INTERTEXTUALITY IN “A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS” BY LEMONY SNICKET
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UNIVERSITY OF LATVIA FACULTY OF HUMANITIES DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH STUDIES INTERTEXTUALITY IN “A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS” BY LEMONY SNICKET INTERTEKSTUALITĀTE LEMONIJA SNIKETA “NELAIMĪGO NOTIKUMU SĒRIJĀ” BACHELOR THESIS Author: Elvira Atvara Matriculation Card# ea07 009 Adviser: lect. Margarita Spirida RIGA 2012
Transcript of INTERTEXTUALITY IN “A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS” BY LEMONY SNICKET
UNIVERSITY OF LATVIA
FACULTY OF HUMANITIES
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH STUDIES
INTERTEXTUALITY IN “A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE
EVENTS” BY LEMONY SNICKET
INTERTEKSTUALITĀTE LEMONIJA SNIKETA
“NELAIMĪGO NOTIKUMU SĒRIJĀ”
BACHELOR THESIS
Author: Elvira Atvara
Matriculation Card# ea07 009
Adviser: lect. Margarita Spirida
RIGA 2012
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ANOTĀCIJA
Šī darba mērķis ir noteikt atsauces un norādes, kas izmantotas Lemonija Sniketa “Nelaimīgo
notikumu sērijā”, parādīt, kā norādes un citi intertekstuālie referenti iespaido zināšanu
socializāciju. Šī darba metodes ietver teorētiskos pētījumus, kas sastāvēja no pieejamās literatūras
par intertekstualitāti analīzes un izpētes, un praktiskās noveļu analīzes. Pētījuma atklājumu
apkopojošā analīze parāda, ka norādes un citi intertekstuālie referenti izskaidro noveļu duālo
auditoriju. Intertekstualitāte kalpo, lai uzjautrinātu zinošos un izglītotu mazāk erudītos lasītājus.
Robeža starp bērnu un pieaugušo literatūru ir kļuvusi neskaidra, līdz ar to par noteicošo faktoru ir
kļuvis nevis vecums, bet kultūras un sociālais pamats.
Atslēgas vārdi: intertekstualitāte, paratekstualitāte, arhitekstualitāte, haipotekstualitāte, atsauce,
norāde, parodija
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ABSTRACT
The paper aims to determine allusions and references used in Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of
Unfortunate Events” to demonstrate how allusions and other intertextual referents affect the
socialization of knowledge. The methods of this study include theoretical research that consists of
analysing and studying the available literature on intertextuality and practical analysis of the
novels. The summative analysis of the findings shows that allusions and other intertextual
referents explain the interest of the dual audience of the novel. Intertextuality serves to amuse the
knowledgeable and educate the less erudite readers. The boundaries between children’s and
adult’s literature have been blurred, hence the defining factor is not the age, but cultural and
social background.
Key words: intertextuality, paratextuality, architextuality, hypotextuality, allusion, reference,
parody
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 7
1. INTERTEXTUALITY ................................................................................................................. 9
1.1. Intertextuality as a part of transtextuality ................................................................... 10
1.2. Illustrations. Paratextuality ......................................................................................... 11
1.3. Genre framing ............................................................................................................. 11
1.4. Features of intertextuality ........................................................................................... 12
2. HYPOTEXTUALITY IN LEMONY SNICKET’S “A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE
EVENTS”. GOTHIC GENRE ....................................................................................................... 14
3. HYPOTEXTUALITY IN LEMONY SNICKET’S “A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE
EVENTS”. TALES ........................................................................................................................ 16
4. ARCHITEXTUALITY IN LEMONY SNICKET’S “A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE
EVENTS” ...................................................................................................................................... 18
5. PARATEXTUALITY IN LEMONY SNICKET’S “A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE
EVENTS”. DEDICATIONS ......................................................................................................... 21
6. INTERTEXTUALITY IN THE SERIES’ NOVELS ................................................................ 23
6.1 Intertextuality in “The Bad Beginning” ....................................................................... 23
6.2. Intertextuality in “The Reptile Room” ........................................................................ 25
6.3 Intertextuality in “The Wide Window” ....................................................................... 27
6.4. Intertextuality in “The Miserable Mill” ...................................................................... 29
6.5. Intertextuality in “The Austere Academy” ................................................................. 30
6.6. Intertextuality in “The Ersatz Elevator” ..................................................................... 31
6.7. Intertextuality in “The Vile Village” .......................................................................... 32
6.8. Intertextuality in “The Hostile Hospital” .................................................................... 33
6.9. Intertextuality in “The Carnivorous Carnival” ........................................................... 35
6.10. Intertextuality in “The Slippery Slope” .................................................................... 36
6.11. Intertextuality in “The Grim Grotto” ........................................................................ 39
6.12. Intertextuality in “The Penultimate Peril” ................................................................ 41
6.13. Intertextuality in “The End” ..................................................................................... 44
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................. 47
THESES ......................................................................................................................................... 51
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REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................. 52
APPENDIX 1 Brett Helquist’s illustration of Count Olaf in “The Bad Beginning” ..................... 55
APPENDIX 2 Brett Helquist’s illustration of Sunny trapped in the tower in “The Bad
Beginning” ..................................................................................................................................... 56
APPENDIX 3 Brett Helquist’s last illustration in “The Bad Beginning” ..................................... 57
APPENDIX 4 Ex-libris by Brett Helquist ..................................................................................... 58
APPENDIX 5 Brett Helquist’s illustration of the ship “Prospero” in “The Reptile Room” ......... 59
APPENDIX 6 Brett Helquist’s illustration of the evidence in “The Reptile Room” .................... 60
APPENDIX 7 Brett Helquist’s last illustration in “The Reptile Room” ....................................... 61
APPENDIX 8 Brett Helquist’s illustration of the Damockles Dock in “The Wide Window” ...... 62
APPENDIX 9 Brett Helquist’s last illustration in “The Wide Window” ...................................... 63
APPENDIX 10 Brett Helquist’s illustration of Dr. Orwell’s eye care practice in “The Wide
Window” ........................................................................................................................................ 64
APPENDIX 11 Brett Helquist’s last illustration in “The Miserable Mill” .................................... 65
APPENDIX 12 Brett Helquist’s illustration of Prufrock Preparatory School in “The Austere
Academy” ...................................................................................................................................... 66
APPENDIX 13 Brett Helquist’s last illustration in “The Austere Academy” ............................... 67
APPENDIX 14 Brett Helquist’s last illustration in “The Ersatz Elevator” ................................... 68
APPENDIX 15 Brett Helquist’s last illustration in “The Vile Village” ........................................ 69
APPENDIX 16 Brett Helquist’s illustration of the Library of Records in “The Hostile
Hospital” ........................................................................................................................................ 70
APPENDIX 17 Brett Helquist’s last illustration in “The Hostile Hospital” ................................. 71
APPENDIX 18 Brett Helquist’s self-portrait in “Carnivorous Carnival” ..................................... 72
APPENDIX 19 Brett Helquist’s illustration of the broken crystal ball in “Carnivorous
Carnival” ........................................................................................................................................ 73
APPENDIX 20 Brett Helquist’s last illustration in “The Carnivorous Carnival” ......................... 74
APPENDIX 21 Brett Helquist’s illustration in “The Slippery Slope” .......................................... 75
APPENDIX 22 Brett Helquist’s illustration of the snow gnats in “The Slippery Slope” ............. 76
APPENDIX 23 Brett Helquist’s last illustration in “The Slippery Slope” .................................... 77
APPENDIX 24 Brett Helquist’s self-portrait in “The Grim Grotto” ............................................. 78
APPENDIX 25 Brett Helquist’s illustration for Chapter 5 in “The Grim Grotto” ........................ 79
APPENDIX 26 Brett Helquist’s last illustration in “The Grim Grotto” ........................................ 80
APPENDIX 27 Brett Helquist’s illustration for Chapters 2 in “The Penultimate Peril” .............. 81
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APPENDIX 28 Brett Helquist’s illustration of the High Court trial in “The Penultimate Peril” .. 82
APPENDIX 29 Brett Helquist’s self-portrait in “The End” .......................................................... 83
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INTRODUCTION
Since first being introduced in 1996 by Julia Kristeva, the term intertextuality has developed from
‘a difficult concept to use’ (Culler, 1976:1388) to a widely discussed ‘dialogue between old texts
and new’ (Foster, 2003:34). Intertextuality can be found in every narrative. Literary scholars
claim that ‘there’s no such thing as a wholly original work’ (ibid.:29), ‘no such thing as literary
“originality”, no such thing as the “first” literary work: all literature is “intertextual”’ (Eagleton,
1996:119), “the text is a tissue of quotations” (Barthes, quoted in Chandler, n.d.), and
‘intertextuality suggests that “art imitates art”’ (ibid.).
Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events”, children’s mock-gothic fiction
novels, ‘parodies the horror, crime, and mystery genres as well as Victorian melodramas’
(Hogan, 2005:151). The novels are international bestsellers and are enjoyed by children and
adults, which might be partially accounted for by intertextual quality of the book, to wit,
‘Handler’s clever use of names communicating one thing to children and another to adults might
have something to do with this.’ (Nilsen, 2006:10)
The goal of this research is to determine allusions and references in “A Series of
Unfortunate Events” to demonstrate how allusions and other intertextual referents affect the
socialization of knowledge.
The enabling objectives to achieve the goal are as follows:
§ to establish theoretical framework by analysing available scholarly research on
intertextuality
§ to apply these theories for the purposes of the paper
§ to summarize findings and draw relevant conclusions.
The author of the paper hypothesizes that intertextuality in Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of
Unfortunate Events” affects genre conventions and positions the series as an example of
crosswriting.
The methods of this study include theoretical research which consists of analysing and
studying the available literature on intertextuality and practical analysis of “A Series of
Unfortunate Events”.
The paper consists of two major parts, namely, theoretical considerations covered by one
chapter with four subchapters and empirical part which holds five chapters with thirteen
subchapters; introduction and conclusion frame the paper.
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The introduction sets the goal, identifies the enabling objectives to reach the goal, devises
the hypothesis as well as offers the outline of the study. It is followed by chapter 1 which focuses
on the basic information on intertextuality and includes four subchapters on transtextuality,
paratextuality, genre framing and features of intertextuality. Chapter 2, introducing the empirical
part of the study, discusses Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events” as a part of
gothic genre. It is followed by Chapter 3 which focuses on the influence of oral tradition, i.e.,
fairy and folktales, on the series. Chapter 4 discusses the children’s series tradition per se and
Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events” as a part of this literary genre. Chapter 5 analyses
paratextuality in the series regarding the dedications in the beginning of each book and the role of
the addressee Beatrice. Chapter 6 discusses and analyses intertextuality in each of the novels in
Snicket’s series and includes subchapters devoted to each of the 13 books in “A Series of
Unfortunate Events”. Finally, a conclusive chapter summarizes the findings of the research and
considers intertextuality as one of the determinants of the readership of the Lemony Snicket’s
novels.
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1. INTERTEXTUALITY
The present chapter is devised for the discussion of intertextuality and as such aims to establish
the theoretical considerations of the research. The chapter starts with the general introduction of
the concept and later proceeds with a review of a rather meticulous approach offered by Gerard
Genette where the concept of intertextuality is dissected into five constitutive parts under the
umbrella term of transtextuality.
The concept of intertextuality, much in consonance with Mikhail Bakhtin’s dialogism and
heteroglossia, was first introduced by Julia Kristeva in 1966 and is associated with
poststructuralist theorists. According to Kristeva, a text can be analyzed in terms of two axes: ‘a
horizontal axis connecting the author and reader of a text, and a vertical axis, which connects the
text to other texts’ (quoted in Daniel Chandler, n.d., emphasis in the original).
Jonathan Culler, in his article on intertextuality, reflects on ‘the difficulty of formulating
presuppositions or of describing intertextuality’ (Culler, 1976: 1381) and intertextuality beyond
particular prior texts or writers’ influences. Regarding Kristeva’s theory, Culler suggests that ‘the
notion of intertextuality names the paradox of linguistic and discursive systems: that utterances or
texts are never moments of origin because they depend on the prior existence of codes on
conventions’ and that ‘to read is to place a work in discursive space, relating it to other texts and
to the codes of that space’ (ibid.: 1382). Culler points out that intertextuality is so difficult to
describe because it considers ‘the relationship between a text and the languages or discursive
practices of a culture and its relationship to those particular texts which […] articulate that culture
and its possibilities’ (ibid.: 1383). He also argues that intertextuality is more than locating the
‘key precusor text’ (ibid.: 1387) and points out that the notion of intertextuality ‘is a difficult
concept to use because […] one either falls into source study of a traditional and positivistic kind
[…] or else ends by naming particular texts as pre-texts on grounds of interpretive convenience’
(ibid.: 1388) and agrees with Harold Bloom that one might misinterpret a text and assert as its
pretext one that the author has never even read. Therefore, intertextuality is ‘explicit conventions
of genre, specific presuppositions, general expectations and interpretive operations, and broad
assumptions about the preoccupation and goals of a type of discourse’ (ibid.: 1388).
According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, intertextuality is ‘the complex
interrelationship between a text and other texts taken as basic to the creation or interpretation of
the text’ (Online 1). Thomas C. Foster states that ‘there’s no such thing as a wholly original work
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of literature’ and that ‘one can’t create stories in a vacuum’ (Foster, 2003: 29-30). He describes
intertextuality as a ‘dialogue between old texts and new’, which ‘deepens and enriches the
reading experience, bringing multiple layers of meaning to the text, some of which readers may
not even consciously notice’ (ibid.: 34). Roland Barthes claims that any text is ‘a
multidimensional space in which variety of writings, none of them original, blend and crash’
(quoted in Chandler, n.d.).
