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https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.81427/page/n217/mode/2up?q=kampala
The Hook-Handed Man[edit]
Fernald, commonly known as the Hook-Handed Man, is an assistant of Count Olaf who has hooks instead of hands. He is one of the few members of the troupe who is named. He wears fake hands on his hooks and/or other outfits that would hide his hooks when posing as different people.
First appearing in The Bad Beginning as part of his theatre troupe, he was sent to Justice Strauss' house to retrieve the Baudelaires where he even claimed to them that Count Olaf hasn't ripped them limb from limb yet because he doesn't have the Baudelaire fortune yet. The Hook-Handed Man was the one who catches Violet when she climbs up the side of Count Olaf's tower in an attempt to rescue Sunny and informs Count Olaf about it. When Count Olaf's true nature is exposed, the Hook-Handed Man is among the members of Count Olaf's theater troupe that escape in the blackout.
In The Reptile Room, the Hook-Handed Man poses as a doctor named Dr. O. Lucafont to examine the supposed bite marks that the Mamba Du Mal supposedly left on Montgomery Montgomery. When Stefano was exposed as Count Olaf, Sunny bites off the Dr. O. Lucafont's fake hands exposing him as well. Both men managed to get away.
In The Ersatz Elevator, the Hook-Handed Man poses as a doorman at 667 Dark Avenue. He wore a long coat that had long sleeves that hid his hooks.
He appears in The Hostile Hospital, posing as a doctor at Heimlich Hospital where he assisted Olaf's surgical attempt to murder Violet.
In The Carnivorous Carnival, the Hook-Handed Man helped to dig the pit for the lions that will be used for the lion-feeding event at the Caligari Carnival. While he has told the Man with Pimples On His Chin that he is not a freak, the Hook-Handed Man was advised to get some realistic hands. In addition, the Hook-Handed Man was equipped with a giant noodle to whip any disobeying freaks.
In The Slippery Slope, the Hook-Handed Man is taken to The Carmelita with the Snow Scouts.
In The Grim Grotto, Fiona meets him and it is revealed that they are siblings where Captain Widdershins is his stepfather. He joined Olaf and left Captain Widdershins after burning down Anwhistle Aquatics and killing Gregor Anwhistle. He also joined Count Olaf because Captain Widdershins always said "Aye!" which annoyed him. Fiona convinces him to steal Olaf's submarine which is successful as mentioned in The Penultimate Peril where Count Olaf claimed to the Baudelaires, Dewey Denouement, Justice Strauss, and Jerome Squalor that Fernald and Fiona double-crossed him. Their fate is unknown as Kit Snicket reports in The End that she abandoned them in the face of the "Great Unknown." It is also revealed that when he had to wait, he played a card game he made up named Fernald's Folly.
- In the film, the Hook-Handed Man is portrayed by Jamie Harris. He is British and, as revealed in the deleted scenes, is obsessed with pirates, which is something that annoys Count Olaf. The Hook-Handed Man seems to relish in his use of his hook hands. In the video game adaptation, the Hook-Handed Man is voiced by Jay Gordon.
- In the Netflix series, he is portrayed by Usman Ally. He has scars on his face, is bald, and his hook hands have claws. He has the most interaction with the Baudelaires and despite making constant threats, is relatively mild-mannered and not entirely unfriendly to them, to the point that he even concerns himself with their well-being. He understands Sunny's speech as clearly as her siblings, as opposed to almost every other adult in the series (including Count Olaf), and on occasion even responds directly to her. As a nod to the books, he likes to play cards and does so with Sunny while he is guarding her. He is also an accomplished pianist who frequently accompanies Count Olaf and the troupe in various musical numbers. This is a running gag in the show as his hooks would usually make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to play the piano. However, just like the Bald Man, the Hook-Handed Man too appears to be comically unintelligent. He is also abused the most out of the theatre troop, with Count Olaf insulting and physically harming him more than the other members. As the series progresses, he becomes much more friendlier to Sunny and by the third season begins seeing the error of his ways. In "The Grim Grotto" Pt. 1, the Hook-Handed Man posed as a distant cousin who is dead to the disguise of the Normal Happy Family when renting a submarine. In "The Grim Grotto Pt. 2", his explanation for burning down Anwhistle Aquatics is given more purpose, with Fernald stating that he did it to destroy all traces of the Medusoid Mycelium which VFD planned to use against their enemies. The destruction resulted in him losing his hands. Much like the novel, he escapes with Fiona and rescues the snow scouts. At the end of "The End", Lemony postulates that he and Fiona managed to find their stepfather Captain Widdershins who had been lost at sea.
