List of guardians in A Series of Unfortunate Events

In the children's book series "A Series of Unfortunate Events", Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire live with various guardians following the death of their parents. After a brief stay with Mr. Poe and their fateful residence with Count Olaf, the children are shuffled from one legal guardian to another until "The Vile Village", when they run away from the Fowl Devotees and become fugitives. From this point on, there is always someone (or in some cases several someones) who takes care of them. This article deals with every character acting as a guardian to the Baudelaires in "A Series of Unfortunate Events" after their stay with Count Olaf.

"The Reptile Room"

Montgomery Montgomery

Infobox character
colour = lightgreen
name = Montgomery Montgomery, PhD.


caption = Monty in his herpetarium (called the Reptile Room).
first = "The Reptile Room"
last = "The Reptile Room"
cause = posioned with snake venom by Count Olaf
nickname = Uncle Monty
alias =
species =
gender = male
age = adult (involved in herpetology for 40 years, and therefore probably about 60)
born =
death = Poisoned by Count Olaf.
occupation = herpetologist
title = legal guardian
callsign =
family = sister (unnamed)
spouse =
children =
relatives = Bertrand Baudelaire (brother-in-law's cousin)
residence = Montgomery residence, Lousy Lane, Tedia
episode =
portrayer = Billy Connolly
creator = Daniel Handler

Dr. Montgomery Montgomery is Bertrand Baudelaire's cousin's brother-in-law and Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire's second guardian, but he prefers to be called Uncle Monty. He appears solely in "The Reptile Room". It is thought that his name is inspired by Monty Python, as he is a herpetologist (one who studies snakes) whose first name is Monty.

Uncle Monty is a "fat, short, smart chubby man with a round red face." He discovered the Incredibly Deadly Viper (which is in fact not deadly at all). When the Baudelaires first meet him, he gives them homemade coconut cream cake, and the Baudelaires instantly warm to him. He plans to take them to Peru with his assistant Gustav, but receives Gustav's apparent letter of resignation the day before (it is later revealed that Gustav was actually killed by Count Olaf), so Uncle Monty hires "Stephano" (Count Olaf in disguise) in his place. The Baudelaires quickly recognize Stephano as Olaf. Uncle Monty, on the other hand, thinks that Stephano is a jealous spy from the herpetology society, there to steal the Incredibly Deadly Viper, which he has not yet revealed to the society, so he rips up his ticket. This does not stop Olaf, who murders Uncle Monty (using snake venom). Olaf then blames it on the Mamba Du Mal (the Incredibly Deadly Viper in the movie), another snake owned by Uncle Monty. The Baudelaires escape Olaf, but they never again find a nicer or more caring guardian than Uncle Monty. Uncle Monty also had some connection to the Quagmire family because there is a tunnel connecting the two houses. In the movie, Klaus sees Uncle Monty with a spyglass similar to the one he found in his father's desk drawer, and later finds one that belongs to Aunt Josephine. Klaus also found a picture with his parents, Aunt Josephine, Uncle Monty, and other presumably VFD members, all holding spyglasses.

indicates that Uncle Monty's death may be partly attributable to his failure to learn Sebald Code, with which a message intended for him was hidden in the movie "Zombies in the Snow", which he had taken the children to see.

Billy Connolly portrays Monty in the film. He is older and one of the more sympathetic characters in the movie. He gives the children a wonderful home, but faces the same fate as the other sympathetic guardians.

"The Wide Window"

Josephine Anwhistle

Infobox character
colour = indigo
name = Josephine Anwhistle


caption =
first = "The Wide Window"
last = "The Wide Window"
cause = thrown overboard by Count Olaf and eaten by Lachrymose Leeches
nickname = Aunt Josephine
alias =
species =
gender = female
age = 56
born = June 22, 1944
death = February 10, 2000
occupation = None
title = Legal Guardian
callsign =
family = sibling (unnamed)
spouse = Isaac "Ike" Anwhistle, PhD.
children = guardian to the Baudelaire's
relatives = Gregor Anwhistle (brother-in-law)
the Baudelaire children (sibling-in-law's second cousins)
residence = Anwhistle residence, City of Lake Lachrymose
episode = 2
portrayer = Meryl Streep
creator = Daniel Handler

Josephine Anwhistle (or Aunt Josephine) is Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire's second cousin's sister-in-law, and becomes their guardian in "The Wide Window".