Hence intertextuality can be found in every narrative, ‘texts can only have meaning
because they depend on other texts’, thus ‘intertextuality embraces discourse per se’ (Wilkie-
Stibbs, 2005:168, emphasis in the original). Intertextuality refers to everything that influences or
is related to the text, including its genre, illustrations and even dust jackets.
1.1. Intertextuality as a part of transtextuality
In order to establish a wider framework for analysing texts and their influences and to include
also other types of discourses that influence texts, Gerard Genette in 1992 introduced a new,
more inclusive term – transtextuality. According to Gerard Genette, intertextuality comes under
the “umbrella” term of transtextuality.
Genette categorizes transtextuality into five subtypes:
§ intertextuality: quotation, plagiarism, allusion; § paratextuality: the relation between a text and its “paratext” – that which surrounds the
main body of text – such as titles, headings, prefaces, epigraphs, dedications, acknowledgements, footnotes, illustrations, dust jackets, etc.;
§ architextuality: designation of a text as a part of a genre or genres […] [that] could also be applied to its framing by readers;
§ metatextuality: explicit or implicit critical commentary of one text or another […]; § hypotextuality […]: the relation between a text and a preceding “hypotext” – a text or genre
on which it is based, but which it transfers, modifies, elaborates or extends (including parody, spoof, sequel, translation) (quoted in Chandler, n.d., emphasis in the original).
The original term for hypotextuality used by Genette was hypertextuality, but nowadays it refers
to adding hyperlinks to the computer-based texts that ‘can take the reader directly to other texts
(regardless of authorship or location)’ (ibid.).
Thus, intertextuality is not merely the relationship between authors, texts and readers, it
includes everything that surrounds the text and is related to it or influences the text, including
other, non-written types of discourse as, for example, illustrations.
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1.2. Illustrations. Paratextuality
Illustrations are defined as ‘visual matter used to clarify or to decorate a text’ (quoted in
Nodelman, 1988:3). They provide visual stimulation and assist in the telling of stories by
attracting readers’ attention and clarification. Since ‘visual image is supreme in its capacity for
arousal’ (Gombrich, quoted ibid.:4), illustrations can be perceived as “intensifiers” assisting in
the process of storytelling, therefore, when speaking about intertextuality in illustrated works of
literature, it would be wrong to ‘ignore the ways in which illustrations often have a part in the
telling of stories’ (ibid.:1).
‘Words and images are cross-medially related,’ states Winfried Nöth, ‘and there are many
overlaps.’ (Nöth, 2001:1) The relationships between words and images can be described from
many points of view; most commonly syntactic and semantic approaches are used.
From a syntactic perspective, the relationships between words and images are described
‘as to their relation in time and space’ (ibid.:2), i.e., either this relation is that of simultaneity
(both, text and the corresponding picture, are at the same page) or succession (the illustration
precedes or follows the text on a different page).
From a semantic point of view, the relationship between the words and images analyzes
‘the contribution of the pictoral and the verbal elements in the combination of both to a complex
message’ (ibid.:3). Here, five types of relationships can be distinguished: complementary (text
and image are equally important to the understanding of the message), dominance (either text or
the illustration is more important), redundancy (the text unnecessarily repeats what can be seen in
the picture), discrepancy (text and image had been put together by mistake) and contradiction
(text and image do not fit but are put together deliberately to create a contradiction and surprise
the reader).
Hence, illustrations take part in telling of the stories by clarifying and attracting readers’
attention. Paratextuality, the relationship between the text and its surrounding illustrations can be
described from syntactic and semantic perspective. However, texts can be framed in other ways
as well, for example, by genre.
1.3. Genre framing
According to Genette’s theory of transtextuality, the relation between a text and genre(s) can be
discussed from two different points of view, i.e., architextuality and hypotextuality. Although
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genre theory ‘does not necessarily embrace semiotics’, ‘the assignment of a text to a genre
provides the interpreter of the text with a key intertextual framework’ (Chandler, n.d.). Chandler
states that ‘within the semiotics genres can be seen as sign systems or codes – conventionalized
but dynamic structures’ (ibid.).
However, intertextuality works also outside the boundaries of a genre and might, for
example, link a TV commercial to a historical novel. Hence, ‘each text exists within a vast
“society of texts” in various genres and media: no text is an island entire for itself’, and Chandler
suggests that it might be useful to consider ‘comparison and contrast between differing treatments
of similar themes (or similar treatments of different themes), within or between different genres
of media’ (ibid., emphasis in the original).
To sum up, genre is an important aspect to take into account when discussing
intertextuality or, more precisely, transtextuality, and it constitutes the ‘key intertextual
framework’ (ibid.). Genre in transtextuality can be discussed in terms of architextuality and
hypotextuality, and a text can be analyzed in relation to different genres of discourse and media.
1.4. Features of intertextuality
Daniel Chandler (n.d.) holds an opinion that ‘intertextuality is not a feature of the text alone but
of the “contract” which reading it forges between its author(s) and reader(s)’. In his “Semiotics
for Beginners”, Chandler distinguishes six main features of intertextuality according to its
degrees:
§ reflexivity: how reflexive (or self-conscious) the use of intertextuality seems to be (if
reflexivity is important to what it means to be intertextual, then presumably an indistinguishable copy goes beyond being intertextual)
§ alteration: the alteration of sources (more noticeable alteration presumably making it more reflexively intertextual);
§ explicitness: the specificity and explicitness of reference(s) to other text(s) (e.g., direct quotation, attributed quotation) […];
§ criticality to comprehension: how important it would be for the reader to recognize the intertextuality involved;
§ scale of adoption: the overall scale of allusion/incorporation within the text; and § structural unboundedness: to what extent the text is presented (or understood) as part of or
tied to a larger structure (e.g., as part of a genre, of a series, of a serial, of a magazine, of an exhibition etc.) – factors which are often not under the control of the author of the text. (ibid.: emphasis in the original)
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Daniel Chandler declares that ‘readers, in any case, construct the authors’ (ibid.). Readers
really might be seen as the “key” to a text. Intertextuality works only if the reader recognizes it
and understands all the propositions and irony it might imply, therefore the authors, when
consciously using intertextuality and borrowing from other narratives, presumably take into
account their target audience’s knowledge on the subject. As Chandler points out, ‘such contexts
constitute a primary frame which the reader cannot avoid drawing upon in interpreting the text’
(ibid.). ‘Reading is not a straightforward linear movement,’ explains Terry Eagleton, ‘a merely
cumulative affair: our initial speculations generate a frame of reference within which to interpret
what comes next…’ (Eagleton, 1996:67)
Intertextuality, regardless whether one considers it as allusions to different narratives or
chooses a more general definition, can be found in every narrative. As Chandler states,
‘confounding the realist agenda that “art imitates life”, intertextuality suggests that art imitates
art’ and not only crosses and blurs the boundaries of time, different narratives and genres, but
also between “texts and the world of lived experience” (n.d.) Regarding the degrees of
intertextuality six main features can be distinguished: reflexivity, alteration, explicitness,
critically comprehension, scale of adoption and structural unboundedness. However, the “key” of
the text is its reader and intertextuality works only in ways the reader recognizes and understands
it.
The theoretical considerations of the present chapter establish the methodology for the
practical part of the research where Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events” is
considered for its hypotextuality, paratextuality, architextuality and intertextuality.
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2. HYPOTEXTUALITY IN LEMONY SNICKET’S “A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS”. GOTHIC GENRE
The Gothic genre originated in late eighteen century England and children’s gothic fiction has
been gaining more popularity lately. The books of children gothic fiction ‘rely on children’s
knowledge of Gothic themes and a desire to see unreality at its worst for entertainment’ (Mirtz,
2009:127).
Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events” represents mock-gothic genre and
contains many characteristics of this genre, such as, ‘the sadistic, theatrical villain, the use of
confined spaces, extremes of strong emotions (mostly negative)’ (Bullen, 2008:205), grim castles
(considering Count Olaf’s ‘dilapidated’ house with ‘a tall and dirty tower that tilted slightly to the
left’ (Snicket, 2001a:20) as an alternative) family secrets (VFD), the use of irony and parody,
humour and horror, ‘freakishness, otherness, abnormality, and deviance’ (McGillis, quoted in
Doyle, 2008:249). Moreover, though Snicket’s novels do not present ‘haunted’ narrative about
the ‘protagonist’s being possessed in the Gothic sense’ (ibid.:248), Count Olaf’s continuous
attempts to murder the Baudelaires and steal their fortune might be viewed as “haunting” and,
therefore, be linked to the earlier Gothic texts.
Roderick McGillis argues that ‘despite Gothic stories’ expressions of fear, helplessness,
decay, and transgression’ Gothic literature helps children to cope with the disillusionment ‘by
bringing trauma and violence out in the open where it may be seen as absurd and laughed at’
(quoted in Mirtz, 2009:128), as it was done, for example, in “The Austere Academy”, where
children are left to cope with ‘a violin recital for six hours’, which, as the vice principal
explained, is mandatory and ‘if you don’t show up you have to buy me a large bag of candy and
watch me eat it’ (Snicket, 2002b:25). As Daniel Russel points out, Snicket’s “A Series of
Unfortunate Events” ‘does not entirely mock the [gothic] genre nor does it rely on a
straightforward use of its conventions’ and, even though the series have the gothic aura of
darkness and fatality, ‘the injection of humor results in a neo-gothic sensibility’(Russel, 2010:26).
“A Series of Unfortunate Events” ‘parodies the horror, crime, and mystery genres as well
as Victorian melodramas about orphans and foundlings such as Charles Dickens’s “Oliver
Twist”’ (Hogan, 2005:151). Lemony Snicket’s novels conform to the vision and traditional
definition of gothic literature: awareness of suffering and death, ‘an interwining of the parodic
with the unbelievable, the use of Gothic elements to produce non-gothic disruptive characters and
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setting’ and ‘the emphasis on identity and growth in setting of decay and death’ (Mirtz,
2008:129).
Mark Edmundson argues that despite this dark subject matter ‘Gothic challenges our
accepted orthodoxies, when the haunting works to revision our sense of things’ (quoted in Mirtz,
2009:128). This is particularly evident in the later books of the series, especially in “The End”,
where the protagonists, as well as the audience, are forced to realize that the world does not
consist of noble people and villains, and the Baudelaire’s find themselves, both figuratively and
literally, in the same boat with the villain Count Olaf (‘“People aren’t either wicked or noble,”
Fiona said. “They’re like chef’s salads.”’ (Snicket, 2004b:290)).
On the architextual level, “A Series of Unfortunate Events” contains many characteristics
typical of the mock-gothic genre; moreover, the series conforms to the traditional definition of
gothic literature. The dark subject matter of the mock-gothic literature helps children to cope with
the disillusionment, without making the readers’ believe the world is better than it really is. Mirtz
points out that ‘contemporary Gothic stories for children are more post-gothic in their subtle
didactism than they are reflective of adult Gothic: they are more parodic […], more intertextual
[…], and more challenging to the patriarchal stereotypes’ (Mirtz, 2009:128), which can be
applied to Snicket’s novels.
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3. HYPOTEXTUALITY IN LEMONY SNICKET’S “A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS”. TALES
It has been generally assumed that fairy tales were first created for children, but it has become a
genre that ‘cuts all ages’ (Zipes, 1999:1). Jan Susina (2003), on the other hand, argues that ‘folk
and fairy tales were not originally intended for children; they have become staple of children’s
literature since the early nineteenth century’. Bottigheimer (2009), however, points out that there
is no clear definition as to what a fairy tale is, the existing definitions are vague and the term per
se is much misunderstood. ‘It is not the motifs, structure, or happy endings alone that define
fairy tales,’ explains Bottigheimer, ‘but the overall plot trajectory of individual tales in
conjunction with those fairy tale elements all brought together within a “compact” narrative.’
(ibid.:9) Folktales, on the other hand, are said to have been told to older audiences and differ
from fairy tales especially in the aspect that a large proportion of them do not have a happy
ending, but tell about ‘acceptance of sad consequences and limited possibilities’ (ibid.:4).
Regardless of the definitions of folktales and fairy tales, it can be agreed that children’s
literature has developed from tales of previous centuries and as such is indebted to both genres.
Retellings of fairy tales aside, there is ‘generic intertextuality’ (Stephens, McCallum, quoted in
Gruner, 2010:4), i.e., in children’s literature and literature as a whole one can find ‘no longer
folktales but rather original creations which have a general intertextual relationship with folktale
schemata, […] not indebted to particular tales, and no longer pretend a direct connection with
oral tradition’ (ibid.).
The characteristics of oral tales most often transferred to children’s literature are the
aspects of time and space. According to Jahn, (2005) literary space can be divided into story
space (character’s space) and discourse space (narrator’s space), same as literary time, and is
defined as ‘the environment which situates objects and characters; more specifically, the
environment in which characters move or live in’ (ibid.). The “once upon a time in a land far, far
away” beginnings set the tales in a place and time accessible to the audience only in the tales
themselves. As Zipes (quoted in Gruner, 2010:5) points out: ‘The timelessness of the tale and its
lack of geographical specificity endow it with utopian connotations – “utopia” in its original
meaning designated “no place”, a place that no one had ever envisaged’.
Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events” takes place in a suburban gothic,
“timeless” version of Earth, the reader never learns even approximate time of the story, which
starts at the Briny Beach and ends on the shores of a nameless island. The settings, such as hotels,
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mountains, islands, carnivals, hospitals, villages, apartment houses, academies, mills, ‘seem
familiar but shift to the bizarre and grotesque’ (Russel, 2010:31). Snicket intended for the series
to take ‘place in a space that only has to do with other books […]’ (quoted ibid.). Russel states
that ‘the inclusion of a distinctive setting is one strategy for keeping fear manageable’ (ibid.).