Josephine Anwhistle[edit]
Josephine Anwhistle, also called Aunt Josephine, is Violet, Klaus and Sunny's second cousin's sister-in-law, and becomes their guardian in The Wide Window. She is portrayed as an overly cautious woman who is afraid of everything, including doorknobs, radiators and realtors. She developed these fears after losing her husband, Isaac "Ike" Anwhistle, to the carnivorous Lachrymose leeches when he swam in Lake Lachrymose less than an hour after eating something.
Josephine thinks that grammar is the greatest joy in life and has a personal library filled with books about grammar. Due to her irrational fears and obsession with grammar, the children struggle to fully acclimate with her. Count Olaf woos her disguised as a sea captain named Captain Sham. He later reveals himself to Josephine and forces her into writing a suicide note that leaves the children in his care. Josephine hides a message in her note in the form of grammatical mistakes. Klaus is able to decode the message which reveals Josephine is hiding in Curdled Cave. The children go the cave and convince Aunt Josephine to come back to talk to Mr. Poe. As they are leaving, however, they are caught by Hurricane Hermann and Lachrymose leeches and are ultimately rescued by Olaf. Olaf almost lets Josephine go but pushes her overboard after she corrects his grammar. It is implied that she was eaten by the leeches just like her husband.
In the movie, Aunt Josephine is portrayed by Meryl Streep. In the video game adaptation, she is voiced by Donna Bullock and in the TV series she is played by Alfre Woodard. In the movie and TV series, Aunt Josephine is shown to be more courageous before Ike's death.
At the end of the book, count Olaf forces her to write a note leaving the Baudelaire children in his care. Josephine leaves a secret code in the note in the form of grammatical errors. Klaus is able to decide the message and realise .
She keeps many books about Lake Lachrymose under her bed. These books include The Tides of Lake Lachrymose, The Bottom of Lake Lachrymose, Lachrymose Trout, The History of the Damocles Dock Region, Ivan Lachrymose - Lake Explorer, How Water Is Made and A Lachrymose Atlas. Ever since her husband Isaac (Ike for short) was devoured by Lachrymose Leeches due to not waiting an entire hour after eating something, she has developed numerous fears including irrational concerns about doorknobs, radiators, telephones, and ovens. In Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, several events Josephine was irrationally afraid of occur when her home falls into the lake including a fridge nearly falling on Klaus and a radiator exploding.
In the end, Josephine pleads with Count Olaf (in his disguise of Captain Sham) to let her live by offering the Baudelaire children and their fortune in exchange for her own safety, but he pushes her overboard from a small sailboat after she corrected the grammar of her own death sentence, literally. It is heavily implied that she meets the same fate as her husband. Josephine is surrounded by leeches and her tattered life jackets are found later by fishermen at the time the orphans were in Prufrock Preparatory School, two books later, but it is not conclusively established if she survived or not.
She and Esmé Squalor are the only female guardians the Baudelaires have in the series.
- In the film adaptation, Aunt Josephine is portrayed by Meryl Streep. Unlike the books, Josephine was more courageous before Ike's death. Also, Count Olaf didn't use his Captain Sham disguise when he did away with Josephine. In the video game adaptation, she is voiced by Donna Bullock.
- In the 2017 Netflix television series, Aunt Josephine is portrayed by Alfre Woodard. Just like the film, Josephine was more courageous before Ike's death. She had her first encounter with Count Olaf's Captain Sham alias where his theatre troupe posed as random civilians talking about him. In the Netflix adaptation, she is shown to regain her confidence and stands up for the Baudelaire children right before her death, contrary to the film and books. In "The Carnivorous Carnival", Josephine made an appearance in a flashback at a celebration at the V.F.D. headquarters on the day when Count Olaf failed to murder Beatrice. She was seen with Ike back when he was still alive where she talked about wanting to do thrill-seeking activities (such as building a house on the edge of a cliff) and made a brief silent reaction when Ike told her he wanted to have children. In the present, she appears on a film reel at the Caligari Carnival that talks about the V.F.D.