Examining Grief Through “A Series of Unfortunate Events”
an elaborate metaphor for grief and mourning via Snicket
*read this essay in its entirety for free on my Substack
“A Series of Unfortunate Events” is just that, a snowball of events afflicting seemingly cursed children stemming from the death of their parents as recorded by Lemony Snicket — a fictional handyman of sorts on the run from the law among other objectives; most importantly, capturing the tales of the Baudelaire’s as a sort of reprobate narrator and unwilling participate in their misfortune — and pen name of Daniel Handler.
Despite all the fascinating and wonderful underhanded compliments you could deliver the Baudelaire children, this essay will instead focus on Snicket as the means of deliverance. Posing as an omniscient and all-seeing force, Snicket, forever portraying the unreliable narrator role, seems dutiful in his desire to relay the misfortune of three children; however, remains entirely powerless despite being the transcriber of dastardly deeds and maligned mitigator. Which, ultimately, begs the question, why didn’t Snicket step in at some point?
While at points it does seem that Snicket is relying on and collecting second hand information, his knowledge is too intimate, too exact to be that of a bystander and…
