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Introduction To the Story
A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Wide Window, is a very tragic and touching story. It’s about the adventures of three siblings, Violet Klaus and Sunny, and their constant efforts to escape their ex-guardian and nemesis, Count Olaf. The 3 are under the care of Mr. Poe, whose job is to find suitable relative’s homes, so that the children can grow up in happiness and safety. However, Count Olaf is always there to try and find a way to kidnap them to his own home. The reason he want to do this is because the kid’s parents left behind a massive fortune that Violet would gain when she was of age. This particular story is the 3rd in the series, and the kids are sent to live with their Aunt Josephine, who is actually their second cousin’s sister-in-law. It’s a story about courage, taking risks, 3 children’s never-ending search for happiness, and one man’s thirst for money.
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Summary of Events
The story continues off from the previous book, “The Reptile Room”. The 3 children are at the “Domacles Dock”, waiting for the family friend, Mr. Poe, to meet them. This time, they were to live with their Aunt Josephine, who is actually their second cousin’s sister-in-law. They were advised that she was afraid of a lot of things, and her husband had recently passed away in Lake Lachrymose, a gigantic lake near the town. They were also told that the town was emptied out, because it was the off-season and Hurricane Herman was supposed to be coming. When they got to Aunt Josephine’s house, they were incredibly surprised to see that it was almost hanging off a cliff, being held to the ground by stilts! The kid’s were shocked, and couldn’t believe that Aunt Josephine was afraid of everything. When they finally met her, they wished that they were having a nightmare. Josephine was afraid of almost everything she owned in her house. She wouldn’t turn the stove on, because she was afraid that it might explode, she wouldn’t even use the telephone because she thought that she might’ve been shocked by electricity!
The kids began to get used to life living with Aunt Josephine slowly. They got used to sleeping with cans at their windows, so they’d know when burglars broke in. They ate cold food every single day, and they didn’t drive to the supermarket; they walked. They all were thinking, however, that at least they weren’t living with that dreadful Count Olaf. Back when they lived with him, they were beaten, forced to cook his special pasta sauce, and Violet was extremely close to marrying him. They were grateful that at least Aunt Josephine tried to be kind to them.
Unfortunately, one day at the supermarket, their lives changed. As Violet walked down one of the isles, looking for food, she ran into a familiar person. Even though he had a long, thick eyebrow, and a wooden leg on his left knee and down, she recognized him. It was the Baudelaire’s greatest enemy, Count Olaf. He pretended to be very nice to the 3 kids, and even nicer to Aunt Josephine. He commented her on how “young” she seemed. He even got her to feel sorry for him because he’d lost his left leg to the leeches in Lake Lachrymose, the same lake where her own husband had died. He called himself Captain Sham, and he denied ever knowing about Count Olaf. As usual, nobody would believe the orphans when they claimed that Olaf was around.
Later on, the same night, they got a phone call from him. Violet answered, and hung up as soon as she knew it was him. He called again, and this time, Aunt Josephine confronted her fears, and picked it up. It was of course, Captain Sham. She seemed delighted to hear from him, and she told the kids to leave the room because she was planning a surprise with Sham for them. A few hours after they left, they heard a crash. The 3 children ran through the house looking to see what had happened, and cried for their Aunt Josephine. No one replied, and the kids thought that she might’ve been gone for good. They went into the library where all of the grammar books were located, and they saw that The Wide Window was shattered, and someone had thrown a stool through it. Violet found a note near the window, which was from Aunt Josephine.
Violet, Klaus, and Sunny—
By Time you read this note, my life will be at its end
My heart is as cold as ike, and I find life inbearable.
I know your children may not understand the sadlife of a
dowadger, or what would have leaded me to this
way. As my last testament, I leave you three in the care of Captain Sham,
a kind and honorable men. Please think of me kindly even though
I’d done this terrible thing.
---Your Aunt Josephine.
(Page 68, paragraph 2)
The letter was badly written, but it said that the kids would become Captain Sham’s children when she was dead. The kids instantly phoned Mr. Poe and told him what happened, and he would be there the next morning.
In the morning, when Mr. Poe arrived, the children told him all about the incident. Klaus showed him the letter and told Poe that the letter couldn’t have been written by Aunt Josephine, because she was a spelling/grammar addict, and she would never have made so many mistakes in the same letter. The kids figured that Sham must have forged her writing and killed her so that he would get the kids, and their fortune. Mr. Poe found a shopping list the Josephine had written, and compared the writing. “There are no buts about it, Look at the curvy V’s. Look at the squiggly C’s. Look at the oval dots over the I’s. I’m no graphologist, but I can tell that these were written by the same person.” (Snicket, page 88, paragraph 1). A graphologist is a person who analyzes writing samples, and can often tell if the same person wrote a letter or if it was forged. So since the letter was obviously written by Aunt Josephine, that made it a legal document, and the kids would be going to live with Captain Sham once the necessary papers were signed. All 3 of the kids, including Sunny, begged that Mr. Poe wouldn’t send them to Sham, because he was really Count Olaf. Mr. Poe wouldn’t listen as usual, and they would have to meet Sham at a restaurant.
