Violet and her "inventions."

[B.]

Violet Baudelaire is resourceful. She is a fast thinker, and very intelligent. But through the series she is not an inventor. I know this may sound mad, but hear me out.

in-vent: verb.
1) to create or design (something that has not existed before); be the originator of.
2)Make up (an idea, name, story etc).

Look at the first definition. Now Violet Baudelaire has made a grappling hook, a lock pick, welding torches, etc

These are all things that have been made and designed by other people before, maybe not in the same way that Violet made them, but they have been created by other people before.
Think about it, if you built a homemade light bulb would you say "I have invented a light bulb?" No. You would say "I have built a homemade light bulb."

But Violet is an inventor- in some cases. Like for example the noisy shoes she makes in TAA and the knot she invented herself. These are inventions because they were first created by her.

I know this is a tad confusing. Anyone else agree or just think I'm crazy?

[Dante]

We hear a lot about things she invented before the series began, things which are a bit more convincing as new inventions, but the kind of inventing she does during the series tends to be more a way of inventing a pre-existing tool out of an unorthodox collection of objects. I'm not sure what you'd call it if not inventing, though; they are usually new envisionings of old ideas, after all. Her grappling hook is not a conventional grappling hook, nor her wall-softening method traditional. With that said, I do think that, after the first few books, Violet's inventions are less convincing; the grappling hook is the best of her inventions, in the way she synthesises multiple common items into a recognisable alternative tool, and we don't really get much that resembles that ever again.

[B.]

I guess she invented better when she was happier, with her parents, safe and secure. But there is of course no doubt that she is very intelligent and resourceful, so I am defiantly not trying to criticize her. I personally think her finest hour, was not an invention that she made, but when she discovered Olivia's elaborate false fortune teller business.

[Dante]

Yes, I think that processing someone else's invention is just as valid an application of Violet's skills, and it's a shame we don't see more of that.

[B.]

The electric rolling pin for example, that she invented when she was five, I would consider that an invention.
The lock pick, I would not. I would consider it intelligence, resourcefulness and quick thinking.But I think Snicket/Handler/Snandler/Handlicket uses inventions for want of a better word. Buildings or creations don't suffice.
It may also interest you to know that Handler's sister, Rebecca, was very interesting in Inventions as a child.

[Christmas Chief]

Handler's noted before that, were he forced to choose, the characters Violet and Klaus would be influenced by the traits of himself and his sister.

[colette]

I don't think Violet is intelligent. I guess she is inventive but not intelligent. She has got very limited vocabulary

[Christmas Chief]

I think it would be hard to support either of the declarations that Violet is unintelligent or otherwise restricted by her lexicon. We see instances of her resourcefulness and intellect (the grappling hook, the fortune teller's tent, etc.) throughout the entire series, often resulting in the survival of her and her siblings. I suppose, compared to Klaus (who has the advantage of having read hundreds of books prior to ASOUE), any character might appear less than verbose - but if any character has a poor vocabulary at her disposal, it must be Sunny.

[Hermes]

I'm guessing Colette is thinking of TMM, where Violet does indeed have to go 'mmm' rather a lot when she comes across words she does not know in Dr Orwell's book. Now of course the book is written in a deliberately abstruse style; nevertheless, as a bright child and living with Klaus, I'd have expected her to pick up a bit more vocabulary than she has. (Also it puzzles me that no one seems to know the word 'schism'.)

[B.]

I agree with hermes. In TMM she doesn't know what a "tome" is.

Violet is intelligent, just in a different way from Klaus.

[Lady Whatever]

May I recommend that anyone who thinks verbosity is the only yardstick by which to measure intellect pick up a copy of Stephen Jay Gould's The Mismeasure of Man?

[andressa]

Remeber the left hand thing. For me, this prove her resourcfulness and intelligence. But it depends of every person's definitions of clever.

[csc]

I think Violet is more intelligent than many adults in the series and in real life, actually. And I agree with Nominatissima, I don't think that verbosity is the only way to measure one's intelligence, but if we are thinking that way, Violet is still more intelligent than Olaf, for example. She proves that in TMM, by the way.

[Dante]

Regardless of how we define intelligence, I think we must agree that all three Baudelaires, and indeed Count Olaf, are very good at what they do.

[B.]

Agreed.