Sunday, January 27, 2019
Baudelaire Reference
I've written many posts about The Series of Unfortunate Events, but that's because there are many literary references made in the books and episodes; I think I may have found another. When discussing Charles Baudelaire and his work in class, we noted his desire to shock the audience; he does so with strange imagery and surprising language, for example. In The Series of Unfortunate Events, the main characters' last name is Baudelaire, and their story is entirely meant to be appalling and strange to the reader. I also noticed that just as Charles Baudelaire was fascinated with dark themes and concepts, the whole story of the Baudelaire children is eerie and twisted; there's a combination of darkness and beauty that makes it hard to look away. This makes me think the children were named for Charles Baudelaire; it would make sense and would just be one of the many literary references made in the series!
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I read A Series of Unfortunate Events a long time ago (in Lower School), but all of Natalia's posts really bring the novels to the forefront of my memory. I remember enjoying the series for the intriguing plot and for the author's unique touch. But I also remember being disturbed by the very dark aspects of the books. They were creepy and (in my opinion) definitely more appropriate for an older audience. As a young Lower Schooler, I didn't pick up on a lot of the allusions the author makes, but I the ones Natalia comes up with now are really cool!
I read this NPR Article about "A Series of Unfortunate Events Literary Allusions," (Source: https://www.npr.org/2011/07/15/6253438/a-series-of-unfortunate-literary-allusions) and any fans of the series should check it out. Like Natalia astutely noted, the article points out that the Baudelaire orphans are likely named after Charles Baudelaire. Similarities between the children and Baudelaire himself include "financial and personal disasters," complicated family dynamics, and pretty tragic lives in general.
Another cool allusion is that the author dedicates his books to "Beatrice." Interestingly enough, Baudelaire wrote a poem called "La Beatrice" (which is kind of depressing if you look it up, just like A Series of Unfortunate Events). Also, apparently Beatrice is also a reference to Dante's Divine Comedy. Flashback! Remember her? Dante's divine love? (Recall that in real life, Dante love was never truly explored because Beatrice died before anything could happen).
There are actually a plethora of references to explore either on your own or with this article (or with Natalia's blog posts!). Have fun :)
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