Post by Optimism is my Phil-osophy on Aug 24, 2023 17:13:11 GMT -5
Beatrice Jr. attempted to locate Lemony Snicket while he was writing "The Wide Window".
This theory seems simple, but gains plausibility if one accepts that the ASOUE books were written over many years. It's easy to believe that Beatrice Jr. was familiar with Lemony Snicket’s work. In BB to LS #2, she says she's heard of his research. She later states that the Baudelaires' accounts differ from Lemony’s own reports in some details. Dante even argues that Beatrice Jr. represents fans of Lemony Snicket, passionately seeking answers from their favorite author; an interpretation closely aligning with her portrayed character.However, in BB to LS #2, Beatrice Jr. reveals she didn't recognize a paperweight shaped like a leech. How could a fan not recognize this, given that TWW contains detailed descriptions and illustrations of leeches? The most likely explanation is that the book hadn't been published yet.
Further supporting this is the fact that Lemony still lived in an apartment in the City when these books were written, and he wasn't yet being pursued by authorities.
Interestingly, both Lemony and Beatrice Jr. believed that Beatrice Sr. was alive and in hiding. Imagine Lemony's confusion upon receiving those letters! Beatrice subtly hints at this belief in BB to LS #1, indicating she knows of at least one other person with her initials, likely referring to her belief that the Baudelaires' mother was alive.
For a long time, I struggled to understand BB to LS #1. I wondered, "How could she know so much, when she only joined VFD after sending BB to LS #3?" It struck me that BB to LS #1 might have been written after she joined VFD, and the letters are out of order. However, Dante pointed out that in BB to LS #1, Beatrice Jr. implies she's never been to Lemony’s office before, but she had been there in BB to LS #2. I tried to justify this, but wasn't fully satisfied.
With the clarity of the previous theory in mind, a coherent solution appeared.
To recap: When Beatrice Jr. wrote BB to LS #1, she was far away from Lemony and wasn’t in VFD yet. She knew about the challenges of training bats and assumed Lemony would understand the reference. She received information on Lemony, including his location and office details. She also believed that Beatrice Sr. was alive.The right questions are: Where was Beatrice Jr. during this time, and who could have informed her about Lemony and Beatrice Sr.?
Given the evidence, the simplest and most logical answer is that Beatrice Jr. was in Winnipeg. She likely received information about Lemony from the Duchess of Winnipeg, who unfortunately had been coerced into a scheme to capture Lemony.
In a way, Beatrice Jr. was an unwitting agent to expose Lemony to his enemies. The Duchess must have used her network to ensure Beatrice Jr.'s letter reached Lemony, and likely provided the information about bat training, or perhaps the information about bat training was provided by an imposter posing as Beatrice Sr. After all, Beatrice Jr. had never seen Beatrice Sr.'s face to refute any claims about her identity.
Even though the letters landed in Lemony's hands out of order, there is chronological consistency in BB to LS#1 actually being the first letter. But evidently the rest of TBL needs to be understood by the obvious truth that someone who grew up with Lemony passed information to Beatrice Jr. After all, she even knew who Lemony's teacher was many years before. She was told details of Lemony's relationship with Beatrice that only an eyewitness could have passed on to her. And even that gives relevance to the character of R, who interfered in Lemony's story not only during her childhood and early adulthood, but also years later she continued to interfere.