Aunt Josephine thinks that grammar is the greatest joy in life. She keeps many books about Lake Lachrymose under her bed. These books include "The Tides of Lake Lachrymose", "The Bottom of Lake Lachrymose", "Lachrymose Trout", "The History of the Damocles Dock Region", "Ivan Lachrymose - Lake Explorer", "How Water Is Made" and "A Lachrymose Atlas".

Ever since her husband Isaac (Ike for short) was devoured by Lachrymose Leeches, she has developed numerous fears. These include concerns about:
*Lake Lachrymose.
*Welcome mat - Someone might fall and break their neck (decapitate themselves in the movie).
*Radiator - It might explode.
*Couch (refrigerator in movie) - It could fall and crush a person.ref|couch
*cars - The doors could get stuck, leaving someone trapped inside.
*Doorknobs - It could break into many pieces, one of which may get in someone's eye.
*Telephone - It could electrocute someone.ref|phone
*Burglars
*Stove - It might burst into flames.
*the Lachrymose Leeches - This is one of her more rational fears. If they smell food, they swarm in and attack.
*Realtors ref|realtors
*Avocadoes - The pits get stuck in your throat and you choke
*The Black Plague

Ironically, many of the things she fears actually happen in the film when her home falls into the lake.

In the end, Count Olaf (in his disguise of Captain Sham) throws her to the leeches. It is heavily implied that she meets the same fate as her husband; she is surrounded by leeches and her tattered life jackets are found later by fishermen at the time the orphans were in Prufrock Preparatory School, two books later.

Notes

# Josephine gets over this fear in the course of the Baudelaires' stay. However, this leads to her undoing.
#This is given some credence by Captain Widdershins when he says "we were attacked by... leeches and realtors" and explained briefly by Kit Snicket in Chapter 2 of "The Penultimate Peril". It was mentioned that a cave (presumably Curdled Cave) was attacked by treacherous realtors. Although it may be for comedic relief, the word "treacherous" may mean that the realtors were members of the evil side of the V.F.D., and an attack of theirs caused her irrational fear of realtors. Fictional film director Dr. Gustav Sebald is also credited (in "The Unauthorized Autobiography") with a film entitled "Realtors in the Cave", further suggesting a V.F.D.-related incident. Also, the film explains that Josephine's fear of realtors is the reason that she has not moved from her dangerous house.

"The Miserable Mill"

ir

Infobox character
colour = lightgreen
name = Sir


caption =
first = "The Miserable Mill"
last = "The Penultimate Peril"
cause =
nickname = Sir
alias =
species =
gender = male
age = adult
born =
death =
specialty =
occupation = co-owner of Lucky Smells Lumbermill
title = legal guardian
callsign =
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
residence = Office Building, Lucky Smells Lumbermill, Paltryville
episode =
portrayer =
creator = Daniel Handler

Sir appears in "The Miserable Mill", the fourth novel, and "The Penultimate Peril", the twelfth novel.

Sir is the owner of the Lucky Smells Lumbermill, located in Paltryville. His real name is not known, although it has been described as hard to pronounce. Mr. Poe has attempted to pronounce the first syllable of the name, using a radically different syllable every time (Wuz, Qui, Sho, Gek, etc.). Equally obscure is Sir's appearance. Sir's entire head is hidden by the thick smoke of his ever-burning cigar. He shows little or no concern for either the Baudelaire orphans or his employees, whom he pays in coupons and provides with an unsatisfying meal of chewing gum. His partner, Charles, mentions that he has had a terrible childhood. For some reason he says "I'm not an idiot" a lot.

He later appears in "The Penultimate Peril". On the cover of that book, a man can be seen with smoke in front of his face. It was speculated that this might be Sir, although this is probably false because the man is smoking a pipe rather than a cigar, and because his face is visible. Lemony Snicket also stated that neither the Baudelaires, the reader, or himself, would ever see Sir's face. It is thought that he is on the fire-starting side of the V.F.D. schism, if any, possibly hinted at by the fact that he enjoys the smell of hot wood.

