User:Frickative/Sandbox8
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| Count Olaf | |
|---|---|
The End | |
| Created by | Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) |
| Portrayed by | Jim Carrey |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | Count Omar Al Funcoot Stephano Captain Julio Sham Shirley T. Sinoit-Pécer Coach Genghis Gunther Detective Dupin Mattathias |
| Occupation | Actor |
Count Olaf is
Storylines
Early life
Count Olaf's criminal youth is referenced several times over the course of the series, most obviously in
In
It is hinted throughout the series that Olaf had something to do with the schism that separated V.F.D. This is hinted the most in the unauthorized biography in a letter Jacques Snicket wrote to Jerome. The letter explained that a member which he only referred to as O was acting in such a violent manner that his actions have caused the organization to split in two. As the members of the organization often use the first letter of their names to talk about one and another, it is generally assumed O stands for Olaf. Many members of V.F.D., such as Widdershins, often use Olaf's name immediately when talking about the treachery of the fire starting side of the schism. This hints that Olaf has done a great deal of harm to V.F.D. more than most of the other villains involved have, furthering the concept of him being one of the leaders of the schism.
Count Olaf was involved with the organization for many years and knows many, if not all, the secrets surrounding the organization that the Bauldelaire children seek to know. He is also responsible for numerous fires and deaths of V.F.D., as mentioned by Lemony Snicket himself, and plans on gaining control of all the fortunes of the members in thirst of revenge and greed. While never directly stated, it is hinted in the last two volumes that Olaf had a very troubling past and this may be the reason for his bitterness at the world. It is also heavily implied in the last book that Olaf had once loved Kit Snicket, Lemony Snicket's sister, and had told her he'd kiss her one last time before his and her death.
Guardian of the Baudelaires
In the beginning of the series, the
Olaf was an actor and had an entire group of similarly evil associates who he refers to as his "theatre troupe". He wrote his own plays, under the pseudonym "Al Funcoot" (an anagram of "Count Olaf").
During the time the Baudelaires lived with him, the children immediately saw Olaf as a short tempered and violent man. Olaf provided them with one filthy room and forced them to do difficult chores (such as making them chop wood solely for his own entertainment) as he schemed to seize control over their fortune. Olaf once hit
Later, Olaf had the children participate in a play in which
The plan to marry Violet Baudelaire to gain the inheritance went awry. Violet managed to thwart Olaf's plan by signing the marriage with her left hand instead of her right, which as she was right-handed, was the required one to make it legally binding. Olaf was exposed as a criminal and fled, but not before promising to Violet that he would get his hands on her fortune no matter what and then murder her and her siblings with his bare hands. The children were sent to different relatives, with Olaf following in pursuit.
Plots
Olaf's plans became more dangerous and murderous in nature as the books progressed. Many of them included the murder of the children's guardians, such as Uncle Monty and Aunt Josephine. His plans were often complicated and many of the earlier ones involved him attempting to get the orphans legally into his care. In later books, he simply wanted to abduct one child, murder the other two, and use the kidnapped one to blackmail Mr. Poe into giving over the fortune. Regardless of his tactics, Olaf's plans were always aimed at the goal of abducting the children through elaborate methods.
In each of books two through eight, Olaf wears a new disguise that usually fools everyone but the Baudelaires. The following is a list his primary disguises with
- Stephano (/stĕʹfə‒nō/, IPA: [ˈstɛfənəu]), an assistant herpetologist with a long beard and no eyebrows
- Captain Julio Sham, a sailor with an eye-patch and a wooden leg (the real Julio Sham is captain of the Prospero).
- Shirley T. Sinoit-Pécer, an optometrist's receptionist - Sinoit-Pécer is receptionist backwards.
- Coach Genghis, a gym teacher with a turban, covering his one eyebrow, and expensive looking running shoes, covering his tattoo of an eye on his ankle.
- Gunther (go͞onʹter, /ˈguːntɚ/), a pinstripe suit-wearing auctioneer. He pretends to come from another country so people believe that he doesn't speak fluent English. Olaf constantly says "please" after and in the middle of every sentence. This is also done by Madame Lulu in "The Carnivorous Carnival". He wears horse riding boots to cover up his tattoo, and a monocle to distort his eyebrow.
- Detective Dupin, a 'famous' detective obsessed with what's cool, including ridiculous sunglasses which cover up his one eyebrow.