“A Series of Unfortunate Events” have inherited many characteristics of oral tales, i.e.,
they are formulaic and repetitive. Moreover, it can be argued that the story takes place “once
upon a time in a land far away”, since there are no references or hints regarding the time or space.
It is also similar to folktales in the sense that, as the title of the series itself suggests, the series
deals with ‘acceptance of sad consequences and limited possibilities’ (Bottigheimer, 2009:4).
Literature, including children’s literature, is indebted to the oral tradition of folk and fairy
tales. The characteristics of oral tales most noticeable in children’s literature, including Lemony
Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events”, are their timelessness, lack of geographical
specificity, their formulaic format and repetitive nature, which is also typical of other children’s
series books.
18
4. ARCHITEXTUALITY IN LEMONY SNICKET’S “A SERIES OF
UNFORTUNATE EVENTS”
In “The Children’s Literature Dictionary”, series is defined as ‘a group of works centering on a
single subject, author, format, or character’ (Brodie, Latrobe and White, quoted in Russel,
2010:22) and the genre is said to have developed in the nineteenth century. The possible reason
why series books, particularly children series, have remained popular through the centuries
despite having been ‘viewed as less literary’ (Romalov, quoted ibid.:23), is the familiarity their
formulaic format offers to the readers. The ability to predict the form and the storyline of series
books, offers a younger audience a sense of security, i.e., though the exact events are unknown,
the genre foretells the ending. Series format ‘functions as an implicit contract between the author
and the reader – expectations are raised and (to varying degrees) fulfilled’ (ibid.:36).
The first children series books date back to as early as 1830’s, and Deidre Johnson refers
to Jacob Abbott’s Rollo books as one of the first (ibid.). Johnson also points out that besides
starting a new genre Rollo books introduced a new type of children protagonist as well, one that
is more capable and wiser than their age would suggest. Over the centuries, these child prodigy
characters have dominated the children’s literature scene, most striking examples being children
superheroes in comic books and cartoons. Lemony Snicket’s series are no exception, the three
Baudelaire siblings display unusual traits that help them survive in the adult world. Violet
Baudelaire is extraordinary smart and has ‘a real knack for inventing’ (Snicket, 2001a:3),
whereas her brother Claus Baudelaire is a ‘little bookworm’ (ibid.: 90) who can find a solution to
almost every problem, and Sunny Baudelaire, the youngest sibling, has exceptionally sharp teeth
that she is able to use as swords (in “The Miserable Mill”), climbing anchors (in “The Ersatz
Elevator”), and as a paper stapling machine (in “The Austere Academy” ); later in the series, she
shows a gift for cooking as well.
Moreover, the Snicket’s novels have inherited from children series genre not only the
formulaic format and wunderkind characters, but also the role protagonists take as the story
develops. ‘The necessity to decipher the mystery of their lives leads the children (and by
extension the child reader) to adopt the role of detective,’ states Russel (2010). ‘It is a fairly
common role for child characters in children’s literature.’ Indeed, the children detective series are
one of the most popular genres that started attracting wider audiences with Gertrude C. Warner’s
“The Boxcar Children Mysteries” series that was originally published in 1924 and now has over
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100 titles. These books, similarly as “A Series of Unfortunate Events”, tell the story of orphaned
children that unsupervised and without the help of any adult characters try to solve the mysteries
around them.
Another distinguished and highly acclaimed author who influenced the development of
the children detective genre is Enid Blyton with her many book series, most noteworthy examples
being “The Famous Five” series (first book published in 1942) and “The Secret Series” (first
book published in 1938). “The Secret Series” is almost an orphan narrative, and parallels might
be drawn between the Snicket’s and Blyton’s series, because in “The Secret Island” (the first
book in “The Secret” series), the protagonists also have to go through the tragedy of losing their
parents and being left under the guardianship of distant, evil relatives. Same as the Baudelaires,
the Arnold siblings also try to escape from their hardships and run away from their legal
guardians. However, the novel is not a typical orphan narrative in the sense that at the end of the
first book in the series the parents turn out to be alive and children are reunited with them.
Nevertheless, that does not interfere with the developed formula of the series. In the novels
following “The Secret Island”, the children still manage to find themselves in most uncommon
and mysterious situations with no adults to help or take care of them.
However, in contrast to their predecessors, Baudelaire children do not take the role of the
detectives willingly, nor are they having fun while investigating crimes. The Baudelaire children
are trying to untangle the mysteries of their own lives, of their parents’ deaths, the organization
their family belonged to and is known to them only by the first letters VFD, which, as the story
develops, the Baudelaire children learn can mean a number of things. The dark subject matter of
the parents’ deaths and evil crimes of the Baudelaire’s guardian Count Olaf, as well as the
gloomy setting, marks the series as belonging to the gothic genre, but Lemony Snicket is hardly
the pioneer in the children’s gothic literature scene. One of the most famous children series
novels in gothic children mystery genre are R. L. Stine’s “Fear Street” and “Goosebump” series
that were written a decade before Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events”.
R..L..Stine being ‘the father of scary children’s stories’ (Dionne, 2010) has influenced many
contemporary writers, Lemony Snicket, undoubtedly, being one of them.
Snicket’s series stand out of the typical children series because of their cynically dark
subject matter, which is even more striking in the later novels, where subjects even harder than
before are discussed and philosophical questions are raised. Some might even argue that the
topics discussed are too much for a child reader to handle. The series becomes ‘increasingly dark
as the line between good and evil blurs, exposure to the negative side of human nature intensifies,
20
and the siblings face increasingly difficult moral decisions’ (Russel, 2010:25). Therefore, it is the
formulaic series format, ‘the comfort of the familiar – plotlines, characters, stylistic features’ that
provide the ‘space in which difficult material can be explored’ (ibid.:31). Snicket breaks free
from the formulaic in the children series genre with the last book in the series “The End” that
does not provide a resolution or any kind of closed ending in general. Russel argues that ‘the
neatly packaged series refuses to be contained in a neatly packaged conclusion’ introducing ‘a
philosophical approach uncommon in series fiction for children’ (ibid.:35). However, though
open endings and philosophical topics really are rarely found in children books, they are not
entirely uncommon. Nancy Bond, a writer famous for her book “A String of Harp” (first
published in 1976) explores in her novels ‘such dilemmas as accepting responsibility, upholding
principles, family breakups, remarriage, and death’ (Online 4). Same as the ending of “A Series
of Unfortunate Events” the open endings of Bond’s novels ‘recognize growth and self realization
while acknowledging the challenges of the future’, thus ensuring ‘that the characters inhabit the
reader’s imagination long after the book has been shelved’ (Silvey, 1995:72).
The first children’s series date back to the early 19th century and they introduced a new
type of protagonist – child prodigy. Over the centuries, series books and child wunderkind
characters adopting the role of detectives have remained popular, as it has been proved once more
with Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events”. Snicket’s series has also been influenced by
gothic children mystery genre’s “father” R. L. Stine and his series novels. Snicket’s series are
formulaic and repetitive also on a paratextual level, i.e., the dedications.
21
5. PARATEXTUALITY IN LEMONY SNICKET’S “A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS”. DEDICATIONS
Dedication, ‘a name and often a message prefixed to a literary, musical, or artistic production in
tribute to a person or cause’ (Online 5), is an important element to take into account when
discussing paratextuality in Snicket’s series, i.e., ‘the relation between text and its paratext’
(Genette, quoted in Chandler, n.d.). Moreover, the dedications of “A Series of Unfortunate
Events” offer not only material for analyzing paratextuality, but also intertextuality, since they
link the series to other narratives.
Each book in “A Series of Unfortunate Events” is dedicated to a woman named Beatrice,
“darling, dearest, dead” (Snicket, 2001a: dedication), whose identity is not revealed till the last
novel, where she turns out to be the Baudelaires orphans’ deceased mother, who turned down
Lemony Snicket and married Bertnart Baudelaire instead. Though a character in the series,
Beatrice is also a significant literary allusion to the Beatrice referred to in “The Devine Comedy”
by Dante Alighieri, a deceased woman who Dante, similarly as Snicket, loved, but could not be
with. Some might argue that Beatrice might as well be a reference to Charles Baudelaire’s poem
“La Beatrice” or an orphan named Beatrice in Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”.
In dedicating “The Grim Grotto” to Beatrice, Snicket writes: ‘Dead women tell no tales.
Sad men write them down.’ (Snicket, 2004b: dedication). This alludes not only to the pirates’
songs and tales (In “The Grim Grotto”, the Baudelaires spend most of their time sailing the seas
to find the lost treasure – the sugar bowl), but also to ‘a repeated literary trope of men mourning
lost loves’ (Pugh, 2008:173), a trope ‘that occurs frequently in canonical literature with Dante’s
lamentations over Beatrice providing a defining example of the tradition in the Middle Ages’
(ibid.). Tison Pugh points out that ‘similarly as Beatrice inspired Dante to write “The Divine
Comedy”, so does Snicket’s Beatrice provide the impetus and inspiration for “A Series of
Unfortunate Events”’ (ibid.). Similarly as Dante’s Beatrice, Snicket’s Beatrice also might be seen
as a guide, who, by reading to Klaus “Anna Karenina” and teaching to decode the Vernacularly
Fastened Door, is ‘leading them in their own attempted journey from the “inferno” of their many
predicaments to the longed-for “paradise” of (momentary) safety’ (ibid.:179).
Though the series are full of literary allusions, Beatrice is still a dominant figure, since
Snicket dedicates every book to her and his ‘mourning over her death haunts the pages of the
series’ (ibid.:172) linking the series on the intertextual level to the Beatrice referred to in Dante’s
“The Devine Comedy” and the literary tradition of the Middle Ages. On the paratextual level,
22
Beatrice is also a character in the novels, i.e., Baudelaire orphans’ deceased mother. However,
Beatrice’s real identity is revealed only in the last novel of the series, thus the dedications add to
the mystery of Baudelaires parents and Lemony Snicket himself. The novels realize a full circle
with the last word of the last book in the series, ‘a word which here means that the story is over’,
that is, ‘Beatrice’ (Snicket, 2006:337).
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6. INTERTEXTUALITY IN THE SERIES’ NOVELS
6.1 Intertextuality in “The Bad Beginning”
“The Bad Beginning” tells the story of the Baudelaire orphans, who had lost their parents in a
fire. Mr. Poe, the banker and the executor of the Baudelaire estate, leaves the children in the care
of their distant relative Count Olaf, who becomes their legal guardian. The orphans find out that
Olaf took them in only because of their inheritance, but Mr. Poe refuses to believe it. Since the
inheritance has been set aside until Violet, the eldest Baudelaire, turns eighteen, Count Olaf
comes up with a plan to marry her during the theatre performance of “Marvellous Marriage” and
threatens to kill Sunny, the youngest Baudelaire, if Violet does not play along. When, at the end
of the play, Count Olaf announces that Violet is his wife, she admits to having signed the
marriage contract with her left hand and thus it is not legally binding. Since his devious plan has
been made publicly known, Count Olaf flees the scene and Mr. Poe is left to look for a new
guardian for the orphans.
‘One secret to the books’ success is that they are enjoyed by adults as well as children,’
point out Allen and Don Nilsen. ‘Handler’s clever use of names communicating one thing to
children and another to adults might have something to do with this.’ (Nilsen, 2006:10)
The three protagonists of “The Bad Beginning”, as well as the other books in the series,
are Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire. The Baudelaire orphans are named after the
aforementioned French poet Charles Baudelaire, who is said to have had a very unfortunate and
complicated life himself. Moreover, the Baudelaire siblings’ mother, Beatrice, might be an
allusion to Charles Baudelaire’s poem “La Beatrice”, whose sad narrative is similar to Lemony
Snicket’s series. The Baudelaires’ father, Bertrand, whose name is revealed later in the series, is
an allusion to Aloysius Bertrand, i.e., Charles Baudelaire’s poetic father. Violet Baudelaire, the
eldest sibling, is named for T. S. Elliot’s “Wasteland” (III “The Fire Sermon”), as it is explained
in the 11th book “The Grim Grotto” (‘At the violet hour, when the eyes and back…’ (quoted in
Snicket, 2004b:276)). However, as Kramer points out, Violet might also be an allusion to ‘the
murderer Nozière, the Lindbergh-baby-kidnapping suspect Sharpe and the wretched blueberry in
Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”’ (Kramer, 2006). Names Sunny and Klaus are
allusion to the von Bullow couple in Rhode Island, where Claus von Bullow was found guilty for
attempting to murder his wife, Sunny; a social satire that was later used in the film “Reversal of
Fortune”.
24
Mr. Poe, the banker in charge of Baudelaire affairs, who ‘always had a cold’ (Snicket,
2001a:6), is a strong allusion to the ‘always-hacking-because-he-had-consumption poet, who had
a penchant for morbid tales’ (ibid.), i.e., Edgar Allan Poe. Snicket emphasizes this allusion by
naming Poe’s two children Edgar and Allan.
Count Olaf, as Kramer points out, could be named after the 11th century murderer Olaf
Tryggvason or Olaf Libinski in Thophile Gautier’s gothic “Avatar”. However, the most famous
villainous count is, of course, count Dracula. It is interesting to point out that one of Olaf’s most
characteristic features is his one long eyebrow, i.e., a unibrow – a feature identified as a sign of
criminality by Victorian criminologist Cesare Lombroso (Online 6).
The Baudelaires’ misfortunes begin at the Briny Beach, an allusion to Lewis Carroll’s
“Alice Through the Looking-Glass” (‘“O Oysters, come and walk with us!” / The walrus did
beseech. / “A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk, / Along the Briny Beach”’ (Carroll, 2008: 162)),
though it might seem unimportant, Snicket refers to this poem also later in the books, particularly
in “The Grim Grotto”.
