The Bad Beginning

Count Olaf greets them the next morning with a cheerful manner. He’s placed raspberries, a favorite of the children, onto their oatmeal. They’re suspicious, so he eats one to prove it’s not poisoned. He says he received a phone call from Mr. Poe, who told him about their concerns, and he wants them to feel “at home.” He admits that, stressed by his theatrical duties, he’s been perhaps somewhat “standoffish,” and, as their new father, he wants to remedy that.

He’s decided that the children will participate in a performance of the stage play The Marvelous Marriage, in which he stars. Klaus and Sunny will perform onstage as members of a crowd that applauds the hero’s marriage. The bride will be played by Violet.

Violet feels extremely uneasy with this assignment. Olaf tells her that she has only one line, “I do,” which she’ll say before Justice Strauss, who’s agreed to play the marrying judge. Violet protests that she’s not an actor and she’ll be busy learning how to cook roast beef. Olaf leans down, takes her chin in his hand, and says quietly, “[A]s I believe Mr. Poe explained to you, I can order you to participate and you must obey” (67). He leaves.

Violet believes that the Count covets their fortune. Klaus agrees and wants to learn more about inheritance law. If they ask Mr. Poe or Justice Strauss about it, they might report back to Olaf. Sunny blurts out, “Book!” and they realize they can look up the topic in Strauss’s library. Klaus says they should hurry: With Strauss, they don’t want to be “standoffish.” They laugh.

Justice Strauss is surprised to see Violet and Klaus poring over law books. They pretend to be thinking about careers in law. Strauss takes Sunny with her to the garden; the other two find cases involving proof that someone involved in a will was insane, but they don’t know what to make of that. They also find instances in which a play was shut down for violating a law. Violet gives up for the moment and goes to the garden.

The actor with hooks for hands appears and orders Klaus to return at once to Count Olaf’s house. He sees the law books and asks what Klaus is doing. Klaus, angry, is short with him. The man leans down and says, “The only reason Count Olaf hasn’t torn you limb from limb is that he hasn’t gotten hold of your money” (78). He suggests that, when the Count has achieved his aims, he might turn Klaus over to him for disposal and that Klaus should behave more respectfully until then. The boy shakes with terror.

The hook-handed man goes to the garden to fetch Violet and Sunny. Klaus, frantic, searches the bookshelves for any tome that might offer help. He finds one, hides it under his shirt, and hurries out the door ahead of the others.

While his siblings sleep, Klaus reads the book by moonlight through the window. He struggles to stay awake, but his memory of the hook-handed man’s threats keep him going.

By dawn, he’s finished. He takes the book to the kitchen, sits, and waits. Count Olaf walks in, and Klaus points to the book—it’s titled Nuptial Law—and declares that he knows the Count’s scheme. If Violet says “I do” and signs a certain document in the presence of a judge such as Justice Strauss, then she’s legally married to Olaf, and he can take control of the Baudelaire fortune. If she’s underage, she can marry with the consent of her guardian, who happens to be Olaf.

The Count smirks, says Klaus has caught him, and suggests he tell his sister. Klaus does so, and he and Violet agree to take the news to Mr. Poe. They begin to dress, and Klaus goes to wake Sunny, but she’s gone. Violet asks where she can be. The Count appears in the doorway and, grinning, asks, “Where can she be indeed?” (87).

The Count takes them to the backyard. He points up to the house’s tower. Trussed up and sitting in a cage that dangles from the tower is Sunny, looking scared. One of Olaf’s assistants stands ready to drop Sunny from the 30-foot height. Violet begs Olaf to release the baby; she promises to do anything he wants. He leans in and asks, “Anything? Would you, for instance, consider marrying me during tomorrow night’s performance?” (93).

Violet imagines the horror of living with Olaf for the rest of her life; then she imagines Sunny dying in a fall. She agrees to marry him. Olaf demands the law book back from Klaus, who complies. Violet, though, stares at the tower. She ties her hair back, and Klaus knows she’s onto something.