Widdershins and Calibans

[U T O P I A]

References made in TE have hinted that Miranda Caliban and her daughter, Friday, may be related or somehow connected to the Widdershins family.

One is able to observe that both Captain Widdershins and Miranda Caliban used the same cover-up story to hide the death of their respective wife and husband to their children and step-children (Fernald & Fiona, and Friday).

"The original second in the crew of two was Fiona’s mother, but she died in a manatee accident quite a few years ago.”
“I’m not so sure it was an accident,” Fiona said.
[ . . . ]
"Captain Widdershins was wrong about a great many things. He was wrong about his personal philosophy, because there are plenty of times when one should hesitate. He was wrong about his wife’s death, because as Fiona suspected, Mrs. Widdershins did not die in a manatee accident."
- TGG (typed up by Dante in an earlier thread )


"Yes," Friday said. "My mother and father took an ocean cruise while she was pregnant, and ran into a terrible storm. My father was devoured by a manatee, and my mother was washed ashore [the Island] when she was pregnant with me."
[ . . . ]
"Mrs. Caliban?" said Kit, in the darkness. "Miranda Caliban is here?" [ . . . ]
"I know her husband," Kit said. "He and I stood together in a time of great struggle, and we're still very good friends."
[ . . . ] "I just had Turkish coffee with him". [ . . . ] "I shared Turkish coffee with an associate who was saying that he'd never had better Oysters Rockefella than during his time on the island." [ . . . ] "Thursday did say that the colony had suffered a schism, just as V.F.D. did."
- TE Pg. 167 & 174

Could Miranda Caliban be Fiona and Fernald's mother?

Is "Thursay" Captain Widdershins first name, or is Thursday Fiona's, Fernald's and Friday's biological father? (Note that all three names are alliterative.)
“My family is lost,” [Fiona] said. “Aye! My mother is dead. Aye! My father moved away. "

There are very many questions, so feel free to discuss...

[thedoctororwell]

Hum... Nice theories, but that seems unlikely to me. Snicket deliberately left things lost in the Great Unknown, and Fernald's parentage must be one of them. I thought at one time that he could be Jacques' illegitimate child, but... Whatever.

[Dante]

At first glance, the two do seem to slot rather well, and indeed this is what I thought when I first read the book; however, I think that there are quite a few problems with that idea, so the Calibans and the Widdershins might be best suited to being parallel cases, much like the many other stories in The End that merely share a single feature or event.

For example, why was Mrs. Caliban off on a cruise with her former husband who left her and her children (causing her to marry Widdershins) and given Friday's age can't actually be Friday's father? Mrs. Caliban's reason for telling Friday that Thursday was dead was because a schism had divided him and Miranda (p224), but that says nothing of her silence on her three other family members outside the island. I believe the correct form of address for a widow is usually her late husband's surname, so why is she taking her former husband's name to pose as a widow rather than her current husband's, and indeed, why is she known to Kit by her former husband's name rather than her current husband's? Why don't the Baudelaires recognise her from the photograph of the family on the Queequeg (while that photograph was taken more than ten years ago, they recognised Fernald and Widdershins himself)? Fiona's statements make it sound like Mrs. Widdershins is definitely dead and that the accident was in fact murder, whereas Lemony's later statement more implies she's alive and that the death was therefore fake, and Lemony's statement (as quoted above) implies that Captain Widdershins entirely believed that it was a manatee accident that killed his wife, but since he wasn't around at the time, Mrs. Caliban being off on a cruise with her former husband for some reason, then who told him, and what made Fiona suspicious (and why doesn't she mention losing another sibling, the one her mother was pregnant with)? When Kit mentions meeting an associate for Turkish coffee on page 167, she mentions it was "the day before I met you, Baudelaires," and if Thursday is Widdershins (which just isn't implied, and in any case, his surname should be Caliban, for the usual widow-naming convention I mentioned above, plus it'd make him Olivia's brother, which while the two knew each other as children isn't implied by Fiona's mention of Lulu), while this does fall in a gap of time where Widdershins wasn't around in TGG, it makes her callous for sipping Turkish coffee with him while the Baudelaires and his own stepdaughter had been abandoned (and captured) and for apparently ignoring any questions about Fiona, about the Baudelaires' abandonment, when she met them, and also makes it odd that she needs to go off and search the ocean to meet him again after less than twenty-four hours. Another reason Thursday can't be Widdershins is that Thursday was shipwrecked on the island at the same time as Miranda, but left (p224), but at the time, Widdershins had Fiona to care for as well on the Queequeg, wouldn't have been taking cruises, and was indeed implicitly aboard the Queequeg when he lists the former seconds of the crew of two from Mrs. Widdershins to Phil.

