How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
They then went to their room and crowded together on the one bed, reading intently and happily. Figuratively, they escaped from Count Olaf and their miserable existence. They did not literally escape, because they were still in his house and vulnerable to Olaf's evil in loco parentis ways. But by immersing themselves in their favorite reading topics, they felt far away from their predicament, as if they had escaped. In the situation of the orphans, figuratively escaping was not enough, of course, but at the end of a tiring and hopeless day, it would have to do. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny read their books and, in the back of their minds, hoped that soon their figurative escape would eventually turn into a literal one. (5.48)
But it's not all sadness. Okay, it is—but there are moments of relief. Even though the kids are still under Count Olaf's care, they can escape in their minds and find some moments of happiness on their own. Thank goodness for books.
Quote #8
"I want the three of you to feel at home here, now that I am your father."
The children shuddered a little at that, remembering their own kind father and gazing sadly at the poor substitute now sitting across the table from them. (6.12-13)
Count Olaf as a father? We can't imagine anything more sorrow-inducing (or terrifying).
Quote #9
At this point in the story, I feel obliged to interrupt and give you one last warning. As I said at the very beginning, the book you are holding in your hands does not have a happy ending. It may appear now that Count Olaf will go to jail and that the three Baudelaire youngsters will live happily ever after with Justice Strauss, but it is not so. If you like, you may shut the book this instant and not read the unhappy ending that is to follow. You may spend the rest of your life believing that the Baudelaires triumphed over Count Olaf and lived the rest of their lives in the house and library of Justice Strauss, but that is not how the story goes. For as everyone was laughing at Sunny's cry for cake, the important-looking man with all the warts on his face was sneaking toward the controls for the lighting of the theater. (13.58)
We need one last warning. It seem that everything has worked out for the Baudelaires, but our narrator points out that it won't last long—and he is right. This book has itself a very dismal ending indeed.