Sir constantly mistakes the word "concierge" with the word "concertina", another term used to describe an accordion. It is unknown whether he died in the Hotel Denouement fire.

Charles

Infobox character
colour = lightgreen
name = Charles


caption =
first = "The Miserable Mill"
last = "The Penultimate Peril"
cause =
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = male
age = adult
born =
death =
occupation = co-owner of Lucky Smells Lumbermill
title = surrogate guardian
callsign =
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
residence = Office Building, Lucky Smells Lumbermill, Paltryville
episode =
portrayer =
creator = Daniel Handler

Charles is Sir's partner at the Lucky Smells Lumbermill. Charles was the person who recommended that Sir have a library at the mill. There have only been 3 books in that library ever since he suggested it. He cares for the Baudelaires but is too afraid of Sir to help in a useful manner.In "The Penultimate Peril", Kit Snicket says that Charles sent her maps, poems, and blueprints, so it is possible that Charles is a friend of Kit Snicket.Charles makes an appearance in the same novel, staying with Sir in Hotel Denouement. He explains to Sir that he wants to apologise to the Baudelaires for their treatment, and he is sent a letter by J.S., which assists him in his search. It is unknown if he escapes the hotel when it is burned down by the Baudelaire children and Count Olaf.

Because of his behavior, it is possible that Charles is on the fire- fighting side of V.F.D., if he is in fact on any side.

"The Austere Academy"

Vice Principal Nero

Infobox character
colour = lightgreen
name = Nero


caption =
first = "The Austere Academy"
last = "The Penultimate Peril"
cause =
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = male
age = adult
born =
death =
specialty = violinism
occupation = vice principal of Prufrock Preparatory School
title = legal guardian
callsign =
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
residence = probably Prufrock Preparatory School, located in the city
episode =
portrayer =
creator = Daniel Handler

Vice Principal Nero is the vice principal of Prufrock Preparatory School in "The Austere Academy". His name is probably an allusion to Emperor Nero, who, like the character, was said to be fixated on his musical instrument and refused to acknowledge the perils of the community he is supposed to protect.

When the Baudelaire orphans are sent to Prufrock Preparatory School, they find themselves under the thumb of Vice Principal Nero. He is extremely strict, and it seems to the Baudelaires that he lacks a sense of reality. For example, he makes Sunny (a baby) his secretary. Although it is obvious that he does not know how to play the violin properly, it is nonetheless mandatory for every student to attend nightly six-hour concerts during which he plays his own compositions. He repeatedly refers to himself as a "genius". He is also useless at mathematics and thinks that triplets are when four babies are born at once.

Nero dresses in a brown suit with a necktie patterned with pictures of snails. His nose is small and pinkish-red in colour, as seen in the illustration. In "The Austere Academy", his hair is tied into four pigtails, but by "The Penultimate Peril", they have grown into four long braids that dangle behind him. His height is mentioned to be 'five foot, ten inches'.

Nero often mimics what others have just said in a high, mocking tone and has numerous methods of strict punishment for his students. Those who fail to attend his nightly concerts must "buy me a bag of candy and watch me eat it." Other punishments involve the removal of silverware at mealtimes (incurred by entry into the administrative building which is off-limits to students), and the loss of a cup or a glass, so the beverage is poured directly onto the serving tray, a punishment for being late for mealtimes.

Nero is implied to be unreasonable. When Sunny Baudelaire is forced to be his secretary, she is made to manufacture her own staples because the original supply had run out and he refuses to purchase more. Moreover, after the Baudelaires unmask Count Olaf, Nero for some reason still maintains that Olaf is Coach Genghis (Olaf's disguise). Shortly thereafter, Violet, Klaus and Sunny are expelled from Prufock Prep because Nero sees them as bad students.

It is strange that there is no mention of the Principal of the school, as Nero is only the Vice Principal, but this is most probably of little significance.

