THE REAL Charles Baudelaire

[songbird11989]

[glow=red,2,300]]i think that maybe the fact that there was a real charles baudelaire will help to figure out the story of the fictional ones....here is a website for his biography:

www.empirezine.com/spotlight/bau/bau-bio.htm what do u guys think?[/glow]

[Efogoto]

I think that Daniel Handler chose Victorian era writers of a Gothic sort of bent and used their names for characters in his books for no better reason than to lend atmosphere to those who recognize the allusions, and for the fun of having young readers recognize those names as their reading horizons broaden. I don't think that character particulars will be those of the specified authors.

[songbird11989]

[glow=red,2,300]maybe but i'm not sure. i read on some other site something about klaus and sunny ...i forget the site though i think that perhaps he uses allusions for a reason like the jerome and esme thing..."to esme with love and squalor' or w/e it was called. [/glow]

[Efogoto]

You have it exactly: "To Esmé With Love And Squalor" by J(erome) D(avid) Salinger. Yet another example of allusion, but the Esmé of that story is nothing like Esmé in TEE - so I wouldn't read the story to find out more about ASOUE, I'd read it because JD Salinger is a darn good writer and it's a good story.

[Pucca]

I dont think Charles Baudelaire is related to the story as in the real person, Lemony just chose a name like the pen name he uses instead of Daniel Handler. Also, on a website i came across there was a section about how Snicket chose the names and there was a bit on Sunny and Klaus being the names of two characters in a German Show. They got the names Isadora and Duncan from the fomous dancer Isadora Duncan. I think that Snicket just chose random names that he thought were suitable.

[Sometimes A]

This page quidditch.com/lemony%20snicket.htm has all the name things, like Klaus and Sunny.

[Jacques the Environmentalist]

Yes I think Lemony chose them randomly, just to give readers something to think about. I don't think they have much to contribute to the actual story, but there is no way of knowing for sure.

[Sometimes A]

Some names are named or based after murderers, or villains, or people critized for their writings.

That's it.

[Efogoto]

Right: atmosphere for those who recognize the references, but not necessarily illuminating information.

[songbird11989]

[glow=red,2,300]darn thats disappointing[/glow]

[negativenine]

There are however, some interesting, revelant things in that article. For exmaple, that his stepfather was Jacques Aspic... and he inheritted a fotune which he blew on useless crap and expensive drugs (heheh... forshadowing? Those mushrooms at the end of TSS always made me suspicious). But I think I've mentionned that before... in another thread. I think most of this has already been said.

[Efogoto]

I've thought that Jacques' name was a reference to Frère Jacques.

[negativenine]

Could be that, too. After all, there are some other "coincidental" name references, too (ie: Beatrice). I wonder how many of them DH actually plans and how many are actually just coincidences.

[Jacques the Environmentalist]

I think he plans most of them but I doubt Frere Jacques was taken into account.

[Efogoto]

MynamesJacques said:

I think he plans most of them but I doubt Frere Jacques was taken into account.

What made it come to mind was that the Baudelaires find out he's dead when someone's pulling a sheet over Jacques and they think he looks like he's only sleeping.

Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques
Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?

Are you sleeping, Are you sleeping,
Brother John? Brother John?