I think that even if Handler intended Mrs. Caliban to be Mrs. Widdershins, there are too many inconsistencies and mistakes for it to work practically. It'd work if Miranda abandoned Fernald and Fiona and Widdershins forever while pregnant with the child of Captain Widdershins, ran away with the former husband who left her, and then got shipwrecked. And that not only assumes some fairly inexplicable actions on the part of Mrs. Widdershins, but also makes the story far more convoluted than it needs to be and far more convoluted than it's implied to be. I think that the Caliban backstory is just another parallel to the story of the Baudelaires, just like the history of Ishmael and like the other islanders have histories that match up with Kit's or Olaf's.

[RockSunner]

Suppose "Captain Widdershins" is a disguise name for V.F.D. submarine captains, just as we have speculated that "Captain Sham" is a disguise name for V.F.D. ship captains. Then Thursday Caliban could be his real name.

Thursday and his wife could have gone on a cruise without the kids, if they had someone babysitting them. A shipwreck and a brief stint on the island led to their breakup. Thursday could have returned to his family with the tale of a manatee accident. "He was wrong about his wife's death" is ambiguous enough to cover this.

Miranda Caliban told her new daughter a similar story. She wanted Friday to live a simple, protected life, not even learning to read ("You're reading?"), so it is no wonder she wouldn't tell Friday about half-siblings in the outside world.

In TPP. Kit is confidently in touch with Widdershins. From her point of view, it's as if there was no disappearance at all. So I'm starting to think Kit, or another woman working with her, simply fetched Widdershins off for a new mission. Lemony disapproved of the way Widdershins abandoned the Queequeg, but he doesn't really say it was the result of enemy action. So Kit could have met with him and made mission plans over Turkish coffee.

There may be minor inconsistencies, but I think this is plausible.

[U T O P I A]

Brilliant ideas guys. I really like RockSunner's theory, however, Dante has once again amazed me with such an indepth and complex analysis (BTW, you must perfom excellently in book analysis work!).

I think that the "ocean cruise" as refered to by Frinday could be her parents (including Widdershins?) traveling on the Queequeg, as Miranda hid so much from her daughter (her living father, reading, etc.) that hidding the existance of the submarine seems logical.

Also, could Miranda have not kept her maiden name when married? Therefore, would it seem completely illogical if Miranda Caliban (sister of Olivia Caliban) married Thursday Widdershins? Furthermore, I agree with RockSunner that "Captain Widdershins" could be a code name, however, the only BIG problem is that Kit refers to "Thursay" and then to "Captain Widdershins" - this implies them being two seperate people (so much for my theory!).

It just appears to me that there must be a connection, even if it is exremely complex and unpredictable. For instance, the connection between the manatee accident and the fact that all the children involved have names beginning with "F" (Fernald, Fiona and Friday). Nothing is coincidence in the wonderful world of Lemony Snicket...

[SnicketFires]

Personally, I'm a fan of the Widdershins/Caliban theory. There are excellent points for it, and excellent points against it.

utopia said:

I think that the "ocean cruise" as refered to by Frinday could be her parents (including Widdershins?) traveling on the Queequeg, as Miranda hid so much from her daughter (her living father, reading, etc.) that hidding the existance of the submarine seems logical.

What kind of cruise are we talking about? Of course, when we hear "cruise" it's connotated with big cruise ships that are like parties in a boat. But cruise can mean any sail on a ship (definition 13) -

1. to sail about on a pleasure trip.
2. to sail about, as a warship patrolling a body of water.
3. to travel about without a particular purpose or destination.
[...]
13. a pleasure voyage on a ship, usually with stops at various ports.

Source.

But it's possible that the Calibans were on a smaller ship for pleasure, rather than an ocean liner. If it had been a big, pleasure ship, then where were all the other passengers? Such ships can hold a couple thousand people. There is no evidence that such a large group ever inhabited the island.
It would make more sense if it was an "ocean cruise" on a smaller ship, perhaps with just the Calibans and/or some friends that were shipwrecked.

(I fear I am making little sense.)

[ruthlesswriter]

This theory wouldn't work if Capt. Widdershins and Thursday Caliban are the same man. Here's my theory:Widdershins and Miranda Caliban R married with and go on a cruise together without Fernald and Fiona. On the ship Widdershins and Miranda divorce and she marries Thursday (u can do that on a ship). When she is pregnant with Friday and there's an accident and the three of them fall in the water. The Calibans wash up on the island, and Widdershins sees a manatee and thinks it ate them. Out of embarrassment he doesn't tell Fernald and Fiona about the divorce. Fiona is suspicious and thinks it was murder. Thursday and Miranda are seperated by the schism and Miranda tells Friday the manatee story.
Hope my theory works.

[Dante]

The problem is that Widdershins is Fernald and Fiona's stepfather; he married their mother second rather than first.