Nero re-appears in "The Penultimate Peril" when he, along with Mr. Remora and Mrs. Bass, are invited to Esmé Squalor's cocktail party. Nero is never stated to be part of either side of the V.F.D schism, but when asked a coded V.F.D phrase - "I didn't realise this was a sad occasion" - in "The Penultimate Peril", Nero does not appear to understand. If Nero is a member of V.F.D., however, he is likely on the villainous side; during "The Penultimate Peril", he sets a glass down without using a coaster, a recurring theme in the series, labelled by the narrator as something only a villainous person would do. At the end of the book, a large fire consumes the hotel with Nero inside it, and it is unknown whether he escaped or perished, although in "", Nero writes a letter that refers to books written in the 1980s, so he could have lived until then- unless the fire was after that.

"The Ersatz Elevator"

Esmé Squalor

Jerome Squalor

Infobox character
colour = lightgreen
name = Jerome Squalor


caption =
first = "The Ersatz Elevator"
last = "The Penultimate Peril"
cause =
nickname = Jerry (pejorative)
alias =
species =
gender = male
age = adult
born =
death = Fire in Hotel in The Penultimate Peril. Unknown if survived.
occupation = author and researcher
title = legal guardian
callsign =
family =
spouse = Esmé Squalor (separated)
children = the Baudelaire children (adopted)
relatives =
residence = 667 Dark Avenue, the city
episode =
portrayer =
creator = Daniel Handler

Jerome Squalor first appears in "The Ersatz Elevator". He is married to Esmé Squalor, who decided to adopt the Baudelaires because orphans were "in." Jerome is kind to the Baudelaires but completely submissive to Esmé and other characters due to his distaste for arguments. The phrase he consistently uses throughout the book is "Well, I don't want to argue..." He is less of a follower of fashion than Esmé and dislikes the idea of buying superfluous items simply because they are "in." He is rich and successful, but this position is abused by Esmé, who wants to gain access to the Baudelaires. He is perhaps the most caring guardian of the Baudelaire children since Uncle Monty.

He also suggests he was friends with the Baudelaires' parents, hinting that he is or was part of V.F.D. When the Baudelaires first come into the apartment, Jerome tells Violet about their mother: :"You’re adventurous! I like that in a person. Your mother was adventurous, too. You know, she and I were very good friends a way back. We hiked up Mount Fraught with some friends - gosh, it must have been twenty years ago. Mount Fraught was known for having dangerous animals on it, but your mother wasn't afraid. But then, swooping out of the sky.."

He is then cut off by Esmé. The same occurs when he tries to tell the Baudelaires about their mother's love of auctions.

At the end of the novel, Esmé leaves Jerome to become a member of Count Olaf's troupe and Count Olaf's girlfriend. In keeping with his timid and nonconfrontational disposition, Jerome tells the Baudelaires that he wants to take them "far, far away from here, so far away that you’ll forget all about Count Olaf and the Quagmires and everything else." The Baudelaires refuse because they think that the act of finding Count Olaf and the Quagmires is more noble.

In "", there are two letters concerning Jerome: one to Jerome from Jacques Snicket and the second from Jerome to Jacques. The first begs Jerome not to marry Esmé, saying :"The reason you should not marry Esmé is the same reason I begged you to buy the penthouse apartment at 667 Dark Avenue and never, ever sell it, and the same reason people should never get tattoos." It is unclear from this letter whether Jerome was part of V.F.D. knowingly and willingly.

It is implied in the second letter that the first never reached Jerome because the doorman - one of Count Olaf's henchmen, the hook handed man - never gave it to him. In the second letter, it is obvious that Esmé is working against V.F.D. at this point, as the letter says :"She (Esmé) says that she can't wait to meet you so she can finally give you what you deserve. I assume she means a present of some sort." This letter suggests that Jerome, because of his optimism and submissiveness (or dimwittedness), was used as a pawn by Esmé to secure the tunnel in the elevator at 667 Dark Avenue.

Jerome returns in "The Penultimate Peril". Feeling guilty at his desertion of the Baudelaires, he has been researching their case and writing a book about injustice entitled "Odious Lusting After Finance" (a backronym of "OLAF"). He gives the book to Justice Strauss to be used as evidence at Olaf's trial in the lobby of Hotel Denouement. Jerome also meets his wife Esmé at the hotel, and when she dumps Count Olaf publicly Jerome urges her to rejoin his side, that he has faith that she still has nobility left in her. Unfortunately Esmé replies that she can't, because justice is "out" at this time. When the time for the trial comes Count Olaf kidnaps the judge, escapes, and uses the only copy of the book as kindling to set fire to the hotel. It is unknown whether Jerome survives the fire.

