Surveillance, Supervision, and Guardianship Theme Analysis

Eyes are a central symbol to The Bad Beginning, and for good reason. As the children notice upon first entering Count Olaf’s house, not only are eyes painted literally everywhere––including Count Olaf’s ankle––but it also feels as though there are eyes everywhere. They even become paranoid that Count Olaf is watching them even when he’s not physically present, and this fear only worsens as the novel goes on. Even when the children act in secret to thwart Count Olaf’s plans, like going to Mr. Poe or confronting Olaf about his marriage plot, he always seems one step ahead of them. Count Olaf’s eyes, in other words, are both the metaphor and manifestation of his ceaseless monitoring of the Baudelaire children and their activities. Though he is not always around, they can always feel Count Olaf’s presence.

In this way, Count Olaf’s constant monitoring of the Baudelaire children or inverts one of a parent’s primary responsibilities: the watching of one’s children. In a typical, healthy household, the point of watching one’s children is to ensure their safety, but in Count Olaf’s house, the intention is the opposite. Under him, supervision becomes surveillance, with the goal being control rather than safety. Olaf doesn’t care about the children’s well-being; his focus is on preventing any disruption to his plan of seizing their fortune. As such, Count Olaf is not just a bad parent, he is the antithesis of one; under his watch, the home becomes a surveillance state—and one with malevolent design.