The Bad Beginning

Mr. Poe and the children visit the burnt mansion, but they find nothing to salvage. The Baudelaires move in with the Poes and share a room with their children, Albert and Edgar. The room is crowded, and the boys are unpleasant. The clothes the Baudelaire children receive are ugly and uncomfortable, and the food is blandly boiled. Violet and Klaus wallow in sadness.

One evening, Mr. Poe announces that the three Baudelaires will move across town to the residence of their relative, Count Olaf. He’s distantly related, and the children have never heard of him. They must pack at once.

In the morning, Mr. Poe drives them to Count Olaf’s house. They park in front of a beautifully maintained home; before it stands the owner. She introduces herself as Justice Strauss. Violet asks after Count Olaf; she points to the building next door, a dilapidated wreck with an old, soot-stained, sagging structure. The image of an eye is carved into the front door.

Klaus knocks on the eye. The door opens, and Count Olaf, a tall, skinny man in a dirty suit, wheezes a welcome. He asks them to wipe their feet before entering. Inside is the dirtiest room they’ve ever seen. Mr. Poe comments on it, and Olaf suggests that “perhaps with a bit of your money we could fix it up a little nicer” (21). Mr. Poe firmly rejects the idea; Olaf’s face floods with anger, but he controls himself. Mr. Poe tells the children to contact him with any questions and leaves. Klaus realizes that they don’t know at which bank he works.

The children stare glumly at the floor and notice an eyeball tattoo etched into the skin of Olaf’s bare ankle. They wonder if their new caretaker will be “watching them even when he wasn’t nearby” (22).

The Count gives the children one bedroom with a single bed. Violet and Klaus take turns sleeping on it. Violet removes the curtains to make a bed for Sunny; each morning, the sun glares through the cracked windowpanes and wakes them too early. The closet is a cardboard box, the only toys are a pile of rocks, and on the wall is a painting of an eye.

Each day, they have a breakfast of leftover, lumpy oatmeal. The Count, usually absent during the day, leaves notes that assign them chores—repairs, repainting, chimney cleaning, and the like. At the bottom of each note, he signs with a sketch of an eyeball. One day, the note orders them to buy food with the provided small sum of cash and prepare a dinner for his visiting theatrical troupe. The children don’t know how to cook. Violet and Klaus agree that they hate the house, the chores, and Count Olaf.

They search for a cookbook, but there aren’t any books in the house. The doorbell rings; it’s Justice Strauss, who asks how they’re doing. They ask for a cookbook; she brings them to her beautifully maintained home, where, to their delight, they discover a room lined with shelves of books. Strauss says, “As long as you keep them in good condition, you are welcome to use any of my books, at any time” (34). They’re very grateful, but first they peruse the cookbooks, and they discover an Italian dish, Puttanesca, that looks fairly easy to make.

Justice Strauss takes them food shopping. They visit a pasta store, a street vendor, and a supermarket; they purchase pasta, olives, anchovies, garlic, tomatoes, and capers. They also buy packets of pudding mix for dessert. On the way back, Violet thanks Strauss profusely and offers to do chores for her, but she says that’s not necessary.

All afternoon, Violet and Klaus cook while Sunny bangs on a pot and sings. Count Olaf arrives suddenly, demands to know where the roast beef is, and becomes angry when the children tell him they don’t have any. He picks up Sunny and is about to throw her when they hear laughter in the living room.

Into the kitchen walks a strange group—women with white makeup on their faces, an enormously fat person, a man with hooks for hands, and several more unusual-looking people. Olaf calls the children “orphans,” says he detests them, and apologizes for the lack of roast beef. The group walks through to the dining room for wine. A bald man takes Violet’s face in his hands, calls her a “pretty one,” warns her not to anger the Count lest he damage her face, emits a high giggle, and walks out.

The troupe pounds on the table, demanding dinner. The children serve them. Back in the kitchen, they’re too despondent to eat much themselves. The guests drink heavily. Finally, they get up to leave for their performance; as they file through the kitchen, Olaf tells the children they’re excused from watching the show but must clean up and go straight to “your beds.” Klaus complains that there’s only one bed; Olaf says if they want another, they can buy one with their fortune. Klaus says they can’t touch that money for years; Olaf slaps him, knocking the boy down and sending his glasses flying. The troupe laughs and applauds.

The man with the hooks says to Olaf that he’ll “figure out a way to get at that Baudelaire money” (47). Olaf shrugs, but his eyes shine brightly. The troupe departs. Violet goes to Klaus and hugs him; Sunny crawls to his glasses and brings them to him. They clean up the kitchen and go to bed, where they weep for hours.