Count Olaf has an image of an eye tattooed on his ankle and drawn all over his house and
the Baudelaires noted that they felt as if Count Olaf was ‘watching them even when he wasn’t
nearby’ (Snicket, 2001a:25). This concept of the all-seeing Eye goes back to Christianity and
Greek mythology, and is widely used also in contemporary literature, e.g., Tolkien’s “The Lord
of the Rings”. The following illustration of Count Olaf in the beginning of the Chapter 3 (see
Appendix 1), intensifies and illustrates the feel of Count Olaf watching them, though the
relationship between the text and the illustration is that of dominance, i.e., the text is more
important.
Moreover, “The Bad Beginning” is also intertextual or, following Genette’s
categorization, hypotextual, to Charles Dickens’s works. It was already noted previously in this
paper that Snicket’s novels parody “Oliver Twist”; moreover, “The Bad Beginning” is also
similar to Dickens’s “Bleak House” in a sense that both these novels are about a ‘will and its
legal consequences’ (Online 7). Count Olaf and his “Marvellous Marriage” might also be seen as
a parody to Dickens’s John Jarndyce, a guardian willing to marry orphan Esther, but who sets her
free in the end because she finds her true love. The forced marriage scenario used in “The Bad
Beginning” has also been used before, e.g., Eliza Haywood’s “The Disstress’d Orphan” is about
an orphan Annilia, who inherits an estate, and her guardian Giraldo, who forces her to marry his
son and later tries to prove the society that Annilia is insane. In chapter 7, Violet proposes that
25
‘maybe Count Olaf is trying to prove that we’re insane, so he’d get the money’ (Snicket,
2001a:87).
When trying to solve the mystery of “The Marvelous Marriage”, Claus makes a
hypotextual reference to Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”. Later Count Olaf forces Violet to marry him
by capturing her sister Sunny, a villainous act Olaf refers to as putting ‘a stick behind a stubborn
mule’ (Snicket, 2001a:123). After attempted rescue plan, Count Olaf locks Violet up in his tower,
a traditional place for a damsel in distress to be locked in (as, for example, Rapunzel). The
following illustration of Sunny trapped in a birdcage ‘dangling from the tower window like a flag
in the wind’ (ibid.:105) not only depicts the tilted, gothic tower, but also bats flying in the
moonlight, thus reinforcing Count Olaf’s allusion to Count Dracula (see Appendix 2) and adds to
the dark and gothic mood of the novel.
“The Bad Beginning” contains literary (e.g., Lewis Carroll’s “Alice Through the Looking
Glass”), historical (Olaf Tryggvason), mythological (the all-seeing eye) and social (the von
Bullow Couple) references, some of which are reinforced by the illustrations as well. Moreover,
the last illustration in the novel (see Appendix 3) depicts a snake in front of the theatre, thus
alluding to the next novel in the series, i.e., “The Reptile Room”.
6.2. Intertextuality in “The Reptile Room”
After the incident of Count Olaf trying to marry Violet Baudelaire, Mr. Poe sends the orphans to
Dr. Montgomery (Uncle Monty), a kind-hearted herpetologist, who makes the children feel safe
for the first time after their parents’ deaths. However, after they had made plans to leave the
country and go to Peru, Count Olaf shows up disguised as herpetologist’s assistant and murders
Dr. Montgomery. The Baudelaires try to prove Mr. Poe that it is Olaf’s doing and not an accident.
In the end, they finally succeed, but Count Olaf still manages to escape.
The second novel starts with a description of a road called Lousy Lane, which runs
through fields of sour apples and horseradish factory, ‘so the entire area smells bitter and strong’
(Snicket, 2001b:1). This imagery might be considered as a culinary allusion to the whole series of
unfortunate events, and sour apples with horseradish also make an appearance of significance in
the books 11 and 13.
The new guardian Dr. Montgomery Montgomery might be an allusion to Monthy Python
or Lucy Maud Montgomery (“Anne from Green Gables” is also an orphan narrative). However,
more important allusions than that of Uncle Monty’s, is his snakes’: the Virginian Wolfsnake,
26
about which the children are warned to ‘never, under any circumstances, let the Virginian
Wolfsnake near a typewriter’ (ibid.:35-36) and the Incredibly Deadly Viper, a Biblical allusion to
the serpent, which is emphasized in the last book of the series. To make novel’s list of allusions
even richer, Mr. Poe, when encountering with the Incredibly Deadly Viper, panics and cries:
‘Good God! Blessed Allah! Zeus and Hera! Mary and Joseph! Nathaniel Hawthorne!’ (ibid.:146).
Count Olaf disguises himself as Stephano, the replacement of Dr. Montgomery’s
assistant. With “The Reptile Room” Brett Helquist starts his series of formulaic warnings of how
Count Olaf will disguise himself by depicting the disguise in ex-libris of each novel (see
Appendix 4). Stephano is also an allusion to Shakespeare’s Stephano in “The Tempest”. The
characters’ disguising themselves throughout the series is also similar to the events in the
Shakespeare’s plays. Moreover, the ship that was supposed to take the children and Uncle Monty
to Peru is called “Prospero”, which is also the name of the aforementioned play’s protagonist,
whose brother tried to kill him by setting Prospero adrift on an old boat. This allusion is
emphasized later in the novel with Helquist’s illustration, which shows an old sailing boat with
holes in it and a figurehead of the Shakespeare himself (see Appendix 5). Though the illustration
follows the text after more than just few pages, it could be argued that it is complementary, i.e.,
though not crucial to understanding the plot, it alludes to “The Tempest”.
When Stephano murders Uncle Monty, he disguises this act as an accident, which might
be seen as intertextual with many detective stories, including Aghata Kristie’s, especially because
of Sunny’s reaction (‘“Ackroid!” Sunny said, which probably meant something like “Roger!”’
(ibid.:126) – an allusion to “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”), while Violet started to gather and
present evidence to Mr. Poe. When she had found the evidence, Violet ‘needed to arrange these
pieces of evidence to defeat Stephano’s evil plan and bring justice and peace’ (ibid.:162). The
arranging of the pieces is emphasized by Helquist’s following illustration, where the pieces are
labelled alphabetically (see Appendix 6).
When asked to create a distraction, the first thing that comes to Klaus’s mind is Trojan
Horse, whereas the narrator recites two tales, “The Boy who Cried Wolf” and “Little Red Riding
Hood”, and shows how “dull” and “dim-witted” they are: ‘The story’s moral, of course, ought to
be “Never live somewhere where wolves are running around loose”, but whoever read you the
story probably told you that the moral was not to lie’ (ibid.:142). Christine Wilkie-Stibbs argues
that such use of previously written stories is ‘supplanting the pre-texts and challenging their
readers’ “already read” notions of the reliable narrator by an act of referring back which tells the
reader that what they knew previously about these tales was all lies’(Wilkie-Stibbs, 1999:171).
27
Moreover, both of these stories, or rather their recited versions, are intertextual with “The Reptile
Room”, because, firstly, sometimes it is good to lie, and, secondly, ‘if you know someone very
well, like your grandmother […], you will know when they are real and when they are fake’
(Snicket, 2001b:143).
“The Reptile Room” introduces literary (e.g., Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”), historical
(Nathaniel Hawthorne) and mythological (Zeus and Hera) references, some of which are
intensified by the illustrations as well. Similarly as in the first novel of the series, in the last
illustration of “The Reptile Room” (see Appendix 7), there is an element, in this case the removal
company’s name “Lachrymose Leeches”, that foreshadows the next novel in the series, i.e., “The
Wide Window”.
6.3 Intertextuality in “The Wide Window”
In “The Wide Window”, the orphans are sent to Aunt Josephine, a widow with irrational fears
and passion for grammar. Count Olaf disguises himself as Captain Sham and forces Aunt
Josephine to commit suicide after she writes a note leaving the children in his care. The orphans
are unable to convince Mr. Poe that Olaf is behind it, therefore they take matters in their own
hands, decipher Josephine’s note and find out she is not dead after all, but hiding. The
Baudelaires save her, but Count Olaf finds them and murders Aunt Josephine by pushing her in
the lake full of flesh-eating leeches. In the end, Sunny Baudelaire unmasks Count Olaf by biting
off his fake wooden leg, but, as before, Olaf gets away before Mr. Poe manages to do anything.
The third book begins at Damocles Dock, which ironically alludes to “The Sword of
Damocles”, an ancient story about the constant fear in which great men live and the fragile nature
of happiness. In the story, Aunt Josephine is afraid of her own shadow. This allusion is
emphasized by Helquist’s illustration for the book where the children are sitting on their suitcases
under the “Damocles Dock” sign and a sword swinging above their heads (see Appendix 8).
Aunt Josephine Anwistle is an allusion to Aunt Josephine Barry from “Anne from Green
Gables”, who is first introduced in the chapter “A Concert a Catastrophe and a Confession”,
where Anne and Diane frighten her and themselves to death by jumping in Mrs. Barry’s bed at
night not knowing that someone was there. However, Aunt Josephine’s surname might be an
allusion to the Hollywood actress Peg Entwistle, also an orphan, who commits suicide by
jumping from the Hollywood sign. Her suicide note read: ‘I’m afraid, I’m a coward’ (Online 8),
28
linking Aunt Josephine’s irrational fear of everything as an allusion to Entwistle. Snicket’s
Josephine also commits suicide, though a fake one, by jumping out of the window and leaving an
encrypted suicide note.
Captain Olaf disguises himself as Captain Sham and proves his identity by showing Aunt
Josephine his business card (‘Look at his card. Does it say Count Olaf? No. It says Captain Sham,
[…] it is a nevertheless proof that Captain Sham is who he says he is’ (Snicket, 2001c:57)). The
irony of business cards as a proof of identity has been used before, e.g., in Oscar Wilde’s “The
Importance of Being Earnest”, where Algeronon says: ‘It is perfectly absurd your saying that
your name isn’t Ernest. It’s on your cards. Here is one of them. […] I’ll keep this as a proof that
your name is Ernest.’ (Wilde, 2008:8) As in the previous novel, Olaf’s new disguise is depicted
already in the very beginning of the novel, i.e., ex-libris (see Appendix 4).
During their stay at Josephine’s, Hurricane Herman rages over the lake (allusion to
Herman Melville), and when children encounter one of Olaf’s largely built comrades, ‘the one
who looks like neither man nor woman’ (Snicket, 2001c:136), the narrator makes reference to
Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels” by calling the person “Brobdingnagian”. Later in the story,
when the Baudelaires try to get help by starting a fire, the narrator makes a reference to ‘the
scientific principles of the convergence and refraction of light’ explained to him by his friend
Dr..Lorenz, i.e., the scientist Ludwig Lorenz. Moreover, when Sunny reveals Olaf’s disguise,
author compares her to Alexander the Great and her actions to cutting the Gordian Knot.
In the end of the book, as in the previous one, the author compares the “morals” of
famous children tales (‘The moral of “The Three Bears”, for instance, is “Never break into
someone else’s house”. The moral of “Snow White” is “Never eat apples.”’ (ibid.:212)) to the
moral of “The Wide Window”, i.e., “the three children had one another for comfort and support
over the course of their miserable lives” (ibid.:213).
As the previous novels in the series, “The Wide Window” contains a wide range of
allusions, e.g., literary (Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest”), social (Peg
Entwistle) and historical (Alexander the Great). Following the series formula, the letter to the
editor included at the very end of the novel as well as the last illustration showing the sign of
Dr..Orwell’s eye care practice in the background (see Appendix 9) foreshadow the next novel in
the series – “The Miserable Mill”.
29
6.4. Intertextuality in “The Miserable Mill”
In “The Miserable Mill”, the Baudelaire orphans are sent to work in the Lucky Smells
Lumbermill owned by their new guardian Sir. The work is hard and they are not paid any money
and given little food. When Klaus breaks his glasses, he is sent to Dr. Orwell. After visiting her,
Klaus comes back different, obeys the foreman’s every word and causes a terrible accident.
Violet and Sunny realize he must be hypnotized and find out that Dr. Orwell is working with
Count Olaf, who is disguised as her assistant Shirley (see ex-libris in Appendix 4) and had
managed to convince Sir to leave the children under her care. The children fight Dr. Orwell and
Shirley trying to save Klaus from the hypnosis and their colleague from being sawed in half. In
the end, Dr. Orwell is the one killed by the buzz saw, whereas Count Olaf escapes. Because of all
the accidents, Sir gives up the children and they are sent away from the lumber-mill.
The fourth book in the series starts with a reference to Disney’s Chipmunks (‘once upon a
time there was a family of cunning little chipmunks who lived in a hollow tree’ (Snicket,
2002a:1)) in order to point out that the readers ‘had best put this book down’ (ibid.:3). When
lumber-mill’s worker Phil almost loses his leg, he is given ‘coupons from last month, fifty
percent off a cast at the Ahab Memorial Hospital’ (ibid.:98), a reference to Melville’s Captain
Ahab, who lost his leg because of Moby Dick. Later in the novel, Klaus tells a story where ‘all
the hypnotist had to do was shout “Bloomsbury!” and he suddenly became a brilliant writer’
(ibid.:107), a reference to Great Britain’s elite social group that also included writers.
However, the most important allusion in this story is that of the character Dr. Georgina
Orwell, who is an allusion to George Orwell. As Kramer points out, ‘her hypnosis methods are
examples of totalitarian Orwellian regime trying to make everyone think the same way’ (Kramer:
2008). The idea of hypnosis is emphasized in the illustration of eye care practice’s sign depicting
two eyes with hypnotic spirals instead of pupils (see Appendix 10).
The buzz saw scene at the end of the novel has been around in the history of
entertainment for longer than anyone can remember, starting with the classic stage magic trick of
sawing a woman in half and later used in horror and thriller movies (e.g., Hitchcock’s “The
Sorcerer’s Apprentice” (1955)).