- Mattathias (Human Resourcesdirector. His presence is only known from a voice over the intercom. This is the last of his disguises.
By the end of the seventh book, it is no longer necessary for Olaf to use any disguises as he murders a man, Jacques Snicket, who was believed to be Count Olaf/Omar at the time. The
While in the earlier books Olaf only showed that he wanted the children's fortune, it is revealed in the fifth book that he also has designs on the Quagmire sapphires. As the books progress, Olaf's plans extend further as he seeks the
In
Death
In
Olaf's personality is significantly different in this one as he is seen as more timid and depressed. This is probably due to the fact that none of his past methods and tactics work on the islanders and that there is truly no place for him on the island. Olaf is also shown to sympathize with the children, telling them that life is unfair and a miserable place. He seems to have gained a reluctant respect for them, calling them his new henchmen and even attempting to convince them to escape with him.
Later, the island's leader, Ishmael, fires a harpoon at Olaf (as Olaf planned) only for it to hit the encased Mycelium against his stomach and causing it to burst so that its deadly spores are released into the air, contaminating all of the islanders as well as Olaf himself. Olaf started laughing, stating that Ishmael has murdered everyone on the island as he has just released a deadly fungus into the air.
Olaf realizes that he has nothing left to live for, having lost all his henchmen, his parents, his girlfriend, his true love, all his plans ruined, and no chance of obtaining the Baudelaire fortune or any other one for that matter. Too depressed to go on living, Olaf at first refuses to take a specially produced apple (which is mixed with horseradish, the cure for the Mycelium), saying that he has lost everything important to him. However, upon finding out that Kit Snicket is going into labor, he eats the healing apple and carries her to where she can better-perform childbirth, thus performing what Violet calls the one good deed in his life (during which he surprisingly kisses Kit on the lips, hinting at a past relationship between the two).
Despite being cured of the lethal Mycelium fungus, Olaf is revealed to have been more severely injured by the harpoon than originally assumed. Count Olaf states that he has not apologized for anything that he has done in the past, but looks at his old girlfriend and then the children in sadness and pain. Lying down on the beach without medical assistance from the Baudelaires who are helping Kit to give birth, Count Olaf's last words quote Philip Larkin's short poem "This Be The Verse" -"Man hands on misery to man./It deepens like a coastal shelf./Get out as early as you can,/and don't have any kids yourself." After quoting the poet, Count Olaf laughs one last painful laugh and finally dies. Along with Kit, he is buried on the island and his grave is occasionally visited by the Baudelaires, who never truly found out just what made Olaf into the man they came to despise and fear.
In an interview with author Daniel Handler,[2] the interviewer asked about how in the last couple of books the line between the good people and more treacherous ones seemed to have become a bit blurred. Handler responded with "It's sad isn't it? I think the Baudelaires are getting older, and one of the sad facts about getting older is that you've always thought of yourself and people you know as righteous and true and the people you dislike as evil. The older you get the more muddy that water becomes."
The film
Count Olaf was portrayed by actor Jim Carrey in the film adaptation of the books, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. Handler states in the DVD commentary that Jim Carrey's physical appearance of Olaf was spot-on.
Similar to the darker material from the novels, Count Olaf's character was toned down for the film. Rather than being a sinister and amoral sociopath with a penchant for black humor (as in the books), Count Olaf appears as a melodramatic, arrogant fool.
A big change in the film was the strong suggestion of Olaf's responsibility for the Baudelaire fire. Whereas Olaf's role in the Baudelaires' parents' deaths is uncertain at best in the books, the implications of his involvement are far stronger in the movie. At the climax of the film, a giant spyglass possessed by Count Olaf is pointed at the smoking ruins of the Baudelaire mansion, presumably through which it was set alight.
References
- ^ p. 32, The Carnivorous Carnival
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_5020000/newsid_5029000/5029046.stm News.bbc.co.uk Retrieved on 04-20-07
External links
- CountOlaf.com, a promotional site for the film.
| A Series of Unfortunate Events |
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| All the Wrong Questions | |||||||||
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| Related | |||||||||
Category:A Series of Unfortunate Events characters
Category:Film characters
Category:Supervillains first appearing in novels
Category:Fictional actors
Category:Fictional composers
Category:Fictional counts and countesses
Category:Fictional arsonists
Category:Fictional orphans
Category:Fictional swordsmen
Category:Fictional mass murderers
Category:Fictional con artists
Category:Fictional escapees
Category:Fictional criminals