When they got at the restaurant, Sham was there waiting for them. Poe and the Captain talked about the responsibilities, and Violet realized that she needed to buy some time to figure out exactly what to do. She felt her pocket, and instantly remembered that that was where the peppermints were, the ones Mr. Poe had given them. Since all of the Baudelaire children were allergic to peppermints, and they were in an incredibly desperate situation, Violet gave some peppermints to Sunny, Klaus, and saved some for herself. They all ate them, and quickly got hives, and bumps on their tongues. Mr. Poe noticed and asked what happened. The oldest Baudelaire’s plan was working, and they went home in a taxi, while Poe and Sham stayed in the restaurant, talking about the adoption. The kids got home and instantly got to work.
Klaus began reading the letter, trying to see what was wrong; Aunt Josephine wouldn’t have made so many mistakes, unless she was trying to tell him something. He went to the grammar-library, and started looking up parts, and checking over the mistakes that she made. Violet saw the look in his face, and she knew he’d found something. Klaus put together the first letter of all of the mistakes, and found that they spelled out “Curdled Cave”. The kids knew that Aunt Josephine knew the Lake very well, since she was young, and figured that the cave was in Lake Lachrymose. They also knew that the only place to find a non-grammar book was under the bed- it was a Baudelaire tradition to put things they didn’t want under the bed. There was an atlas underneath Josephine’s mattress, and the kids found a way to get to curdled cave in it. Now the only thing left to do was to find a way to get to there. They all realized that they’d have to try and sail a boat, and unfortunately for them, Hurricane Herman was underway. The house began shaking a lot, so the kids figured it would be best to get out of there; they escaped just in time. Now, the 3 children had to find a boat rental place that was open, easier said than done. They searched the whole harbour, and found only one rental place, which was closed: Captain Sham’s Boat Rentals. Violet knew that the only way that they’d get a boat was by stealing one, and to do that, they needed to get around a large pointed fence. When she looked inside the rental shack, she saw that there was a large person, and it had a ring of keys around its finger.
The 3 kids knew that they would have to break into the shack to get the keys, and they also knew that the large person wasn’t just anyone, it was one of Count Olaf’s partners in crime, and the one who people couldn’t tell was a woman or a man. Before Violet could break into the room, however, Sunny was already crawling around it, and she had the ring of keys in her mouth. Just as she got out, the large person started running after them. Of course, the children were much faster than it, but the person took such large steps that it easily caught up to the kids. It also was able to grab all of the kids, and hold them in its hands. As it was dangling Klaus over its mouth, it slipped on a book that was dropped on the ground, it was the atlas. The 3 siblings dashed towards the gate, and quickly unlocked it. Before the large person was on its feet, they were already in a sailboat.
They sailed across the lake, searching for land. Klaus read the map and told them where to go, Violet operated the sails, and Sunny steered. Just as it began to get to dark to read, they saw a lighthouse with a purple light. Klaus told them that up ahead was where Curdled Cave was. When they got there, they found Aunt Josephine. The Baudelaires were so happy, and for a while rejoiced, until Josephine asked where all of their belongings were. They didn’t understand, but she explained that they were going to live there until Count Olaf died, or was too old to hunt them down. The kids had no intention of living in a cave for the next long while, so they scared Aunt Josephine out of staying in the cave. They said that soon, realtors would be coming so visit the cave, since the island was for sale. She agreed to come with them. When the kids got back in the stolen sailboat, they quickly set-sail; Hurricane Herman had ceased. About half-an-hour after they left the island, Aunt Josephine began to get worried, she said that they had entered the area where the Lachrymose Leeches resided. Quickly, the boat began to start vibrating, and things began to ram into it from underwater. Cracks were beginning to form in the bottom of the boat. They saw a boat coming towards them, in the distance, and they began to think they would be saved, until the kids and their aunt saw who was steering it. It was Captain Sham. They had no choice but to leave their own boat, otherwise they’d all be eaten by leeches. Captain Sham explained that he would kill Aunt Josephine, and the kids would become his, as well as the fortune Violet would inherit. Quickly after doing this, he pushed Aunt Josephine overboard, and she was consumed by the lachrymose leeches.
When the kids got back with Sham, Mr. Poe was waiting. He couldn’t stop telling them about how nice Captain Sham was to go out in the middle of a hurricane, just to try and save their lives. As the 2 adults and the 2 oldest Baudelaires began talking about what would happen next, Sunny spotted something that no one else had before. Captain Sham had a hinge on his knee, right about where the wood began. Sunny wasn’t very surprised, and she went and bit it off with her strong teeth. The wood shattered, and his real leg was exposed. Everyone had seen his fake leg break off, and everyone had also seen something very important. There was an eye tattoo on his ankle, just like Count Olaf, and now Mr. Poe had to believe it. Olaf had no idea but to run away, because everyone had seen his tattoo, and realized his true identity. Now, it was over, for now. The Baudelaires would be sent of to another one of their relative’s homes, but at least they weren’t with Count Olaf.
