Violet Baudelaire

Character Analysis

All About Violet

Violet is the oldest of the Baudelaire siblings at fourteen years old. She's also right-handed and loves inventing things—both of these traits wind up coming in handy—and she keeps her hair tied back so as not to distract her from her thoughts:

Anyone who knew Violet well could tell she was thinking hard, because her long hair was tied up in a ribbon to keep it out of her eyes. Violet had a real knack for inventing and building strange devices, so her brain was often filled with images of pulleys, levers, and gears, and she never wanted to be distracted by something as trivial as her hair. (1.3)

Like her siblings, Violet is intelligent, charming, resourceful, has "pleasant facial features" (1.1), and is extremely unlucky. After all, her parents are killed in a large fire that also destroys her home. After this tragedy, Violet takes the lead in the family. Though she often collaborates with Klaus, she feels the weight of being the oldest sibling:

She remembered something her parents had said to her when Klaus was born, and again when they brought Sunny home from the hospital. "You are the eldest Baudelaire child," they had said, kindly but firmly. "And as the eldest, it will always be your responsibility to look after your younger siblings. Promise us that you will always watch out for them and make sure they don't get into trouble." Violet remembered her promise. (10.6)

This is why she invents the grappling hook to free Sunny from the tower: She risks her own safety and well-being to help her siblings and honor the promise she made her parents. Count Olaf knows that by kidnapping Sunny he can get Violet to marry him, exploiting the love she has for her siblings and the responsibility she feels toward them. He really is the worst.

Sly As a Fox

Violet's also probably the cleverest of the three children. Klaus is far more open and brass with his actions, but Violet often works in secret or tries to manipulate a situation to her advantage. For example, instead of refusing to star in The Marvelous Marriage, she suggests to Count Olaf that's she not really that great of an actress:

"Count Olaf," Violet said, and then stopped herself. She wanted to argue her way out of playing his bride, but she didn't want to make him angry. "Father," she said, "I'm not sure I'm talented enough to perform professionally. I would hate to disgrace your good name and the name of Al Funcoot. Plus I'll be very busy in the next few weeks working on my inventions—and learning how to prepare roast beef," she added quickly, remembering how he had behaved about dinner. (6.29)

She wouldn't want to disappoint him, would she? Here, we see Violet deftly reading a situation and playing to Count Olaf's vanity, even if it doesn't quite work. She also waits until the exact right moment when Count Olaf has revealed his villainy, but released Sunny, to tell everyone about how she's schemed her way out of the marriage:

"I'm not your countess," Violet said testily, a word which here means "in an extremely annoyed tone." "At least, I don't think I am."

"And why is that?" Count Olaf said.

"I did not sign the document in my own hand, as the law states," Violet said.

"What do you mean? We all saw you!" Count Olaf's eyebrow was beginning to rise in anger.

"I'm afraid your husband is right, dear," Justice Strauss said sadly. "There's no use denying it. There are too many witnesses."

"Like most people," Violet said, "I am right-handed. But I signed the document with my left hand." (13.25-30)

Clever girl, right? We think so. Consider what might have happened if Violet's announcement had happened any sooner or later—it totally wouldn't have worked. She waits until the exact right moment and gets the result she needs. Nice job, Violet. Your siblings are lucky to have you.