"The Vile Village"

Village of Fowl Devotees

Hector

Infobox character
colour = lightgreen
name = Hector


caption =
first = "The Vile Village"
last = "The Vile Village"
cause = Leaves V.F.D. in a self-sustaining hot air balloon
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = male
age = adult
born =
death =
specialty = engineering
occupation = custodian of V.F.D. (the village)
title = one of many legal guardians
callsign =
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
residence = Hector's residence, V.F.D.
episode =
portrayer =
creator = Daniel Handler

Hector is the handyman in the Village of Fowl Devotees. He is appalled at the many rules of the village (e.g., there are to be no mechanical devices, no crows are to be harmed, there are to be no books that break the rules.), but he was cowardly and could never bring himself to speak around the Village Elders. He is described as having a knack for cooking Mexican cuisine. The roosting place of the VFD crows is the Nevermore Tree, which is located in Hector's backyard. He has an unfinished self-sustaining hot air balloon in his shed, which is banned under the village rules. He also collected as many banned books as possible before they could be burned. Violet Baudelaire, while under his care, helps him finish the hot air balloon. Near the conclusion of the novel, as the Baudelaires and Quagmires are running from a mob of villagers, Hector finally overcomes his fears when he appears in his (now functioning) balloon, scolds the Elders for their rules, and tries to help the Baudelaires and Duncan and Isadora Quagmire aboard. The Baudelaires are unable to make it (because Officer Luciana unravels the rope with a harpoon gun). He was last seen flying away with the Duncan and Isadora. In The End, it is revealed that he was captured by an unknown marine object that Kit Snicket refers to as "the Great Unknown", though it is not known if it harmed him or protected him. Hector is almost certainly either a volunteer in V.F.D. or has some other connection to it. "" quotes a letter from Jacques Snicket to Lemony Snicket that says, "I feel, Lemony, as if we are drifting away from one another, as if one of us is on the ground and the other is in some wondrous device, floating away into the sky, like that self-sustaining hot-air moblile home H is always talking about building," indicating that the brothers were familiar with Hector.

"The Hostile Hospital"

Volunteers Fighting Disease

The Volunteers Fighting Disease is an organization in the eighth book of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, "The Hostile Hospital". They sing all day long and believe that a good mood, rather than antibiotics or surgery, is the best way to cure disease. The group is famous for handing out heart shaped balloons to patients at Heimlich Hospital. Everybody in the group calls each other brother and sister; nobody ever uses names. Their main mode of transportation is a van with "V.F.D." written on the side, leading the Baudelaire orphans to travel with them, erroneously believing that the Volunteers Fighting Disease had something to do with the mysterious organization under the same name. Although there is no specific chief member, the man with the beard, playing the guitar, appears to lead the Volunteers around the hospital.

A Volunteer Fighting Disease is present in The Penultimate Peril, a bearded man with a guitar who becomes friends with a V.F.D. Elder.

They have a trademark jingle with a cheery tune. [http://asoue.proboards11.com/index.cgi?board=documents&action=display&thread=1104763806]

Hal

Infobox character
colour = lightgreen
name = Hal


caption =
first = "The Hostile Hospital"
last = "The Penultimate Peril"
cause =
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = male
age = elderly
born =
death =
specialty = Indian cuisine
occupation = archivist
title = surrogate guardian
callsign =
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
residence = the city
episode =
portrayer =
creator = Daniel Handler

Hal first appears in the eighth novel, "The Hostile Hospital". Working at the Library of Records of the hospital, he is described as one of the oldest men that the three orphaned children (Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire) have ever met, "with the tiniest pair of glasses they have ever seen." Hal is the eighth guardian of the orphans, and the first unofficial guardian. However, when the Library of Records is burned down by Count Olaf, Hal is quick to believe that the Baudelaires are responsible, and so turns against them.

In "The Penultimate Peril", he reappears as the owner of an Indian restaurant at the Hotel Denouement. In this novel, it seems that he is possibly a member of V.F.D., because he says a V.F.D. code sentence, "I didn't realize this was a sad occasion", to Mr. Remora (who fails to understand). Hal is probably on the good side of V.F.D. because he was angry about the fire at the Library of Records, and states that 'he should know' that the Baudelaires are not criminals.