[tmimicus8]

i'm not sure this is flawless, but the only way it makes sense to me is that Thursday is not Captain Widdershins. I believe that Mrs. Caliban left Capt. W before the whole cruise thing and that he made up the manatee story to tell his step children. I think that Thursday is her third husband whom she goes on the cruise with making Friday the half sibling of Fernald and Fiona, or possibly she truly is Capt. W's daughter and could be the reason Thurdsday left them if Mrs. Caliban confessed it. i think that the F first names are too much of a coincedence not to mention that every(i believe) set of siblings are in 3s.

to support that Capt. W is not Thursday, Kit couldn't have met up with him for tea just before meeting the Baudelaire orphans. she would have had no need to waterski back out to him and she wouldn't have had time to all of a sudden be on dry land, in dry clothes, without Widdershins, making up a code that he could solve, sending a telegram, getting a taxi, and pick up the Baudelaires in the time it took for them to escape. nor do i think she would refer to him as Thursday when she knows the Baudelaires know him as Capt. W and has reffered to him by Capt. W before. on top of all of that, if she did infact meet up with him and he was in fact Capt. W she would have had to deep sea dive pregnant. this is incredibly unlikely and she wouldn't leave knowing Fiona and the Baudelaires were just yards away.

i think it is more likely that josephine survived and climed down the vfd in the grotto. she had to have known about the cave and the vfds leading to the grotto from the anwhistle lab. it would also make sense that snicket would describe her climb as "probably her last" since she would most likey have used it often while someone else, espeicially kit, most likey never used it. she also knew Capt. W and his submarine which probably saved her in the first place from the leeches. it is also likely that she would leave the kids behind seeing as she was willing to do so before, while other identified vfd members were a bit more helpful or at least concerned.

kind of off topic but it thought it was necessary to prove kit couldn't have been in the grotto. also, i'm not sure if it has been discussed anywhere else but there is an Olivia Caliban mentioned and I have read somewhere that this could be Madame Lulu whom is referenced early in the series and possibly in the Beatrice Letters as "O". in the Beatrice Letters Lemony says that he keeps forgetting to call "O" "L," which could mean he keeps forgetting to call Oliva Lulu. there is also a postcard from Kit to Oliva mentioned that washed up on the island which would add up since Mme. Lulu was also in vfd sortof maybe. this would mean that Olivia and Thursday are siblings and possibly Monday who is mentioned by Olaf.

i know this is a lot and i know i haven't explained why the Baudelaires didn't recognize Miranda as Fiona's mom in the photo, but she could have disguised herself. she had to have known that "everything washes up on those shores" someday even if she wasn't in vfd. not to mention she sided with Friday instantly on banishing Count Olaf even though she supposedly knew nothing of his cruelty not to mention the fact that no adult (i can think of) listens to any child and usually falls for Olaf's tricks right away. i think that part is definitely suspicious even when i first read it i thought it was odd. so perhaps she expected other vfd to show up, especially since castaways do tend to show up. she could somehow have been altering her appearance slightly. or she could simply be aged.


i'm sorry if this is too long to read, but i had to put write it all. final point (i promise) most of the 3 sibling sets have one sibling who is seperate or dead or somehow distant from the other two. in the case of the Denoument triplets: Dewy was unknown to be alive by most possibly by his own brothers and was thought of as only "legendary." In the case of the Quagmire triplets: Quigly was thougt to be dead by presumably everyone including his own siblings. In the case of the White-Faced Women: their other sibling was presumably lost in a fire that burnt their house according to them. this doesn't necessarily PROVE that Friday is the sister of Fiona and Fernald especially since there are plenty of sibling sets of 2 within the series, but there does seem to be a trend.

as complicated as it is, i think i'm gonna have to go with the idea that Friday is their sister. i'm not saying i'm dead on, but i can't believe that Snicket/Handler would set it up for you (if you pay any attention) to think Friday is related to Fiona and Fernald unless it was true, it's definitely not the only puzzle you have to piece together like that within the seiries, but it makes sense that it would be the most complicated/difficult since it's the last book.

sorry if there is anything spelled wrong, i don't feel like re-reading it.

[Hermes]

I totally agree with tmimicus that Thursday is not Captain Widdershins, for the reasons he gives.

I'm not really sure that Friday has to be related to Fiona and Fernald at all. However, if she is, there's another possibility. It's clear Friday can't be the full sister of Fiona and Fernald, since their parents split up shortly after Fiona was born. Most people seem to want her to be their half-sister on their mother's side. But could she not be their half-sister on their father's side? Perhaps Thursday is Mrs Widdershins' first husband and Fiona and Fernald's father; after his divorce from their mother he could have married Miranda. (It's a bit odd that both ex-partners have manatee stories told about them, but I think that has to be a coincidence anyway; I don't see how the two stories can be connected, no matter who the people involved are.)

[t]

If your theory is correct, their children's name starts with the letter F. Which is kind of weird, isn't?

[Dante]

Not that weird. We don't know the names of either of Fernald and Fiona's parents; they could both have had F. initials, it might be another family tradition. It's not so different from other families being named in alphabetical order.

[Seymour Glass]

I don't think the Widdershins and Calibans are connected. I just think the whole manatee thing is a coincidence.