|
|
Post by Bellatree on Oct 7, 2009 18:02:55 GMT -5
Kit. Invariably.
|
|
|
|
Post by beatrice123 on Oct 7, 2009 18:50:28 GMT -5
Extremly agreeable.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jessica Snicket on Oct 7, 2009 20:29:04 GMT -5
I gotta go with Kit on this one, I love her. Sorry Emma :S
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2009 19:10:19 GMT -5
Kit.
|
|
|
|
Post by thedoctororwell on Dec 1, 2009 17:56:37 GMT -5
:DA very difficult choice to make...  To me Esmé is a much more colourful and amusing character to read. She's ridiculous, hilariously exaggerated, but at the same time Handler has this way of implying something is really wrong about her, and that we don't want to know what's going on in her brain. Her breakdown in front of Dewey in TPP - fantastic. This woman never was a saint, in my opinion, but... Something broke her. Something very bad. Humour and creepiness - perfect match. But Kit is still one of these characters introduced at a time when Asoue begun to employ less stereotypical figures, with complex backstories and moral conflicts (à la Fernald). She has a dark past - she gave the poison darts to the Baudelaire parents to kill Olaf's family, she collaborated with Gregor - but at the same she never brings it up as an excuse ; when she sees something wrong, she denounces it for what it is, regardless of any other matter. That's what moral strenght is all about. Oh, and did we mention she's nine months pregnant and seriously depressed, what with her (two) brother(s) and her husband dead ? If she still manages to be awesome with all of that on her head, how much ass did she kick exactly back when things were still going smoothly ? Then there's another dimension : their relationship with Olaf Who was his meant-to-be, exactly ? At first Esmé appears to be Olaf's perfect counterpart, but they actually balance each other : she clearly has a whole different attitude towards money, for example. She's one of his links to the other members of the "bad" side of the schism ; she's her link with his true history, the one before the theater troupe. Olaf wants the money first, Esmé thinks finding the sugar bowl is a priority. Olaf has suffered major trauma, and now wants to watch the world burn, having seen its true face. Esmé seems rather to still care about the whole twisted ideals of her clan, and constantly links them to her own history ; she doesn't execute her vengeance the same way than Olaf does. They want the same things, but ultimately it was not enough, and they discover it with great disappointment. Kit is clearly Olaf's last remaining link to the bliss of ignorance that was his childhood - that is, innocence, before his parents' murder. Their relationship, when the Baudelaires found out about it, had evolved to a completely symbolic level. She's the only person left in the Snicketverse who has truly loved Olaf for who he was - as a real person, without any masks or self-deceptions. And she still does love him, no matter what Justice states. He's at his most human moment when he's reunited with her - "if I can still be the innocent boy I once was, how can I justify the person I became afterwards ?" Poignant. I refuse to choose. Both Kit and Esmé suceed as characters on whole different levels, and both are necessary to fully comprehend Olaf's character. |
|
|
|
Post by Dante on Dec 2, 2009 8:10:54 GMT -5
Brilliant character analysis, thedoctororwell! There's nothing I can add to that. You really understand what goes on inside their heads.
|
|
|
|
Post by Hermes on Dec 2, 2009 9:27:47 GMT -5
I agree - really excellent analysis.
|
|
|
|
Post by Tiago James Squalor on Dec 2, 2009 13:34:06 GMT -5
I think Esmé is more awesome - and btw great analysis, thedoctororwell - simply because she appears in the story many more times than Kit. She appears from TEE, to TPP, while Kit only shows up at the end of TGG, then the beginning of TPP, and then later in the middle of TE. I really liked Kit, but Esmé owns my heart! lol ^^
|
|
|
|
Post by thedoctororwell on Dec 2, 2009 15:51:54 GMT -5
I thought Esmé was actually under-used. It's as if Handler first conceived her as a simple female counterpart to Olaf, and then she kinda... Grew on him and took an importance he hadn't suspected. In a way Esmé is so linked with the series' mythology that she simply could NOT appear in The End. The last book had to give a simple, metaphoric message and Esmé would have added confusion and complicated everything. Nevertheless, I would have liked to see her reaction to Kitlaf. Did somebody say... CATFIGHT ?  Oh, this is an alternate-timeline fanfic that BEGS to be written. |
|
|
|
Post by Chipper Coathanger on Mar 14, 2010 19:28:12 GMT -5
This isn't exactly settling the argument but I think Esme has more flair and oomph and other flashy, exciting traits as a character.
|
|
|
|
Post by R. on Aug 31, 2020 2:39:00 GMT -5
I don’t mean to bump an ancient thread, but I definitely think that Esmé is a much better character. Kit always struck me as quite un unpleasant character, hypocritical and overly pessimistic. She’s just overrated! Esmé is in the story more, and has a much more intriguing story with more room for theories. She is a bad person, yes, but she isn’t manipulative in the same way Kit is. It is made quite clear through her interactions with Carmelita that she is indeed capable of love and kindness, but at the same time, she has a sort of ruthless determination which enables her to get where she wants in life. Kit seems to have almost given up on everything. Also, despite her flaws, Esmé comes off as something of a feminist, which is a plus.
|
|
|
|
Post by FileneNGottlin on Aug 31, 2020 9:39:53 GMT -5
It is made quite clear through her interactions with Carmelita that she is indeed capable of love and kindness Hmmm...I've always thought that Esme was more interested in the idea of having a daughter than an actual daughter--thus why she adopts Carmelita, her "ideal" child, while consistently trying to kill/maim/otherwise torture the Baudelaires. |
|
|
|
Post by counto on Sept 3, 2020 2:36:32 GMT -5
Kit 1, Esme 0
|
|
