy a castle and have armed guards. All three children daydream about what they’d like to have in the castle, like an inventing studio for Violet, a library for Klaus, and things to bite for Sunny.
This passage highlights the cathartic effect of crying. Though the events of the previous night have traumatized them, the Baudelaire children feel galvanized to act after letting all their emotions out. This suggests that giving oneself time to process a difficult situation can lift one’s mood, even if the situation itself remains unchanged.
Themes
Klaus wonders if Justice Strauss would adopt them. Violet thinks it is unlikely, despite Justice Strauss’s kindness to them. She suggests that they go see Mr. Poe instead. She thinks that if Mr. Poe understood how cruel Count Olaf has been, he wouldn’t make them live with him any longer. Klaus agrees. The children finish cutting the firewood and then head to the bank. They don’t have a map, however, and so they are forced to visit multiple banks in the city before they find Mulctuary Money Management, the bank where Mr. Poe works.
With their heads cleared, the children discuss practical options for escaping Count Olaf’s custody. Though all their options involve receiving help from adults, illustrating their dependence on the adult world to solve their problems, they do travel to Mr. Poe’s office on their own. This is a difficult journey for children to make without adult supervision, and as such it highlights the growing independence and resourcefulness of the Baudelaire children, even as they look to adults for help.
Themes
A guard leads the children to Mr. Poe, who is surprised to see them. Mr. Poe says he is very busy and reprimands them for not calling to schedule an appointment. The children apologize, explaining that the situation is urgent. Klaus explains that Count Olaf is a “madman” and that they need to leave his custody. Violet explains how Count Olaf hit Klaus in the face. Mr. Poe is distracted by a phone call, however, and when he gets off the phone, he does not appear to have processed what they said. Violet and Klaus try again, but the same thing happens, and Mr. Poe cuts them off, telling them to give it time.
Mr. Poe is rude and impatient with the Baudelaire children, scolding them for not calling ahead. This draws a parallel to Count Olaf’s impossible request that the children serve the troupe roast beef: like Olaf, Mr. Poe expects the children to have done something which he not only never asked them to do, but also which he knows––or should know––they have no capability of doing. Even more rudely, Mr. Poe keeps interrupting Violet and Klaus by taking phone calls or coughing. Because of this, he misses much of what they say and does not take their complaints seriously. Once, more an adult fails to provide the children with the protection and care they need.
Themes
Mr. Poe explains that as “loco parentis,” or acting parent, Count Olaf is entitled to raise them how he sees fit. Violet protests, pointing out again that Count Olaf struck Klaus, but Mr. Poe coughs and doesn’t seem to hear. He assures them that while their money will be safe, he cannot change Count Olaf’s parenting approach. Then he asks the children to leave “posthaste”––which he defines for them––as he has much work to do. Violet responds with an angry outburst about him not helping them, and the Baudelaire children leave.
Having missed almost everything Violet and Klaus have said, Mr. Poe is unconcerned with Count Olaf’s behavior, chalking up their complaints to them being unused to Olaf’s parenting style. This is clearly wrong, but having ignored––or coughed through––Violet’s report of Olaf’s physical abuse, he does not know any better. This highlights not only Mr. Poe’s concerning disinterest in the problems of the Baudelaire children but also a more generally dismissive attitude toward children. Because the Baudelaire siblings are young, Mr. Poe is naturally inclined to believe that Olaf is in the right.
Themes
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Violet wishes she could invent something to save herself and her siblings. She suggests they return home and think of a new plan tomorrow. She also suggests that they return to Justice Strauss’s to borrow more books. Lemony Snicket then highlights the importance behind understanding the difference between “literally” and “figuratively,” explaining that the Baudelaire children, having stopped by Justice Strauss’s house on the way home, were able to figuratively escape from their sad circumstances—but not literally. The children know that escaping figuratively is not good enough but accept it as the best they can do for now.
After their unsuccessful trip to Mr. Poe’s office, the Baudelaire children visit Justice Strauss’s library to find relief. This highlights the central role that reading plays in the children’s lives. The library offers them not only relief from their troubles, but also solutions to those troubles. Lemony Snicket’s commentary is also notable here, as it ironically mimics Mr. Poe patronizing behavior from earlier in the chapter. Like Mr. Poe defining “posthaste” for Klaus and Violet, Snicket is also defining words his audience.
Themes