The forth novel is not so rich in allusions, however one can still find literary (Orwell’s
“1984”), social (Bloomsbury), and film/animation references (Chipmunks), as well as the
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expected letter to the editor and an illustration foreshadowing the future adventures in “The
Austere Academy” by depicting a school bus in the background (see Appendix 11).
6.5. Intertextuality in “The Austere Academy”
The fifth book in the series introduces the traditional school narrative popular in the children’s
series books. The Baudelaires are sent to Prufrock Preparatory School were they are treated
worse than the other pupils, because they are orphans. Sunny is forced to work as an office
assistant, since there are no classes for children her age. The children make friends with the
Quagmire siblings, whose parents had died in a fire as well. However, the situation turns worse
when Count Olaf arrives disguised as Couch Genghis (see ex-libris in Appendix 4) and makes the
orphans exhausted by making them run laps at nights and thus fail at studies and work. In order to
let the Baudelaires study for the final exams, the Quagmires run laps in their places. However,
Olaf finds it out and convinces the principal to expel them for cheating. In the end, the
Baudelaires manage to reveal Olaf’s disguise and he kidnaps the Quagmires and runs away.
The name Prufrock Preparatory School is a reference to T. S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of
J..Alfred Prufrock”. The motto of the school is “Memento Mori” or “Remember you will die”, a
concept that has been used for so long and appeared so many times in literature and art alike that
its true origins are lost. The Vice Principal Nero, a man who has ‘no time for anything other than
playing violin’ (Snicket, 2002b:20), is an allusion to Roman Emperor Nero, who supposedly
played the fiddle while Rome burned. Both of these references are represented in the preceding
illustration showing the Roman semi-circular arc with the engraving of the motto (see
Appendix..12). The gym teacher Coach Genghis, Count Olaf in disguise, is an allusion to
Genghis Khan, the ruler of Mongol Empire.
At school, the Baudelaires meet Isadora and Duncan Quagmire. ‘The first names of two
of the three Quagmire triplets are a reminder of the hazards of being fashionable,’ points out
Kramer (2008). ‘Dancer Isadora Duncan died when her fashionable scarf caught in a car wheel
and the car kept moving. Also, her children drowned, her love life was disastrous, her husband
committed suicide and she repeatedly went into debt.’ When Isadora tells the Baudelaires that she
writes couplets, Sunny responds by crying ‘Sappho!’ (Snicket, 2002b:45), a poet ‘known for her
passionate verses directed toward the other female inhabitants of Lesbos’ (Pugh, 2008:176), a
very weird choice for children’s story indeed. After interviewing Handler, Shulman writes:
‘When asked about the function of such scattershot allusions in “A Series”, he admits he is both
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just giving a shout-out to books he loves and hoping to create a more sustained relation with
them.’ (quoted in Pugh, 2008:175)
Thus the novel presents a number of allusions including literary (T. S. Eliot’s “The Love
Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”), historical (Roman Emperor Nero) and social references (Isadora
Duncan), and hints to the next novel in the series “The Ersatz Elevator” with the letter to the
editor and the last illustration of Quagmires’ abduction (see Appendix 13) showing a fish on the
rear end of the car.
6.6. Intertextuality in “The Ersatz Elevator”
In “The Ersatz Elevator”, the children are sent to Esmé Squalor and her timid husband Jerome.
Esmé works together with auctioneer Gunthar, i.e., Count Olaf in disguise (see ex-libris in
Appendix 4). The Baudelaires try to reveal Olaf’s plan and find out that the Quagmires are being
held in the basement of Esmé’s house. They go to Esmé for help, but she turns out to be Olaf’s
accomplice and pushes them down the elevator shaft. The children manage to get out and arrive
at “The In Auction”, where they are certain Count Olaf will hide the Quagmires in one of the
auction’s items to get them out of the country. The Baudelaires fail to save the Quagmires, but
they reveal Gunther’s real identity and he flees together with Esmé. Jerome wants to keep the
orphans, but they refuse the offer, since Jerome wants to leave the country, whereas the children
are determined to find the Quagmires.
The names of the new guardians Jerome and Esmé Squalor are literary allusions to
J..D..Salinger’s (whose given name is Jerome) short story “To Esmé with Love and Squalor”.
The address of the Squalor’s penthouse is 667 Dark Avenue, i.e., one number away from the sign
of the Beast. Moreover, “The Ersatz Elevator” is the sixth book in the series and Esmé is the
city’s ‘sixth most important financial advisor’ (Snicket, 2002c:28). Esmé organizes “The In
Auction”, an auction where they are ‘selling only things that are in’ (ibid.:44). The Auction takes
place at the Veblen Hall, an allusion to Thorstein Veblen and his “Theory of the Leisure Class”.
When the children try to find a way out of the elevator shaft after being thrown down by
Esmé, Sunny utters a word ‘Glaucus’ (ibid.:190). Glaucus, who also is ‘tossed down an elevator
shaft, though without surviving it’ (Online 9), is a character in Dansimmon’s “Hyperion”. The
children’s fall down the shaft is represented by two black pages. As Snicket explains, ‘the long
fall down […] is one of the most dreadful circumstances that can be presented only with 2 pages
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of utter blackness’ (ibid.:184). However, this technique has been used before. In Lawrence
Sterne’s “The Life and Opinions of Tristian Shandy”, black pages are used to illustrate the death
of Yorick.
There are also a number of minor allusions: Marie Antoinette (‘Let them eat cake!’
(ibid.:20)), Jules Verne (The Verne Invention Museum), poet Anna Akhmatova (The Akhmatova
Bookstore), Hansel and Gretel (‘“Hansel!” […] “Gretel!”’ (ibid.:101) Sunny said when she tried
to tell her siblings that they should leave a trail of bread crumbs), bacteria responsible for food
poisoning (Café Salmonella) and Giorgio Armani (‘“Armani,” Sunny offered, holding up an
armful of Jerome’s neckties’ (ibid.:133)).
Thus, the novel does not disappoint the readers regarding the range of allusions and
references (social, mythological, literary, scientific), and with the letter to the editor included at
the end and the last illustration with a black crow (see Appendix 14) it gives a notion about the
next misfortunes in “The Vile Village”.
6.7. Intertextuality in “The Vile Village”
“The Vile Village” quotes and illustrates the aphorism ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ (Snicket,
2002d:12), and the Baudelaires are sent to live in the crow-crowded Village of Foul Devotees
(VFD) as a part of the new program. There, the Council of Elders informs the children that they
will do the chores of all the villagers and live with the handyman Hector. Living in Hector’s
house, the children start receiving encrypted couplets that seem similar to those written by
Isadora Quagmire. Before they can solve the mystery, the Council of Elders captures a man
resembling Count Olaf (who later turns out to be Snicket’s brother Jacques) and want to burn him
at the stake. The Baudelaires try to help Jacques, but he is murdered before the trial. In order to
investigate the murder, Count Olaf arrives disguised as a detective (see ex-libris in Appendix 4)
and convinces the town that the Baudelaires are the murderers. The children manage to escape
from the prison, save the Quagmires and run to Hector’s hot-air balloon. However, officer
Luciana (Esmé) catches up with them and only the Quagmires manage to escape. In the end,
Count Olaf and Esmé flee from the village, and the children are on the run too, because of the
newspaper article that names them as the murderers.
In the beginning of the novel, Violet upon seeing so many crows says: ‘It is unusual to see
so many crows in one place, but they’re nothing to worry about. It’s small potatoes.’ (ibid.:30)
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However, none of the children show much courage at the sight of all the crows, which makes one
wonder whether it is an allusion to Hitchcock’s horror movie “The Birds”. Medieval burning at
the stake contributes to the horrifying mood of the story. Moreover, there are some minor
allusions, e.g., Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” (Ophelia Bank), Dickens’s Oliver Twist (Mr. Fagin),
Homer’s “Odyssey” (‘“Scylla!” Sunny said, which meant “It’s either the self-sustaining hot air
mobile home, or being burned at the stake”’ (ibid.:218)), Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in
Wonderland” (‘Curiouser and curiouser’ (ibid.:90; Carroll, 2008:29)), and American poet, who
wrote also couplets, Ogden Nash.
Regardless of all the allusions of minor importance, “The Vile Village” is, above all, a
tribute to Edgar Allan Poe. The crows of the VFD spend their nights in the branches of the
Nevermore Tree (allusion to “The Raven”) and Count Olaf disguises himself as the detective
Dupin, a literary allusion to Poe’s famous detective character Auguste Dupin from “The
Purloined Letter”.
The seventh novel, as the preceding ones, contains film, literary and historical allusions,
and offers insight in the next book with the letter and illustration depicting “Last Chance” general
store (see Appendix 15), where children arrive in the beginning of “The Hostile Hospital”.
6.8. Intertextuality in “The Hostile Hospital”
In the eighth novel of the series, the children manage to mingle in with the Volunteers Fighting
Disease and arrive at the Heimlich Hospital. There, they volunteer to work in the Library of
Records hoping to find some answers. The keeper of the library mentions the Snicket file that is
said to contain information about the Baudelaires. The children manage to steal the thirteenth
page of the file that contains information suggesting there might be one survivor of the
Baudelaire mansion fire. Esmé Squalor finds and kidnaps Violet and plans to kill her during the
operating theatre performance. However, the siblings manage to save her and, during the
confusion of the fire at the hospital, hide themselves in the trunk of a car, which turns out to be
Count Olaf’s. The story ends with Count Olaf driving away from the scene with his associates,
and children being trapped in the trunk.
The Heimlich Hospital is named after Dr. Henry Heimlich and his chocking-rescue
manoeuvre. The Volunteers Fighting Disease and their activities might remind of Christian
organizations where members also ‘just call everybody “sister” and “brother”’, because ‘all
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people are sisters and brothers’ (Snicket, 2003a:41). When meeting the Head of Human
Resources, the children enter the office, where not Babs herself, but ‘instead a small square
intercom speaker […] had been placed in the middle of the desk’, and it was from this ‘speaker
that the speaking had been spoken’ (ibid.:57), which alludes to the mysterious boss in “Charlie’s
Angels”, who also spoke to his agents over a speaker phone on his desk. The television series
premiered in 1976, but the story has been re-imagined many times since. Moreover, the ex-libris
(see Appendix 4) depicts a speaker phone instead of Count Olaf, as usually, thus foreshadowing
Count Olaf’s new disguise.
The patients at the hospital are all literary allusions: Bernard Rieux from Room 105 at the
Plague (dr. Bernard Rieux from Albert Camus’s “The Plague”), Synthia Vane with a toothache
(from Vladimir Nobukov’s “The Vane Sisters”; the author also refers to Nobokov later in the
story by writing about ‘a good friend of mine named Mr. Sirin’ (ibid.:169), which was
Nobokov’s pseudonym during his stay in Berlin), Jonah Mapple suffering from seasickness
(Father Mapple, whose sermon was about Jonah trapped in a whale, from Melville’s “Moby
Dick”), Charly Anderson (from John Doss Passos’s “The U.S.A. Trilogy”), Clarissa Dalloway
‘who did not seem to have anything wrong with her’ (ibid.:140) (Snicket also makes an allusion
to Virginia Wolf by calling Olaf’s associate, ‘the one who looks like neither a man nor a woman’
(ibid.: 76), “Orlando”), Emma Bovary (from Gustave Flaubert’s “Madame Bovary”), as well as
the writers Mickail Bulgorov and Haruki Murakami. The illustration of Violet in the hospital’s
Library of Records (see Appendix 16) contains references to the previous novels and the series as
a whole, e.g., the map of the Lake Lachrymose (“The Wide Window”), newspaper article about a
deadly snake (“The Reptile Room”), common stock of Mulctuary Money Management
(Mr..Poe’s bank) and “wanted” poster of Count Olaf. Moreover, when describing the volunteers,
Snicket quotes William Congreve’s poem “The Morning Bride”: ‘Music has charms to sooth a
savage beast’ (ibid.:37) referring to how the volunteers try to cheer the patients with songs.
In “The Hostile Hospital”, the Baudelaires for the first time meet the journalist from “The
Daily Punctilio”, Geraldine Julienne, whose name is revealed later in the series, and one might
notice the similarities between her and “The Daily Prophet” reporter Rita Skeeter from another
children’s gothic fiction series “Harry Potter”. Both of them published lies, therefore making it
seem like the noble protagonist(s) are in fact villain(s), thus causing a lot of trouble.
Therefore, “The Hostile Hospital” is just as rich with allusions as the previous novels, it
contains literary (e.g., Congreve’s poem “The Morning Bride”), film (“Charlie’s Angels”), and
social (Christian volunteers) allusions and references. Moreover, the last illustration in the novel
35
(see Appendix 17) depicts a poster of Madame Lulu’s carnival lying on the floor of the trunk,
thus alluding to the next novel in the series, i.e., “The Carnivorous Carnival”.
6.9. Intertextuality in “The Carnivorous Carnival”
The ninth novel starts where the “Hostile Hospital” ended, i.e., the children are trapped in the
trunk of Olaf’s car trying to think of a way out. Olaf arrives at the Caligari Carnival to meet
Madame Lulu and ask about the whereabouts of the Baudelaires. The children disguise
themselves as freaks and start working in the carnival’s House of Freaks. The orphans find out
that one of their parents is in the Mortmain Mountains, and Madame Lulu reveals the secret of
VFD, the schism and proposes they run away together to the mountains. However, Esmé comes
up with a plan to dispose of Madame Lulu and, during the lion pit show, Madame Lulu and one
of the Olaf’s henchmen die. Count Olaf pretends not to recognize the Baudelaires under their
disguises and offers to take them to the mountains, if they agree to work for him. The story ends
with Sunny being held hostage and the other two siblings losing control over their caravan and
rolling down the mountains at a high speed towards the edge of the cliff.