Although he owns the restaurant, Hal is a terrible cook, as Dewey Denouement says, "All bad food tastes horrible, but bad Indian food is perhaps the worst." In contrast to his behavior in "The Hostile Hospital", he forgives the Baudelaires and apologizes for believing Geraldine Julienne's stories in the sensationalist newspaper "The Daily Punctilio".

He is one of the many people still in the hotel when the fire set by Count Olaf and the Baudelaire children begins; it is unknown, as with the other characters, if he survived it or not.

"The Carnivorous Carnival"

Olivia Caliban

Infobox character
color = lightblue
name = Olivia Caliban


caption =
first = "The Carnivorous Carnival"
last = "The Carnivorous Carnival"
cause = eaten by lions
nickname =
alias = Madame Lulu
species =
sex = female
age = adult
born =
death =
occupation = crystal gazer, owner of Caligari Carnival
title = surrogate guardian
callsign =
family = Thursday Caliban (brother)
spouse =
children =
relatives = Friday Caliban (niece)
Miranda Caliban (sister-in-law)
residence = Caligari Carnival, the Hinterlands
episode =
portrayer =
creator = Daniel Handler

Olivia Caliban (a.k.a. Madame Lulu [p. 163 of "The Carnivorous Carnival" calls "Madame Lulu" "the fake name of the woman".] ) appears solely in The Carnivorous Carnival. She is technically the ninth guardian of the Baudelaire orphans due to the fact that the Baudelaires go to work for her. A later book mentions an "Olivia Caliban", who may be Olivia, if she somehow escaped the lions, and who thus may be the sister of Thursday Caliban, Friday's father. Fact|date=June 2007

She is a fraudulent fortune-teller. Her lightning device (operated by reflecting beams of the sunrise) tricks guests into believing in magical lightning. After instructing them to close their eyes, she seeks out the answers from the archival library under her table.

Madame Lulu says she just likes giving people what they want. It is implied, but not explicitly stated, that she is a member of V.F.D.. "The Grim Grotto" reveals that she once knew Captain Widdershins. It is strongly implied that she is in love with Count Olaf, earning her the enmity of Olaf's then-girlfriend Esmé Squalor.

Lulu promised the Baudelaires that she wouldn't tell Count Olaf where they were if they took her to the Mortmain Mountains. This place was marked on her map, but Klaus found that it was a coffee stain, but he later said that it might be there to refer to as a secret place, such as the headquarters of VFD. However, she did not keep her promise and Count Olaf captured the Baudelaires.

Esmé Squalor convinces the "freaks" in the Caligari Carnival to murder her by pushing Madame Lulu into the lion pit in exchange for being hired by Count Olaf. She met a sticky end when she fell into the lions' pit along with Olaf's bald assistant.

She has been implied to be a fortune-teller mentioned in a much earlier book who cursed Lemony Snicket when a policeman tripped Mr. Snicket, causing him to break the crystal ball he was holding. Fact|date=June 2007 She also states in the book that Olaf promised to give her the Snicket Fortune for the times she helped Olaf.

When Olivia removes her turban, Snicket states she has blond hair but in illustrations, she is shown with black hair. If this is simply a mistake or not is unknown.

"The Slippery Slope"

Bruce

Infobox character
colour = lightgreen
name = Bruce


caption =
first = "The Reptile Room"
last = "The Slippery Slope"
cause =
nickname = Uncle Bruce
alias =
species =
gender = male
age = adult
born =
death =
occupation = director of marketing for the Herpetological Society, Snow Scout leader
title =
callsign =
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives = Carmelita Spats (niece)
residence =
episode =
portrayer =
creator = Daniel Handler

Bruce is briefly a guardian of the Baudelaires. He first appears at the end of "The Reptile Room", in which he moves Uncle Monty's reptiles.

