His Arizona Highness

[Ennui]

I was just in the middle of a line of thought when an entirely new one occurred to me, scattering theorems to the winds.

Both the Duchess of Winnipeg and King of Arizona have bizarre titles...and indeed, taking it further, very possibly fake ones. Jacques suggests in his letter to Jerome (LSUA) that R is only disguised as a Duchess. This is also hinted at in the LSUA introduction.

In short, all this incriminates the King of Arizona as another VFDer, like the Duchess of Winnipeg. And I think that he may have subtly tried to simultaneously test and help the Baudelaires in TEE.

The Very Fancy Doilies trap was, to me on first reading, diabolically unexpected; a bolt from the blue. I gaped in amazement when the cardboard box was ripped open. I was sure the Baudelaires were about to triumph. But no. They, and I, had walked into a villainous plot hook, line, and sinker.

But-had the Baudelaires only been more observant, using prized VFD note-taking skills-it could have been avoided. For in the tedious and annoying list of In things that the King of Arizona recommended to Esme-along with magenta wallpaper and vacuum cleaners-were very fancy doilies. Cunningly slipped in, and not capitalised, so I for one missed them completely.

Could the King of Arizona deliberately have added this to the list, knowing that Esme would faithfully blurt it all out, a victime de la mode as ever, when she returned to 667 Dark Avenue, and hoping that the Baudelaires would notice it and avoid the impending disaster?

What do you think?

[Dante]

How would the King of Arizona would have known about the Quagmires being hidden in the auction, or how Olaf was planning on tricking the Baudelaires?

[Ennui]

Alas...timing...the ruin of many a theory.

Your first question I'm going to have to put down, rather lamely, to VFD spying on Count Olaf and the troupe, and trying to make the Baudelaires the instrument of their liberation...the second question is harder. Maybe they worked it out?

[Dante]

said:

Monty and Josephine seem like able individuals so why couldn't they see through the disguises?

Maybe they'd grown old and complacent, whereas after the Baudelaires had gotten through three new guardians, V.F.D.'s agents got suspicious.

[Ennui]

Suspension of disbelief. In ASOUE, nobody ever sees through a disguise until it is unmasked. There is only one exception to this: Baudelaire seeing through Olaf. Note that they don't see through the disguises of the troupe, or of Esme.

Clearly the Baudelaires can't be fooled by him-and him alone-because of the aura of menace he induces in them-and them alone, cf Slippery Slope. In every other case disguises are foolproof.

Perhaps, as swans said, the King was a double agent, and Esme actually let him in on their scheme. This makes sense to me.

[PJ]

I think its a VERY LARGE coincidence and is not supposed to mean anything. Xept mebe Handler hinting at what is to come. I mean, there are way too many factors. Firstly, the kind would have to BE a VFDer and be in disguise. Secondly, he would have to know that the Baudelaires where staying with Esmé and that the Quagmires would be in the auction and that the very fancy doilies where to be a red herring. Then he would have to have known Esmé would mention it to them, and that they would be intelligent enough to remember it, and perhaps identify the doilies afterwards. THEN they would have to figure out that the Quagmires would be hidden in the huge herring statue, and THEN they would have to rescue them. Kinda iffy, if you ask me. Seems VFDers would try something more.... active if they wanted to help the Quags. No, it's just coincidence.

[Ennui]

It seems to me that VFDers don't like to be active if they can possibly help it. They work by cunning, by codes, by research, rarely by action. Using the Baudelaires as a tool to liberate the Quagmires would be a typical VFD plan, and also a kind of training.

As I've explained, the King's odd title, like the Duchess' with New World origins, means he probably is a VFDer. That's not a great stretch...almost every minor character we hear about seems to be, after all, from waiters to taxi drivers.

The rest the King could easily find out about by pretending to be on Esme's side, and perhaps (depending on where he stands) even colluding with her plot and helping it in some way.

He knows she will tell the Baudelaires about the very fancy doilies because of her fashion obsession. They will then know, if they notice it (which is part of the test) that VFD is a red herring...and perhaps will able to figure out that a red fish sculpture big enough to sleep inside is a perfect candidate.

[PJ]

Still, that is too far-fetched for me. Meh

[Tay Sachs]

Hmm! I never thought of this before.