The Caligari Carnival is named after the horror movie “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” by
Robert Wiene, and the carnival meets readers’ expectations: it has a fake gypsy woman Madame
Lulu, house of freaks, crystal ball and lions. The pit of lions might be a Biblical allusion to the
Book of Daniel and the lions’ den. When describing the lions, Snicket tells “The Story of Queen
Debbie and her Boyfriend, Tony”, which ‘has the rather obvious moral “Never look a gift lion in
the mouth”’ (Snicket, 2003b:96), thus parodying the proverb “never look a gift horse in the
mouth”. Furthermore, the concept of “freaks” is even depicted in Brett Helquist’s self-portrait at
the end of the novel, where he is shown as a giant Cyclops (see Appendix 18).
The Baudelaires disguise themselves as the wolf baby Chabo, Beverly and Eliott. Michael
Chabon is the author of the short story “Werewolves in Their Youth”, whereas the two-headed
Beverly and Eliott, as Kramer points out, might be a reference to the twins Eliott and Beverly
Mantle from the horror film “Dead Ringers” by David Cronenberg. The ex-libris of the book is
also different, as it does not show Count Olaf in disguise, but the children (see Appendix 4). The
Hunchback Hugo is an allusion to Victor Hugo’s “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame”, whereas
Colette might refer to French novelist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette. “The Carnivorous Carnival”
also makes a reference to Joseph Merick, a.k.a, John Merrick or “The Elephant Man”, along with
36
Sylvia Plath (Plath Pass), Jack Henry Abbott (“In the Belly of the Beast” (ibid.:2)), and the
environmentalist Rachel Carson (Silent Springs).
While trying to solve the mysteries of their lives, the Baudelaires sneak in Madame Lulu’s
tent to look through her documents, but accidentally break her crystal ball. The following chapter
contains illustration of the broken glass, as well as various references to the series (see
Appendix..19), e.g., the menu from Café Salmonella (“The Ersatz Ekevator”), map of Mortmain
Mountains (“The Slippery Slope”), an article about Snicket and a document with the VFD logo.
Moreover, a love triangle technique is also used in the story, similarly as in thousands of
stories before. The love triangle between Madame Lulu, Count Olaf and Esmé Squalor is
revealed already in the very beginning of the novel (‘“You did not tell me, my Olaf, that Esmé
was the girlfriend of you. Perhaps Madame Lulu will not let you and troupe stay at the carnival of
mine.”’ (ibid.:31-32)). The love triangle problem in fiction is often settled by one competitor
killing the other, and Snicket’s story is no different. The affair is settled by Esmé’s ordering the
freaks to throw Madame Lulu in the pit. Snicket reflects on the events in the Caligari Carnival’s
lion pit by quoting Shakespeare’s “King Lear”: ‘“Humanity must perforce prey upon itself, like
monsters of the deep,” a sentence which here means “How sad it is that people end up hurting
one another as if they were ferocious sea monsters.”’ (ibid.:234-235)
As the previous novels in the series, “The Carnivorous Carnival” contains a large amount
of references and allusions, including the field of literature (Shakespeare’s “King Lear”),
mythology (Cyclops), historical (John Merrick), film (“The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”) and cultural
(proverb), that are often emphasized with appropriate illustrations. The letter to the editor and the
last illustration with the Snowscout Handbook falling out of the caravan (see Appendix 20)
foretells the adventures in “The Slippery Slope”.
6.10. Intertextuality in “The Slippery Slope”
The story starts with Violet and Klaus figuring out a way to stop the caravan and escaping the
fall. The children travel up the mountains to save Sunny and meet Carmelita Spats from the
Austere Academy and the Snow Scouts. To avoid being recognized, the children pretend to be
one of the scouts (see ex-libris in Appendix 4). During their pretence, they realize that one of the
boy scouts knows about VFD. The boy reveals himself to be the missing Quagmire triplet
Quigley and he leads them to the VFD headquarters. Unfortunately, the headquarters turn out to
37
be burned down; however, the children notice Sunny’s signals from the top of the mountain and
attempt to save her. Sunny had been working as a slave for Olaf and other villains, but refuses to
be saved saying she could spy on Olaf. Violet and Quigley travel back to the headquarters, where
Klaus had deciphered the secret VFD message as well as developed a plan to kidnap Esmé and
exchange her for Sunny. However, once Esmé is their prisoner, the children realize the
wrongness of the situation and meet Olaf pretending to be scouts. The real scouts arrive and, in
order to save them, the Baudelaires reveal themselves. The story ends with Olaf and Esmé
adopting Carmelita and the scouts being forced to work for them. The Baudelaires manage to
escape, but get separated from Quigley.
In the beginning of the book, Snicket explains Robert Frost’s poem “The Road not
Taken”, which is also sometimes called “The Road Less Travelled”, ‘describing a journey he
took through the woods along a path most travellers never used’ (Snicket, 2003a:1). Snicket
compares the road less travelled with the beginning of his book, where the Baudelaires ‘had no
choice but to be on the road less travelled’ (ibid.:2). Klaus, the middle Baudelaire, describes the
poem as ‘neither happy nor unhappy, […] ambiguous’ (ibid.:25); this description can also be
applied to Snicket’s series.
When proving his identity, Quigley Quagmire refers to a photo he had been given, ‘a
picture of all three of you waiting at the dock of some lake’ (ibid.:168). The preceding illustration
proves to be equally important as the text, since the photo turns out to be identical to the
illustration in “The Wide Window” (see Appendix 8 and Appendix 21).
“A Series of Unfortunate Events” does not contain many allusions that could be
understood by a child reader; however, “The Slippery Slope” is an exception. This book contains
imagery linked to children’s animated movies or cartoons, e.g., the ‘ill-tempered insects […],
who enjoy stinging people for no reason whatsoever’ and ‘have been known to group themselves
into well-defined shapes’ (ibid.:37-38), such as, an arrow. This scene has been around in cartoons
for longer time than anyone can remember, similarly as ‘a lightbulb hovering in the air when
someone has an idea’ (ibid.:231). There is even an illustration of the snow gnats (Appendix 22),
where snow gnats form the words “Chapter Two”, thus referring to the well-defined shapes snow
gnats are said to form. This illustration precedes the description by more than ten pages, however
the relationship between the two is that of the dominance type, i.e., the text is more important.
The book also contains a reference to the children’s lullaby “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”
(‘Violet Baudelaire could not help feeling like this poor spider as she ascended the waterfall for
the last time’ (ibid.:281)), and Dino Buzzati’s “The Bears’ Famous Invasion of Silicy” (‘Years
38
ago, apparently, these mountains were crawling with bears. The bears were so intelligent that
they were trained as soldiers’ (ibid.:79)). In Amazon’s review for the book, D. Handler writes:
‘“The Bears’ Famous Invasion of Silicy” is one of the noblest books I know. At once tragic
inquiry and a philosophical history, the novel examines ambition, violence and revenge in the
voice […] that is simultaneously wise, wry, and wrong’ (Online 10), thus explaining the literary
influence on Snicket’s own distinct voice.
The rest of the intertextuality, however, most probably is left unnoticed by the younger
readers. In the Mortmain Mountains, the Baudelaires encounter the Snow Scouts, who are on
their way to celebrate False Spring, which ‘they celebrate […] with a fancy dance’ where they
‘spin around and around the Springpole’ (Snicket, 2003a:77). In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short
story “The Maypole of Merry Mount”, the people of Merry Mount celebrate the marriage of a
young couple by dancing around the Maypole, but are interrupted by Puritans, who try to turn
them to Christianity. Snow Scouts are in turn interrupted by the villains, who try to recruit them.
Snicket also makes a reference to C. P. Snow and his “The Corridors of Power”, ‘which
told the story of various people discussing how world has become a corrupt and dangerous place
and whether or not there are enough people with the integrity and decency necessary to keep the
entire planet from descending into despair’ (ibid.:136), as well as the theory of Utilitarianism
(‘Sometimes a few people need to die in fires or get eaten by lions, if it’s all for the greater good’
(ibid.:58)) and Stockholm Syndrome, which fits in with the secret organization VFD and the
schism.
When trying to open the Vernacularly Fastened Door, the Baudelaires and Quagmire have
to answer questions, two of which are about physics and Newton, and Leo Tolstoy’s “Anna
Karenina”. Snicket applies novel’s central theme, which is ‘that a rural life of moral simplicity
despite its monotony, is the preferable personal narrative to a daring life of impulsive passions,
which leads to tragedy’ (ibid.:146), to Adam and Eve, and Bonnie and Clyde.
As the youngest Baudelaire grows older, her vocabulary becomes more interesting. Not
only is she becoming multilingual (‘Arigato!’ (ibid.: 219), ‘Sakesushi’ (ibid.:121)), but her baby
talk also contains quite a number of allusions, e.g., ‘“Brummel,” Sunny said, which meant “In my
opinion, you desperately need a bath and your clothing is a shambles”’ (ibid.:107), referring to
Regency England’s men’s fashion icon Beau Brummel. She also mentions George Bush
(‘“Busheney,” Sunny said, which meant something along the lines of, “You’re an evil man with
no concern whatsoever for other people.”’ (ibid.:107)), Mata Hari (‘“Matahari,” she said, which
meant something like, “If I stay I can spy on them and find out”’ (ibid.:225)), Orson Welles’s
39
“Citizen Kane” (‘“Rosebud!” Sunny cried, which meant “In some situations, the location of a
certain object can be much more important than being outnumbered”’ (ibid.:321). In the movie,
rosebud is revealed to be a sled, and Sunny cried “Rosebud” just before jumping in the
toboggan), Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” (‘“Godot,” Sunny said, which meant “We
don’t know where to go, and we don’t know how to get there”’ (ibid.:331)), and compares herself
to Cinderella (‘“Cinderella,” Sunny said. She meant […] “I’ve had to do all the chores while
being humiliated at every turn”’ (ibid.:219)).
The book also presents intertextuality by listing the author of science fiction,
C..M..Kornbult, among the members of VFD, and quoting Nietzsche (‘Whoever fights monsters
should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look into an
abyss, the abyss also looks into you’ (ibid.:273)). The motto of VFD is “The World is Quite
Here”, taken from the first stanza of A. C. Swinburne’s “The Garden of Prosperine” (‘Here,
where the world is quiet’ (Swinburne, 1868:196)). This poem is also quoted at the end of the
book (‘That no life lives forever; / That dead men rise up never; / That even the weariest river /
Winds up somewhere safe to sea’ (Snicket, 2003a:243)). Snicket presents this stanza as a coded
message; as he points out, ‘“the weariest river” refers to the Stricken Stream, […] and that
“winds somewhere safe to sea” refers to the last safe place where all volunteers […] could
gather’ (ibid.:336).
All in all, as the story develops, each book becomes richer in allusions and references; the
tenth book contains allusions and references from the literary, cartoon, musical, scientific, social,
historical and even philosophical fields. The last pages of the novel contain the anticipated letter
to the editor and an illustration of the children in the stricken stream with mushrooms growing on
its banks (see Appendix 23) foreshadowing the next novel in the series – “The Grim Grotto”.
6.11. Intertextuality in “The Grim Grotto”
In “The Grim Grotto”, the children travel down the stream and reach the ocean, where they are
taken on board of a submarine. The captain of the submarine turns out to be a member of VFD
trying to find the mysterious sugar bowl. With the help of the Baudelaires, they calculate the
estimate location of it, but notice two other submarines near by: one mysterious ship and the
other belonging to Count Olaf. Nevertheless, the children go down the Gorgonian Grotto to
acquire the bowl, but find nothing. On returning back to the submarine, the Baudelaires find out
40
not only that half of the crew is missing, but also that Sunny has caught a spore of a deadly
fungus and will die, if they don’t find the antidote. The orphans manage to escape Olaf’s
submarine, find antidote and arrive at the Briny Beach after receiving a coded telegram from
VFD. The story ends with Kit Snicket, Jacques and Lemony’s sister, taking the Baudelaires to the
Hotel Denoument.
The submarine that takes the Baudelaires on board is Queequeg, a name borrowed from
Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick”, where Queequeg was a harpoonist and Ishmael’s friend. The
allusion is emphasized by Helquist’s self-portrait (see Appendix 24) that depicts him as Captain
Ahab with a scar on his face, harpoon and a wooden leg, as well as by the fact that Queequeg’s
uniforms display Herman Melville’s portrait, ‘a writer of enormous talent who dramatized the
plight of overlooked people, such as poor sailors or exploited youngsters’ (Snicket, 2004b:224),
who Mr. Poe, ironically enough, confuses with Santa Claus. The uniform of Olaf’s submarine
displays Edgar Guest, ‘a writer of limited skill, who wrote awkward, tedious poetry on hopelessly
sentimental topics’ (ibid.:224). However, the story also reminds of Jules Verne’s “Twenty
Thousand Leagues Under the Sea”, firstly, because Count Olaf’s submarine is in the form of a
giant octopus – the sea monster Nautilius meets in Jule Verne’s novel; and, secondly, because of
the unknown “thing” they encounter at the bottom of the sea, which might be some kind of a sea
monster. Later in the series, the “question mark” is referred to as “the great unknown”,
euphemism usually associated with what comes after death.
The names of the places listed in this novel are also literary allusions, e.g., Sontag Shore
is a tribute to literary theorist and novelist Susan Sontag, whereas The Gulag Archipelago refers
to Aleksandr Solzhenitryn’s book with the same title. Moreover, the book also presents allusions
to Greek mythology, e.g., The Gorgonian Grotto is named after the Gorgon Sisters, same as the
deadly Medusoid Mycelium, as it is illustrated by Helquist in the beginning of Chapter 5 (see
Appendix 25). It is interesting to note that the gorgon Medusa was the only one from the three
sisters that was not immortal; similarly, the Medusoid Mycelium can also be killed.