In "The Slippery Slope", Bruce appears again as the leader of the Snow Scouts. The Baudelaires learn that he is the uncle of Carmelita Spats, a member of the Snow Scouts, and Count Olaf cheated him out of Uncle Monty's reptile collection (except for one reptile, most likely the Incredibly Deadly Viper). This was confirmed in "", in which Lemony receives the letter from the owners of the Prospero). Bruce is kidnapped by the man with a beard but no hair and the woman with hair but no beard, along with all the Snow Scouts, save for Carmelita, at the end of the book. In "The End", he possibly makes his final appearance. At Hotel Denouement, shortly after Dewey Denouement is killed, someone calls for Bruce to come back to bed, and later, as the hotel burns, the Baudelaires hear a man calling out for Bruce. It is unknown if the two Bruce's are the same and if he survived the fire.

"The Grim Grotto"

Captain Widdershins

Infobox character
colour = lightgreen
name = Widdershins


caption =
first = "The Grim Grotto"
last = "The Grim Grotto"
cause = taken by "The Great Unknown"
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = male
age = middle-aged adult
born =
death =
occupation = captain of the "Queequeg"
title = surrogate guardian
callsign =
family =
spouse = Mrs. Widdershins (deceased)
children = Fiona (stepdaughter)
Fernald (stepson)
relatives =
residence =
episode =
portrayer =
creator = Daniel Handler

Captain Widdershins is the captain of the "Queequeg", his submarine. He is the stepfather of Fiona and Fernald.

In "The Grim Grotto", he finds Klaus, Violet, and Sunny Baudelaire at sea while he is looking for the sugar bowl and takes them aboard the "Queequeg". He is extremely emphatic, with almost all of his sentences being exclamations, and permeates his speech with the word "Aye!" His personal philosophy is "He who hesitates is lost", which the Baudelaires find to be unreasonable. Captain Widdershins is considered the eleventh guardian of the Baudelaires. He seems aware that Fiona takes a fancy to Klaus (he accuses them of flirting when Fiona is proud Klaus knows what a mycologist is), stating that if Klaus finds the sugar bowl, he will "allow [Klaus] to marry Fiona."

After sending the Baudelaires and Fiona into the Gorgonian Grotto, he and Phil appear to desert the "Queequeg". The reason may have to do with a woman who approached the Queequeg to tell Captain Widdershins something involving him being required to leave the submarine. In "The Penultimate Peril", Kit Snicket says that she intends to meet Captain Widdershins and is later mentioned water-skiing towards and, soon after, away from him.

Kit had contacted all three of The Quagmire Triplets as well as their Guardian, Hector, and had met with them and the crew of the Queequeg when their self-sustaining mobile home crashed into it. This reunion was short-lived, however, as all of the crew as well as the triplets were picked up by the mysterious '?' Shape (dubbed by Kit Snicket as 'The Great Unknown'). Another note to make is that though he himself stated that The Great Unknown was "something worse than Olaf himself", he seemed to insist to take his chances with it, as mentioned by Kit Snicket in The End. It is possible that Captain Widdershins also has, or had, a fortune because when Count Olaf is talking about all the fortunes he will obtain, he says "the Widdershins fortune".

In "The Grim Grotto", Widdershins says that Fiona's mother died in a manatee accident, and in "The End", it is mentioned that Friday Caliban's father died in a manatee accident, which is possibly false since Kit Snicket states that she had seen Thursday Caliban recently. Since the identity of Fernald and Fiona's mother is unknown, it is possible that Miranda Caliban is their mother, and that Friday is their younger half-sister.

"The Penultimate Peril"

Dewey, Ernest, and Frank Denouement

Dewey, Ernest, and Frank Denouement are the identical triplet co-owners of the Hotel Denouement. Their names, like the Snicket siblings', follow an alphabetical system (D, E, F) and they are the second instance of triplets often taken to be twins (the first being the Quagmire triplets).

