@featheredthings asked about when I realized who Beatrice in ASOUE was, so I decide to make a post and share the tale with y’all. There will be spoilers for A Series of Unfortunate Events books, so, look away! (See what I did there?)
The story of how I realized Beatrice was the Baudelaire’s mom is actually hilarious. (*Lemony Snicket voice* hilarious here, my dear tumblr friends, is used to describe a circumstance that was painful and bitterly ironic and forever changed the way she looked at the world, and so, in fact, not hilarious at all.) I didn't realize it until 4 or five years after I’d finished reading the last book. Or I thought I’d finished reading the last book.
You know how chapter 13 of The End is made to look like the actually ending of the book? But it’s not and there’s really a 14th chapter which is the true ending? Yeah, I didn’t know about that. See, I was upset about Kit dying (SHE WAS MY FAVORITE CHARACTER--second to Klaus--AND STILL IS--still second to Klaus--WHYY) and the Baudelaire’s being stranded on an island with the orphaned baby girl (WHYYY). This was also one of the first books I’d read that had a not-happy ending. So when I reached what I thought was the end, I SLAMMED the book shut, SHOVED it back on the shelf, and NEVER wanted to look at it again. (I'd reread all the other books over and over, but not that one.)
Fastforward to when I'm 14. I'm explaining to some people who didn't read the books about the dedications/epitaphs to Beatrice. I grab the books and lug them downstairs so I can read the dedications to them. I also share Lemony Snicket’s bios with them, while I’m at it.
I flip to the back of book 13...and for the first time I notice there’s a lot of empty pages after the end. Huh, that weird. I turn a page or two, and see a type-writer typed note from Lemony Snicket to his editor. “The end of The End can be found at the end of The End.” Haha, classic Lemony.
I flick the rest of the pages under my finger, on my way to closing the book, and--HOLD UP, WAIT, ARE THERE MORE WORDS????
“If it is a girl we will name her Violet, if it is a boy we will name her Lemony.”
wHAT. Their mom and dad knew Lemony?? (and they apparently thought he was dead????)
“The day for departure arrived”
WHAT. THEY’RE LEAVING?? ALL THIS TIME, AND THEY WEREN’T STRANDED FOREVER???
AND THEN THE BOAT WAS NAMED AFTER THEIR MOM, AND THE BAUDELAIRE’S HAVE A TRADITION OF NAMING BABY’S AFTER PEOPLE THEY KNEW WHO DIED, AND KIT’S BABY LOOKS AT THE NAMEPLATE AND SAYS A WORD WHICH MIHGT HAVE BEEN HER READING THE BOAT’S NAME OR JUST SAYING HER OWN NAME.
WHICH MEANS BEATRICE WAS THEIR MOM.
fiVE YEARS AND I NEVER KNEW.
And that‘s the story of how I ended up collapsed on my living room floor in front of four people, dead and ready to implode.