In the novel, Klaus Baudelaire quotes Plato’s allegory of the cave from “The Republic”
(‘There was a philosopher who said that all of life is just shadows. He said that people were just
sitting in a cave, watching shadows on the cave wall.’ (ibid.:87)) and compares it to their
situation that the ‘sonar detector is like our cave wall, showing us the shape of things much more
powerful and terrifying’ (ibid.:87). The novel also contains quotations from Lewis Carroll’s “The
Walrus and the Carpenter” (ibid.:273), and T. S. Eliot’s “The Wasteland” (ibid.:276), both of
which were quoted already in the previous book.
41
Sunny, the youngest Baudelaire, continues to amaze the readers, this time by speaking
Hebrew (‘Shalom’ (ibid.:20), ‘Yomhuledet’ (ibid.:80), i.e., birthday). Sunny also makes a
reference to the deafblind author Helen Keller (‘“Hewenkella,” Sunny said. […] “I think my
sister is curious about how we’ll be able to see our way,” Violet said.’ (ibid.:118)), and Thomas
Hobson and the expression “Hobson’s choice” (‘“Hobson,” Sunny said, which meant “I didn’t
have much choice, given our surroundings […]”’ (ibid.:156)).
The novel contains many allusions and references to famous people: an allusion to
Dr..Paul Crysoph’s “Red Boots for Christmas” (‘[…] when all the while you wanted a bright red
pair with a strange buckles that nobody on earth was going to buy you’ (ibid.:10)), a reference to
jazz composer Duke Ellington, Charles Darwin, and Buddha (‘“Aye!” he cried. “Dear God! Holy
Buddha! Charles Darwin! Duke Ellington!”’ (ibid.:80)), Robert Browning and his poem “My
Last Duchess” (ibid.:157), and furniture maker Heppelwhite (ibid.:204). The novel names quite a
number of writers and popular characters when listing noble uniforms (P. G. Wodehouse, Carl
Van Vechten, Barbara Comyns, Beverly Cleary, Archy and Mehitabel) and books on the shelves
of Queequeg (Elizabeth Bishop, Charles Simic, S. T. Corleridge, Franz Wright, Daphe Gottlieb).
The eleventh book in the series contains even wider range of allusions and references than
the previous ones. The last illustration of the novel with the Briny Beach and a concierge hat
lying in the sand (see Appendix 26) as well as Lemony’s letters to the editor written on notepaper
from a hotel foreshadows the next novel, i.e., “The Penultimate Peril”.
6.12. Intertextuality in “The Penultimate Peril”
In the penultimate book, the children are taken to the Hotel Denoument, the last safe place for the
VFD members, and are given instructions to retrieve the sugar bowl and trust the manager Frank,
but not his twin Earnest. The children start working as concierges, but are unable to tell the twins
apart. Moreover, they find out that the hotel is not only the meeting place for the members of
VFD, but also the villains, and that the hotel is full of their previous guardians, including Esmé,
Olaf, Sir and Princiapl Nero, which only adds to the confusion. In the end, it turns out that the
managers are actually triplets and it is the third triplet Dewey who is the member of VFD. Just as
Dewey starts to unravel the mysteries, Count Olaf creates a hostage situation as the result of
which Dewey is shot and the children are accused of murdering him. In order to escape, the
Baudelaires help Olaf to burn down the hotel and sail away on a boat.
42
The opening sentence of the last but one book in the series refers to Zen philosophy:
‘Certain people have said that the world is like a calm pond, and that anytime a person does even
the smallest thing, it is as if a stone has dropped into the pond, spreading circles of ripples further
and further out, until the entire world has been changed by one tiny action.’ (Snicket, 2005:1) The
author repeatedly refers to this theory throughout the novel and it is even illustrated literary when
the sub-sub-librarian is accidentally shot and falls into the pond, thus changing the world the
Baudelaires knew.
When arriving at the last safe place, Hotel Denouement, the Baudelaires spot two poetry
books on the floor of the automobile: T. S. Eliott’s “The Wasteland” and L. Carroll’s “The
Walrus and the Carpenter”, and the influence of the last of these two books is evident in this
Snicket’s novel. The beginnings of Chapter 2 and 13 are mostly written backwards, as if reflected
in a mirror. Even Helquist’s illustration is a mirror reflection (see Appendix 27). The Hotel
Denouement stands at the end of an enormous pond and every sign is written so as to it ‘could
only be read correctly in the pond’ (ibid.:22). In “Alice Through the Looking-Glass”, the poem
“Jabberwocky” is also spelled backwards. ‘When Violet, Klaus, and Sunny at last caught up with
Kit Snicket, it felt as if they had stepped into the world on the opposite side of the mirror without
even knowing it’ (ibid.:20) – another reference to Carroll’s “Alice Through the Looking-Glass”.
The Hotel denouement, an extraordinary hotel, where everything is arranged according to
the Dewey Decimal System (DDC), is not an original idea. Close to the New York public library,
there is “The Library Hotel”, ‘where floors are organized by the DDC’ (Online 11). Another
reference to DDC is the third Denouement triplet’s name, Dewey. The other two triplets are
Frank and Earnest, taken from the famous phrase “you be frank and I’ll be earnest”.
Another theme repeatedly used in the novel is opera. The name of the Hotel Denouement,
the surname of the triplets, and the Hotel Preludio are all references to opera, as well as the name
of the book (‘[…] usually the denouement of a story is not the last event in the heroes’ lives […]
it is often the second-to-last event, or the penultimate peril’ (ibid.:177)). The first reference to
Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino” is already in the very beginning of the novel: ‘In the
opera La Forza del Destino, various characters argue, […] engage in duels, and drop a gun on the
floor, where it goes off accidentally and kills someone in an incident eerily similar to one that
happens in chapter nine of this book.’ (ibid.:17) And, indeed, at the end of the Chapter 9, a
harpoon gun accidentally goes off killing Dewey Denouement. The novel also refers to the
composer directly – ‘“I always thought you were a legendary figure, like unicorns and Giuseppe
Verdi”’ (ibid.:208). The novel bears strong resemblance to the genre of opera as such, because of
43
all the misunderstandings and disguises, as well as the musical imagery (‘[…] and join us in a
rousing chorus of “Cry Me a River”’ (ibid.:190)).
In order to help VFD, the Baudelaires are disguised as concierges, but, as they all observe
different events, none of which make any sense, they relate their situation with John Godfrey
Saxe’s poem about six blind man and an elephant and how they encountered just parts of the
elephant, but were unable to put them together. The theme of blindness is developed further in
the story where everyone must wear blindfolds at the High Court trial, thus Snicket parodies
Justitia and the expression “justice is blind”, as well as “the blind leading the blind”, which is
illustrated with the preceding Helquist’s drawing (see Appendix 28).
The youngest Baudelaire’s speech is as interesting as before, not only she speaks Greek
(‘Efcharisto’ (ibid.:186) means “thank you”), German (‘Bildungsroman’ (ibid:.:289)), and
educated English (‘Galimatias’ (ibid.:219)), but also makes references to Esperanto (‘[…] “No
Habla Esperanto”, which was her way of saying, “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you are talking
about”’ (ibid.:142)), American judge famous for his conservative ideology and literal
interpretations Antonin Scalia (‘“Scalia,” Sunny said. She meant something like, “It doesn’t seem
like the literal interpretation makes any sence”’ (ibid.:268)), and French philosopher Henri
Bergson (‘“Henribergson,” Sunny said, which meant “It’s more complicated than that”’
(ibid.:248)).
This novel is also rich in quotations. Snicket quotes not only the above mentioned poem
by J. G. Saxe, but also Martin Luther King (‘A great man once said that right, temporarily
defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.’ (ibid.:6)), William Makepeace Thackeraray’s “The
Virgians” (‘To be daunted by no difficulty; to keep heart when all have lost it; to go through
intrigue spotless; to forgo even ambition when the end is gained – who can say this is not
greatness?’ (ibid.:9)), Bion of Smyrna (‘Though boys throw stones at frogs in sport, the frogs do
not die in sport, but in earnest’ (ibid.:196)), and Richard Wright’s “Native Son” (‘“Who knows
when some slight shock”, he asks, “disturbing the delicate balance between social order and
thirsty aspiration, shall send the skyscrapers in our cities toppling?”’ (ibid.:352)), as well as
makes Biblical allusion (‘[…] tea should be as bitter as wormwood, […] and as sharp as a two-
edged sword…’ (ibid.:35), ‘but her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword’
(Proverbs 5:4 KJV)). Moreover, the importance of the clock in the narrative corresponds with
other literary works, e.g., V. Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway”.
The last but one book offers a variety of allusions and references, including not only
already anticipated literary, social, historical and biblical, but also also philosophical and musical
44
allusions and references. The novel ends with the words ‘the end is near’ (ibid.:359) written in
Snicket’s letter to the editor, which is a reference not only to the end of the series, but also the
title of the next novel, i.e., “The End”.
6.13. Intertextuality in “The End”
In “The End”, the children are sailing the ocean on a boat with Count Olaf, until a raging storm
washes them on the shores of an island inhabited by a group of people. The colonists accept the
Baudelaires and cage Count Olaf after he tries to deceive them with his disguises, but the children
refuse to follow the colony’s rules and are left with Olaf and pregnant Kit Snicket. However, it
turns out that the colonists had been plotting against their leader and seek children’s help. By
following the leader’s footsteps, the Baudelaires come across the history of island, which
contains information about the orphans themselves as well. During the mutiny, Count Olaf is shot
and dies, whereas the colonists get exposed to the deadly fungus and fall ill. The Baudelaires find
the antidote, but it is too late, as the colonists had already sailed away, and, after Kit dies from the
infection, the children are left alone on the island with her daughter Beatrice. The book contains
an additional chapter, where, after living a year on the island, the children are ready to sail away
back to the civilization.
The last book in the series starts with describing a boat in the middle of the sea and a
storm. There are numerous works describing such situations, but “The End” parodies Daniel
DeFoe’s “Robinson Crusoe” (Helquist’s self-portrait at the end of the book even shows him as
Crusoe (see Appendix 29)). The Baudelaires and Count Olaf are washed up on the shores of an
island, where a young girl named Friday meets them. Count Olaf declares himself the king of the
island and wants to be called so, similarly as Crusoe taught Friday to call him “Master”. The
island is inhabited by a colony whose leader is Ishmael as in Melville’s “Moby Dick” (‘You may
call me Ishmael’ (Melville, 2006:1), ‘“Call me Ish.”’ (Snicket, 2006:55)). Ishmael pretends to
have injured feet and treats them with clay, therefore having feet of clay both literary and
figuratively. Since Ishmael insists on being unable to walk, he travels around with the help of
sheep. Sheep as means of transportation were first presented in Voltaire’s “Candid”, however,
sheep is also a Biblical allusion and might refer to the way colonists follow Ishmael’s orders. The
colonists drink only coconut cordial, which serves ‘as a sort of opiate for these people’
(ibid.:223), a reference to Karl Marx and his views on religion. The colony might be an allusion
45
to Homer’s “The Odyssey”, where Odysseus encounters Lotus-Eaters, who survive on narcotic
lotus in order to stay apatic. This “type” of colonies has been much alluded to in literature, e.g., in
Alex Garland’s “The Beach”.
The names of the colonists are borrowed from other literary works or refer to historical
figures: Alonso, Ariel, Ferdinand, Gonzalo are characters in Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”;
names Bellamy, and Erewhon are taken from Samuel Butler’s “Nowhere”; Bligh, Byam,
Fletcher, and Nordhoff from Charles Nordhoff’s “Mutiny on the Bounty”; Kurtz and Morlow
from Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”; Larsen and Weyden from Jack London’s “The Sea
Wolf”; Robinson from DeFoe’s “Robinson Crusoe”; Finn from Mark Twain’s “Huckleberry
Finn”; Brewster and Willa (reference to puritan William Brewster and writer Willa Cather);
Omeros and Calypso from Greek mythology.
The book contains also Biblical allusions. The Baudelaires find an apple tree ‘with a trunk
as enormous as a mansion and branches as long as city street’ (ibid.:198-199) and meet
Incredibly Deadly Viper, Uncle Monty’s snake, and it leads them under the tree to a secret room
with a library where they find “A Series of Unfortunate Events”, a book written by previous
inhabitants, which contains all the information, similarly as Bible. The snake offers the
Baudelaires an apple containing horseradish to kill the Medusoid Mycelium. Ishmael was the
only one who knew about the apple tree, yet he didn’t allow the islanders to eat the apples even
when everybody was on the verge of dying from the deadly fungus.
The novel also contains many quotations, e.g., Edward Gibbon’s “The history of the
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” (‘[…] history is indeed little more than the register of
crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind’ (ibid.:227)), Francis William Bourdillion’s poem
“Night has a thousand eyes” (ibid.:317), Philip Larkin’s poem “This be the Verse” (ibid.:318),
Charles Baudelaire’s “Le Voyage” (ibid.:326), and Snicket’s “The Bad Beginning” (‘Three very
short man were carrying a large, flat piece of wood, painted to look like a living room.’
(ibid.:275; Snicket, 2001a:134)). Snicket also refers to “Beez and Ramona” by Beverly Cleary
(‘[…] the heroine of a book […] spends an entire afternoon eating the first bite of a bushel of
apples’ (Snicket, 2006:283)) and Walty Pipper’s “The Little Engine that Could” (‘I only mention
the story of Little Engine That Could so that when I say that the Baudelaire orphans […] were on
board the Little Engine That Couldn’t, you will understand what I mean’ (ibid.:236)).
