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Count Olaf
Justice Strauss is Count Olaf’s next-door neighbor and a justice on the High Court. Her house is the prettiest on the street, with an impressive garden and a large private library. When Violet, Klaus, and Sunny first arrive on Count Olaf’s street, they incorrectly believe Justice Strauss to be Count Olaf’s wife, and they are disappointed to find that she is not. Unlike Olaf, she is warm and kind, and she shares many of the children’s interests and values, like reading and cleanliness. Justice Strauss finds many ways to care for the Baudelaire children, such as helping them shop for cooking ingredients and letting them use her private library. Despite her kindness and generosity, however, the children do not confide in Justice Strauss about Count Olaf’s poor treatment of them or his plot to steal their fortune. They are wary that Justice Strauss won’t believe them, and they also fear that Justice Strauss is too excited about performing in the play to perceive Count Olaf’s nefarious plot (as a justice, her participation will make Count Olaf’s marriage to Violet legally valid). This is perhaps Justice Strauss’ only shortcoming: that she is too kind and trusting to believe someone could be as evil as Count Olaf. Still, Justice Strauss proves herself to be a valuable ally at the end when she determines that the wedding was, in fact, not legal. She also offers to take over as the Baudelaire’s legal guardian, though as she’s not related, Mr. Poe rejects this offer.
Justice Strauss Quotes in The Bad Beginning
The The Bad Beginning quotes below are all either spoken by Justice Strauss or refer to Justice Strauss. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 3
Quotes
“Goodness,” Justice Strauss said. “Cooking dinner for an entire theatre troupe seems like a lot to ask of children.”
“Count Olaf give us a lot of responsibility,” Violet said. What she wanted to say was, “Count Olaf is an evil man,” but she was well mannered.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4
Quotes
“I can’t tell you how much we appreciate this,” Violet said, carefully. With their kind parents dead and Count Olaf treating them to abominably, the three children were not used to kindness from adults and weren’t sure if they were expected to do anything back. “Tomorrow, before we use your library again, Klaus and I would be more than happy to do household chores for you. Sunny isn’t really old enough to work, but I’m sure we could find some way she could help you.”
Chapter 6
Quotes
“I wish we knew something more about inheritance law,” Klaus said. “I’ll bet Count Olaf has cooked up some plan to get our money, but I don’t know what it could be.”
“I guess we could ask Mr. Poe about it,” Violet said doubtfully, as Klaus stood beside her and dried the dishes. “He knows all those Latin legal phrases.”
“But Mr. Poe would probably call Count Olaf again, and then he’d know we were on to him,” Klaus pointed out. “Maybe we should try to talk to Justice Strauss. She’s a judge, so she must know all about the law.”
“But she’s also Olaf’s neighbor,” Violet replied, “and she might tell him that we had asked.”
Chapter 7
Quotes
The man leaned over until his face was just inches from Klaus’s, so close that the man’s features flickered into a blur. “Listen to me very carefully, little boy,” he said, breathing out foul steam with every word. “The only reason Count Olaf hasn’t torn you limb from limb is that he hasn’t gotten hold of your money. He allows you to live while he works out his plans. But ask yourself this, you little bookworm: What reason will he have to keep you alive after he has your money? What do you think will happen to you then?”
Chapter 8
Quotes
“The word ‘nuptial,’” Klaus said, “means ‘relating to marriage.”
“I know what the word means,” Count Olaf growled. “Where did you get that book.”
“From Justice Strauss’s library,” Klaus said. “But that’s not important. What’s important is that I have found out your plan.”
Chapter 13
Quotes
To Violet, Klaus, and Sunny, it seemed that Mr. Poe and the law had made the incorrect decision to take them away from the possibility of a happy life with Justice Strauss and toward an unknown fate with some unknown relative. They didn’t understand it, but like so many unfortunate events in life, just because you don’t understand it doesn’t mean it isn’t so.
Get the entire The Bad Beginning LitChart as a printable PDF.
Justice Strauss Quotes in The Bad Beginning
The The Bad Beginning quotes below are all either spoken by Justice Strauss or refer to Justice Strauss. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 3
Quotes
“Goodness,” Justice Strauss said. “Cooking dinner for an entire theatre troupe seems like a lot to ask of children.”
“Count Olaf give us a lot of responsibility,” Violet said. What she wanted to say was, “Count Olaf is an evil man,” but she was well mannered.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4
Quotes
“I can’t tell you how much we appreciate this,” Violet said, carefully. With their kind parents dead and Count Olaf treating them to abominably, the three children were not used to kindness from adults and weren’t sure if they were expected to do anything back. “Tomorrow, before we use your library again, Klaus and I would be more than happy to do household chores for you. Sunny isn’t really old enough to work, but I’m sure we could find some way she could help you.”
Chapter 6
Quotes
“I wish we knew something more about inheritance law,” Klaus said. “I’ll bet Count Olaf has cooked up some plan to get our money, but I don’t know what it could be.”
“I guess we could ask Mr. Poe about it,” Violet said doubtfully, as Klaus stood beside her and dried the dishes. “He knows all those Latin legal phrases.”
“But Mr. Poe would probably call Count Olaf again, and then he’d know we were on to him,” Klaus pointed out. “Maybe we should try to talk to Justice Strauss. She’s a judge, so she must know all about the law.”
“But she’s also Olaf’s neighbor,” Violet replied, “and she might tell him that we had asked.”
Chapter 7
Quotes
The man leaned over until his face was just inches from Klaus’s, so close that the man’s features flickered into a blur. “Listen to me very carefully, little boy,” he said, breathing out foul steam with every word. “The only reason Count Olaf hasn’t torn you limb from limb is that he hasn’t gotten hold of your money. He allows you to live while he works out his plans. But ask yourself this, you little bookworm: What reason will he have to keep you alive after he has your money? What do you think will happen to you then?”
Chapter 8
Quotes
“The word ‘nuptial,’” Klaus said, “means ‘relating to marriage.”
“I know what the word means,” Count Olaf growled. “Where did you get that book.”
“From Justice Strauss’s library,” Klaus said. “But that’s not important. What’s important is that I have found out your plan.”
Chapter 13
Quotes
To Violet, Klaus, and Sunny, it seemed that Mr. Poe and the law had made the incorrect decision to take them away from the possibility of a happy life with Justice Strauss and toward an unknown fate with some unknown relative. They didn’t understand it, but like so many unfortunate events in life, just because you don’t understand it doesn’t mean it isn’t so.