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Setting of the Story
The whole story is all based in the same town, right next to Lake Lachrymose. First, the children are moved to Aunt Josephine’s large house. It’s situated on a large cliff, hanging over the lake itself. The only things keeping it to the ground and from falling to the depths are a few metal stilts connected to the cliff. The house has many windows, and was very close to falling off. It looked like the picture below. After a week of staying there, Hurricane Herman tore through the area and the house collapsed, and fell into the depths of Lake Lachrymose.
The story also took place throughout the town. In the mall, and at Captain Sham’s boat rental place. The town itself was very small, and hardly anybody lived their. People described it as a tourist town, but since it was the off-season, nobody went there.
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The Main Characters
Violet Baudelaire
Violet Baudelaire is the oldest of the 3 children, and she loves build things. She can almost always create almost anything out of any object. She is very creative, and can quickly make up ideas that will help the children get out of sticky situations. She is very resourceful and extremely intelligent compared to most 14 year-olds today. If there was one word that I could use to describe her, I would use “creative”, because she looks at things differently compared to everyone else, and it helps her create smart and efficient inventions. I also think that she’s very strong since she copes with so many deaths of her family members so quickly, like her parents, Uncle, and Aunt, for example.
Klaus Baudelaire
Klaus is the second oldest Baudelaire, is the quiet but incredibly clever one. He loves to read and constantly had a stack of 2 or 3 books from the library. Klaus wears glasses, and often is very observant. Klaus is also very strong mentally, since he also copes very well with the loss of 4 relatives in less than 3 years, and at such a young age. The word I’d use to describe Klaus is intelligent, because of all the books that he reads, and the knowledge that he gains.
Sunny Baudelaire
Sunny is the youngest of the Baudelaire children, she’s only a young baby. She has extremely sharp teeth, and she can bite through almost anything. One word I would use to describe her is “courageous”, because she is never afraid to do anything, and because of that the children were able to find Aunt Josephine in the cave. Sunny speaks her own baby language, but her two other siblings understand everything.
Count Olaf / Captain Sham
Count Olaf is the infamous enemy of the Baudelaire children. When they were younger, he set their house afire and killed both of their parents, making them orphans. Ever since then, they have been juggled from relative to relative, and each time, he’s murdered the new guardian. He hopes to kid nap all of them, or atleast Violet, since she’ll be inheriting the fortune when she becomes of age. The word I would use to describe Count Olaf is “determined” I’d use this because he’s been trying for so long to get the children in his possession, even though he always fails in the end. He also used many different disguises to evade the authorities when they search for him; Captain Sham was just another one of his ideas. A few of his most noticeable features are: the long eyebrow that he shaves, but quickly grows back, the eye-tattoo on his left ankle which he cannot hide, and his extremely shiny eyes.
Aunt Josephine
Aunt Josephine is the guardian of the Baudelaire children in this story. She is afraid of everything, from turning on the stove, to answering the telephone, to driving in a car. The strange thing, however, is that she lives in the most dangerous house in the whole town, hanging over the lake, being held to the ground only by a few stilts. She has lived near the lake since she was a young child, and knows it very well, as well as the caves. In the end, she dies by being thrown into the lake, by Count Olaf, and being consumed by the leeches.
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About The Author
Lemony Snicket is the Author of The Wide Window, and many other novels in the series. He remains to be very anonymous, and there are few pictures of him, most of which are from the back. It’s written in books that he studies the Baudelaire’s and their mishaps, and he has a unique style of writing. He likes to use reverse-psychology to get people to read his stories. It may seem sometimes like he’s actually trying to discourage people from reading his books. Also, he likes to use fancy words, and later explain them. There isn’t much about him on any websites, or in the book itself, because he probably doesn’t like the publicity.
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My Personal Review / Rating
I think that this book was very interesting, and it had both good and bad parts. I liked the story itself, because it was a bit new to me. I also enjoyed that it wasn’t predictable, like a fairy tale. This made it more enjoyable because I didn’t know what was coming , and I wanted to read more. It was more interesting. The only annoying part to me was when Snicket constantly cut in the middle of the story, explaining words. He often used a whole paragraph to explain a word a phrase, and I think that it took away from the story. Also, he didn’t describe the looks of the characters that well, so even though I could imagine what they think like, I couldn’t really visualize what they looked like. Overall, I think that the book could’ve been better without all of the comments, but the story was still pretty good. After reading this book, and comparing it to the second book in the series, I think that the author did a good job describing the setting, and the different emotions that the characters were experiencing.
My Rating of the Book
I think that if I had to give this book a rating, I would give it a 7 out of 10, 10 being the highest. I’d give it this rating because of a few good things, as well as the bad things that took away from the story. The good points were:
- Had Interesting Plot
- New Characters
- Story Wasn’t Predictable
- Creative Setting
Some of the bad points that made me lose a bit interest were:
- Spent Too Much time Explaining Words, took away from the story
- Didn’t Describe Physical characteristics of All Characters
- Ending was very sudden
All in all, for the above reasons, I would recommend this book.
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