Sunny, though already developed her speech, continues to speak in codes, e.g., by
referring to the wrongly accused officer Alfred Dreyfus (‘“Dreyfuss?” Sunny said, which meant
“What precisely are you accusing us of?”’ (ibid.:140)), diarist James Boswell (‘“Boswell,” Sunny
46
said. She meant something along the lines of, “Your life doesn’t interest me”’ (ibid.:158)),
French author Anais Nin (‘“Anais,” Sunny said, which meant “In the flesh.”’ (ibid.:166)), Greek
river of forgetfulness (‘“Lethe?” Sunny asked’ when speaking of coconut cordial (ibid.:223)),
Electra (‘“Electra,” Sunny said, which meant “A family shouldn’t keep such terrible secrets”’
(ibid.:224)), English historian Edward Gibbon (‘“Gibbon,” Sunny said. She meant something
like, “We want to read this history, no matter how miserable it is”’ (ibid.:227)), J. R. R. Tolkien
and “The Lord of the Rings” (‘“Neiklot?” Sunny asked, which meant “Why are you telling us
about this ring?”’ (ibid.:229)), Thor Heyerdahl’s “Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific in a Raft”
(‘“Kontiki,” Sunny said. She meant something along the lines of, “There’s no way they’ll survive
that journey”’ (ibid.:298)), as well as two-faced twins (‘By “Faniceps”, the youngest Baudelaire
meant “I’m of two minds about living here”’ (ibid.:101)), a plot device (‘“Mcguffin,” Sunny said,
which meant “Your scheming means nothing in this place.”’ (ibid.:312)), Holocaust
Remembrance day (‘“Yomhashoah,” Sunny said, which meant “Never again”’ (ibid.:157)), and
Bible (‘Gentreefive’ (ibid.:278), ‘For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be
opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’ (Genesis 3:5)).
The last Snicket’s book of unfortunate events might be intertextually the richest of the
series’ novels. It not only contains literary, biblical, mythological and historical allusions and
references, but also references to the previous books in the series and reflects on the series as a
whole, thus providing a sense of completeness.
47
CONCLUSION
Jan Susina (2003) states that ‘although children’s literature is intended primarily for children, it is
more accurate to view such texts as having dual audiences of children and adults’. The term
“crosswriting” is used to refer to ‘authors who address both children and adults in the same text’,
as well as ‘authors whose oeuvre contains both works for children and works for adults’ (Beckett,
1999:216). Though, the term is said to be coined by U. C. Knoeflmacher in 1993, writings for
dual audiences of children and adults have been around longer, e.g., Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s
Travels” (1726) and Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” (1865). ‘Since the boundaries
between adult and children’s fiction were first drawn in the mid-eighteenth century, authors have
been crossing them in both directions,’ states Beckett (ibid.:xii).
Susina (2003) argues that ‘although children’s literature is intended primarily for children,
it is more accurate to view such texts as having dual audiences of children and adults’. One of the
reasons for this is that those involved in children’s book writing and publishing business are
adults, not children. ‘Inevitably, the phenomenon of intertextuality sets up a curious kind of
hegemony in children’s books, in which adults who write for children […] operate and are
influenced by the intertextual space which is the literature they read as children,’ states
Wilkie-Stibbs (2005:169). It is precisely because children’s literature is written and purchased by
adults that C. S. Lewis’s famous statement ‘children’s story which is enjoyed only by children is
a bad children’s story’ (quoted in Beckett, 1999:87) has become a truth generally accepted. One
of the most popular methods to make children’s literature enjoyable for adults is making it
intertextual by using allusions and references.
Intertextuality is also used to educate young minds, it is one of the ‘means by which to
build “interpretive communities” […] to give a window on the process of meaning-making
during a reading’ (Wilkie-Stibbs, 2005:168).
Wilkie-Stibbs states that ‘texts of quotations are probably the simplest level at which child
readers can recognize intertextuality’ (ibid.:171). In “A Series of Unfortunate Events”, Snicket
explains what he intends for children to understand, for example, the allusion to gustatory and
kinaesthetic imagery in “The End” (sour apples, horseradish and onion peeling), and quotes other
literary works (e.g., A. C. Swinbure’s “The Garden of Prosperine” in “The Slippery Slope”), as
well as alludes and parodies folk and fairy tales (“Snow White” in “The Slippery Slope” and
“Little Red Riding Hood” in “The Reptile Room”). Wilkie-Stibs argues that the
48
overreferentiality, ‘the need to fill intertextual gaps’ might be ‘the one of the single distinguishing
characteristics of children’s literature per se’ (ibid.:176, emphasis in the original).
However, a question arises concerning the socialization of allusions and references that
are clearly above children’s socio-cultural background. In Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of
Unfortunate Events”, there are allusions to Dante, C. P. Snow, Anais Nin and other authors and
works (especially in one word utterances made by Sunny Baudelaire) that child readers could not
be expected to understand.
Intertextuality and references meant only for adults in children literature can be observed
as early as 18th and 19th century with aforementioned Swift’s and Carroll’s works. Hence the
reading experience for adult and child reader differs when reading such literary works. While
child readers experience the linear reading, the adult readers experience vertical reading that is
‘simultaneously centrifugal and centripetal’ (ibid.:175).
In “A Series of Unfortunate Events”, there are allusions to such texts as Melville’s “Moby
Dick” and Hugo’s “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame”. Even though it is very doubtful for a child
reader to have read these texts, ‘children’s exposure to other media such as film, television
animations, and video, means increasingly that they are likely to encounter the media adaptations
[…] before they encounter the written text’ (ibid.:174). Taking into account that there are
animations of both “Moby Dick” and “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame”, one could ask whether
the distinction between children’s literature and adult’s literature, allusions and references
understood by adults and those understood by children are really that clear-cut. As has been
pointed out by Beckett, ‘much contemporary children’s and youth literature has become more
like adult literature, that is, more complex in style, form and content’ (1999:217), thus blurring
the boundaries of children’s and adult’s literature and introducing the growing genre of young
adult’s literature. ‘“Child” and “adult” are no longer defining categories. Schooling is,’ sums up
Lisa Paul. ‘Age will become less important as a defining category for making distinctions and
value judgements. Knowledge, particularly historical knowledge, will become increasingly
important.’ (Paul in Beckett (ed.), 1999:241).
Hence, intertextuality in literature, particularly children’s literature, serves to amuse and
provide richer reading experience to more knowledgeable audience, on one hand and, on the
other hand, ‘it is charged with the awesome responsibility of initiating young readers into the
dominant literary, linguistic and cultural codes of the home culture’ (Wilkie-Stibbs, 2005:177).
49
To retrospectively consider the findings of the present research it should be noted that the
discussion of intertextual references was not exclusively centred on the discussion of allusions
and quotations, but also genre framing and ‘the relation between a text and its “paratext” – that
which surrounds the main body of text’ (Chandler, n.d.), i.e., paratextuality, architextuality,
metatextuality, and hypotextuality. Moreover, regarding the degrees of intertextuality six main
features were distinguished: reflexivity, alteration, explicitness, critically comprehension, scale of
adoption and structural unboundedness. Undoubtedly, the “key” of the text is its reader and
intertextuality works only if the reader recognizes and understands it, hence it might be
interesting to consider the socialization of knowledge also in terms of reader response theory.
On the architextual level, “A Series of Unfortunate Events” conforms to its genre and
traditional definition of gothic literature. As Mirtz points out, ‘contemporary Gothic stories for
children are more post-gothic […]: they are more parodic […], more intertextual’ (Mirtz,
2009:128) which can be applied to Snicket’s novels. On the paratextual level, Snicket parodies
Dante’s Beatrice, to whom he dedicates every novel in the series. By and large, humour created
by various intertextual references save the series from the gothic aura of darkness and provide for
its neo-gothic sensibility.
Every book in the series is intertextual, the names of the characters and places are literary
or historical allusions, many literary works are quoted, such as, T. S. Elliott’s “The Wasteland”,
Shakespeare’s “King Lear”, A. C. Swinbure’s “The Garden of Prosperine” etc., as well as
hypotextual, i.e., parodies Charles Dickens’s “Oliver Twist”, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The
Maypole of Merry Mount”, the Bible etc. The novels are so rich in allusions and references to
other works, writers, historical events and people that even Sunny’s baby talk contains disguised
references. However, some of those allusions are absurd and, as Handler explained, ‘he is […]
just giving a shout-out to the books he loves’ (quoted in Pugh, 2008:175).
The aim of the study is achieved, intertextual referents in “A Series of Unfortunate
Events” have been determined and the analysis of the same showed that not all the allusions aim
at children audience and it means that the novel gathers dual readership and provides for the dual
socialization of knowledge as well as poses the series as an example of crosswriting while
transgressing the boundaries of one genre. The hypothesis was verified.
The following figure offers quantitative representation of allusions determined in “A
Series of Unfortunate Events”.
50
12%
53%
5%
10%
5%
4%
3%
3% 5% Mythological/ Biblical
Literary
Other
Historical
Social
Scientific
Phylosophical
Musical
Film/Animation
Figure 7.1 Allusions in Lemony Snicket’s „A Series of Unfortunate Events”
It might be concluded that in terms of the socialization of knowledge, though the natural
curiosity and inquisitiveness of children may lead them on extra research as regards historical,
scientific, musical, etc allusions, children cannot be expected to be aware of many literary
allusions and apparently those aim at adult readership.
Intertextuality in literature, particularly children’s literature, serves to amuse and provide
richer reading experience to more knowledgeable audience, on one hand and, on the other hand,
to educate the less erudite readers. Children’s literature becomes more like adult literature and the
boundaries are frequently blurred.
51
THESES
1. The analysis of hypotextuality and architextuality in “A Series of Unfortunate Events” proves
that the novels conform to children’s mock-gothic fiction genre and traditional definition of
gothic literature as well as is indebted to oral tradition of fairy and folktales, whereas, the
formulaic format, wunderkind characters and repetitiveness of Snicket’s novels stem from the
children’s series tradition.
2. The analysis of paratextuality of “A Series of Unfortunate Events” shows that the relation
between the novels and their “paratext” is represented by the dedications to Beatrice (an
allusion to Dante’s Beatrice from “The Divine Comedy”) and numerous illustrations.
3. The novels in the series contain various literary, mythological, social, film/animation and
other references; moreover, following the series formula, the last illustration foreshadows the
next novel in the series.
4. All in all, every next book in the series is richer in allusions and references; the tenth book
contains allusions and references from the literary, cartoon, musical, scientific, social,
historical and even philosophical fields.
5. The last Snicket’s book of unfortunate events is intertextually the richest of the series’ novels.
It not only contains literary, biblical, mythological and historical allusions and references, but
also references to the previous books in the series and reflects on the series as a whole, thus
providing a sense of completeness.
6. Intertextuality in the series serves to amuse and provide richer reading experience to more
knowledgeable audience and to educate the less erudite readers.
7. Intertextuality contributes to dual readership of Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events”.
52
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APPENDIX 1
Brett Helquist’s illustration of Count Olaf in “The Bad Beginning”
56
APPENDIX 2
Brett Helquist’s illustration of Sunny trapped in the tower in “The Bad
Beginning”
57
APPENDIX 3
Brett Helquist’s last illustration in “The Bad Beginning”
58
APPENDIX 4
Ex-libris by Brett Helquist
“The Reptile Room” “The Wide Window” “The Miserable Mill” “The Austere Academy” “The Ersatz Elevator” “The Vile Village” “The Hostile Hospital “The Carnivorous
Carnival”
“The Slippery Slope” “The Grim Grotto” “The Penultimate Peril”
59
APPENDIX 5
Brett Helquist’s illustration of the ship “Prospero” in “The Reptile Room”
60
APPENDIX 6
Brett Helquist’s illustration of the evidence in “The Reptile Room”
61
APPENDIX 7
Brett Helquist’s last illustration in “The Reptile Room”
62
APPENDIX 8
Brett Helquist’s illustration of the Damockles Dock in “The Wide Window”
63
APPENDIX 9
Brett Helquist’s last illustration in “The Wide Window”
64
APPENDIX 10
Brett Helquist’s illustration of Dr. Orwell’s eye care practice in “The Wide
Window”
65
APPENDIX 11
Brett Helquist’s last illustration in “The Miserable Mill”
66
APPENDIX 12
Brett Helquist’s illustration of Prufrock Preparatory School in “The Austere
Academy”
67
APPENDIX 13
Brett Helquist’s last illustration in “The Austere Academy”
68
APPENDIX 14
Brett Helquist’s last illustration in “The Ersatz Elevator”
69
APPENDIX 15
Brett Helquist’s last illustration in “The Vile Village”
70
APPENDIX 16
Brett Helquist’s illustration of the Library of Records in “The Hostile
Hospital”
71
APPENDIX 17
Brett Helquist’s last illustration in “The Hostile Hospital”
72
APPENDIX 18
Brett Helquist’s self-portrait in “Carnivorous Carnival”
73
APPENDIX 19
Brett Helquist’s illustration of the broken crystal ball in “Carnivorous
Carnival”
74
APPENDIX 20
Brett Helquist’s last illustration in “The Carnivorous Carnival”
75
APPENDIX 21
Brett Helquist’s illustration in “The Slippery Slope”
76
APPENDIX 22
Brett Helquist’s illustration of the snow gnats in “The Slippery Slope”
77
APPENDIX 23
Brett Helquist’s last illustration in “The Slippery Slope”
78
APPENDIX 24
Brett Helquist’s self-portrait in “The Grim Grotto”
79
APPENDIX 25
Brett Helquist’s illustration for Chapter 5 in “The Grim Grotto”
80
APPENDIX 26
Brett Helquist’s last illustration in “The Grim Grotto”
81
APPENDIX 27
Brett Helquist’s illustration for Chapters 2 in “The Penultimate Peril”
82
APPENDIX 28
Brett Helquist’s illustration of the High Court trial in “The Penultimate Peril”
83
APPENDIX 29
Brett Helquist’s self-portrait in “The End”