Dewey Denouement

Infobox character
colour = lightgreen
name = Dewey Denouement


caption =
first = "The Penultimate Peril"
last = "The Penultimate Peril"
cause = impaled in the heart by a harpoon
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = male
age = adult (deceased)
born =
death =
specialty = library science
occupation = hotelier
title = surrogate guardian
callsign =
family = Ernest Denouement, Frank Denouement
spouse = Kit Snicket
children = Beatrice Baudelaire
relatives = Lemony Snicket (brother-in-law), Jacques Snicket (brother-in-law)
residence = Hotel Denouement, the city
episode =
portrayer =
creator = Daniel Handler

Dewey Denouement is one of the three identical triplet brothers who own and manage the Hotel Denouement. He prefers to remain in the shadows, and many people think him to be mythical. (This is proven when Count Olaf looks at him and says, "So, you're a real person! I always thought you were a legendary figure, like unicorns or Giuseppe Verdi." To which Klaus hotly replies, "Giuseppe Verdi is not a legendary figure! He's an operatic composer!") He is a member of V.F.D., on the fire-fighting side, and has assembled a considerable catalogue of evidence against V.F.D.'s enemies, which he hides in a second hotel, disguised as the reflection of the first in a pond. He is the penultimate guardian of the Baudelaire orphans.

Dewey Denouement befriends the Baudelaires, winning their trust by quoting a poem their father knew. He takes them outside and reveals the secret of his catalogue. However, when they re-enter the hotel, they find Count Olaf waiting. He threatens Dewey with a harpoon gun. The Baudelaires attempt to save him by standing in front of him, walking towards Olaf and trying to persuade him to give them the gun. When Mr. Poe arrives, Count Olaf throws the gun to the Baudelaires and they drop it. The harpoon goes off and impales Dewey. With the harpoon in his heart, he stumbles back and falls into the pond. His last words to the Baudelaires, just before he sinks into the pond, is "Kit"."

After his death, the narrative implies that he is the father of Kit Snicket's soon-to-be-born baby girl, who becomes an orphan after Kit dies giving birth in "The End". Nobody actually knows who Beatrice Snickets' father is.Dewey's comments indicate that either he or Kit were responsible for throwing the sugar bowl from the V.F.D. Headquarters in the Mortmain Mountains and into the Stricken Stream. However, the narrative in "The Slippery Slope" specifically states that none of the Baudelaires would ever meet that volunteer, so it cannot have been either of them. Dewey or his comrade could have been responsible for getting someone "else" to throw the sugar bowl into the Stricken Stream, which given his relatively high position as part owner of the Hotel, is entirely possible, and would reconcile those two statements.

Dewey, like many members of V.F.D., lost his parents in a fire that destroyed his home. Olaf seems to be the one responsible and almost outright says so upon discovering that Dewey survived the fire after all.

Dewey's name is probably a play on the Dewey Decimal System, a form of organization used in libraries, as Dewey himself is a librarian.

His favorite section of the library is 020, which is Library & Information Sciences on the Dewey Decimal System.

Ernest and Frank Denouement

Infobox character
colour = lightgreen
name = Ernest and Frank
Denouement


caption =
first = "The Penultimate Peril"
last = "The Penultimate Peril"
cause =
nickname =
alias =
species =
gender = male
age = adult
born =
death =
specialty =
occupation = hoteliers
title = surrogate guardians
callsign =
family = Dewey Denouement, Frank Denouement
spouse =
children =
relatives = the Snicket siblings (siblings-in-law)
residence = Hotel Denouement, the city
episode =
portrayer =
creator = Daniel Handler

Frank is a volunteer for V.F.D., while Ernest is a villainous member of V.F.D. They are introduced in "The Penultimate Peril" as the managers of the Hotel Denouement. As they are identical, the Baudelaire orphans are not sure of each's identity at any time, and Snicket emphasises this, by adding "said Ernest, or Frank" or the inverse, and other similar phrases, after each character spoke. The two are described as "tall, and skinny, with long arms that stuck out at odd angles, like drinking straws instead of flesh and bone."

It is later discovered by the orphans that there was a third brother - fitting in with the book's motif of triplets - Dewey Denouement. A sub-sub-librarian, Dewey had catalogued information regarding the V.F.D. in an underwater storage facility identical to the Hotel.

The second triplet they meet tells them a coded message in "The Penultimate Peril". The message ("I can't tell if you are in or enemies please respond") uses the Sebald Code, but since both sides of V.F.D.'s schism use the same codes, this does not clear up which brother he was. Frank and Ernest do not return in "The End", so they probably perished or escaped the fire, but never encountered the orphans again.

Their names may be a reference to the comic strip Frank and Ernest, or could just be a pun on that neither character could really be honest and forthright with the Baudelaire orphans.

="The End"=

Ishmael

References