Violet Baudelaire to the right
Violet Baudelaire, at 16 years old by the end of The End (she was 14 until The Grim Grotto), is the eldest of the three Baudelaire orphans. She loves inventing and is an expert at inventing new devices that are always helpful to the Baudelaires when they are in a dire situation. She usually ties her hair up with a red hair ribbon to keep it our of her eyes when thinking of an invention. This sets the gear inside her head working at full force.
Violet is fifteen years old, however, she was fourteen until The Grim Grotto.
She is played by Emily Browning.
Biography
Pre-series
Violet Baudelaire in the books.
When Violet was five years old, she won her first invention contest with an automatic rolling pin. She used a window shade and six pairs of roller skates, plus winning her a gold medal and a compliment from the judge, who bet that Violet could invent something with both her hands tied behind her back, even with substantial interference. Prior to the demise of her parents, she liked to visit the Verne Invention Museum and liked many of its exhibits there, including the one of the mechanical demonstrations that had inspired her to be an inventor when she was just two years old.
The Bad Beginning
We find Violet skipping rocks at Briny Beach, trying to invent a way to retrieve rocks after they have been skipped. Mr. Poe approaches the orphans, and sadly tells them that their parents have died in and enormous fire that destroyed their entire home including the library that was cherished by the children and their parents. This fire is believed to have been started by Count Olaf or another person on his side of the schism. Violet and her siblings are taken to Mr. Poe's house, before being taken to Count Olaf's house. Violet and the other orphans are forced to do housework for the greedy Count while he waits to take over the Baudelaire fortune that their parents left behind. After realizing that the Baudelaire fortune will not come into his filthy hand for another few years, Olaf hatches a plan that involves him legally marrying Violet and convincing the audience that it is just a play. Ensuring that Violet would agree to the arrangement, Sunny was hung in a birdcage from the tower. If Violet did anything to disrupt the play, Sunny would be dropped and surely not survive the fall. But Violet managed to make a grappling hook out of drapes and curtain rods. She managed to hook her invention to the tower room and climb up to Sunny. But unfortunately an associate of Count Olaf was waiting, and captured Violet and placed her in the tower room. By the time of the play, they could think of nothing to stop the evil Count. But in the nick of time, Violet signs the marriage contract with her left hand. With her being right-handed, the signature was not in her own hand and therefore null and void. Unfortunately, Count Olaf and his henchpeople escape in a black automobile before the authorities could catch him.
The Reptile Room
Violet and her siblings were then moved to the herpetologist Dr. Montgomery Montgomery's house, where a large amount of reptiles and snakes were kept. Since they were leaving for Peru in a few days, they must prepare for the trip. Violet enjoyed fixing the cages in which the snakes would be transported. But when Uncle Monty's new assistant Stephano arrives, the orphans see that it is Count Olaf in disguise. Uncle Monty though, does not believe them. The next day he is found dead. Two bite marks are found, and the venom of the Mambu du Mal are in his veins. Violet then goes through "Stephano"'s suitcase and finds evidence that he killed Dr. Montgomery. Count Olaf then fled.
The Austere Academy
Violet and her siblings meet Duncan and Isadora Quagmire at a boarding school they are sent to Prufrock Preparatory School. A close friendship between Violet and Duncan develops. In the tenth book, The Slippery Slope, she meets Quigley Quagmire, and they form a strong relationship. What will become of these relationships is still unknown, as Duncan and Quigley both disappeared into the "Great Unknown", which turned out to be the Battlestar Galactica universe. These relationships had since been lost, as the Quagmires died and subsequently destroyed by Cylons.
The Carnivorous Carnival
In the The Carnivorous Carnival they disguise themselves as "freaks" (Violet and Klaus as a two-headed person) and get jobs at Caligari Carnival. At the end of the book they pretend to decide to join Count Olaf, although since Olaf knows they are the Baudelaires, unhooks the caraven Violet and Klaus from the one with him and his other associates (and Sunny).
The Slippery Slope
In the next book she disguises herself as a Snow Scout and meets Quigley Quagmire, and learns about V.F.D.
The Grim Grotto
Now lost in the water, the Baudelaires board the Queequeg, captained by Captain Widdershins, in the next book.
The Penultimate Peril
They then go in a taxi Kit Snicket is driving and go to the Hotel Denouement, where the Baudelaires disguise themselves as concierges. At the end of the book they burn down the Hotel Denouement and escape with Olaf in a boat and wash up on an island in the final book.
The End
Violet and her siblings adopt Kit Snicket's child, Beatrice, after Count Olaf dies, but the fate of her and her siblings is ambiguous.
After the series
As mentioned in The Hostile Hospital and The End, despite all of Lemony's research and hard work, even he still does not know the current location as of the events in Chapter Fourteen, position and status of the Baudelaire children. While it is stated in a special version of "The Bad Beginning" that Violet returned to Briny Beach a third time, implying her survival, it has made moot as she and her siblings found themselves in the Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica universes.
Upon entering the Star Trek universe, Violet and her siblings are welcomed by Starfleet officers to commission their new starship. She gained her honor by inventing new devices that helped them. The Sovereign-class Federation starship, USS Violet Baudelaire (NCC-84860) is christened in her honor, which is the most advanced starship, along with the USS Enterprise-E, in the fleet. Built at the San Francisco Fleet Yards in orbit of Earth, it contains several inventions made by Violet herself. After the commissioning ceremony, Starfleet tried to use the Baudelaire fortune for permanent exhibition, but she and her siblings escaped. Outraged, Starfleet sent ships to capture the Baudelaires. The children were again taken by the Great Unknown into the Battlestar Galactica universe.
The Baudelaires found themselves alone in the hallways of the Cylon basestar. A Number Five welcomed them, and seeks out their fortune their parents left behind. They maimed her by destroying her left eye. Reacting with pain, she and Klaus kill the Five and escape the basestar together with Sunny, only to be taken again (with some Cylons) by the Great Unknown.
Returning to the Star Trek universe, they found themselves surrounded by Starfleet ships. The children were quickly beamed up to the brig onboard one of the Federation starships.
Inventions
While Klaus is the researcher, Sunny is the biter (and later chef), Violet is the inventor. The theme of children each having a particular skill that they are good at is also shown with other characters in the series. For example, with the Quagmire triplets, Isadora is a poet, Duncan is a journalist, and Quigley is a cartographer. The Baudelaires' volatile friend Fiona is a mycologist. Violet is depicted as being extremely skilled at inventing devices. She often invents devices to help herself and her siblings in dangerous situations, using only simple objects such as rubber bands and tin cans. Whenever Violet invents something, she ties her hair up with her ribbon to keep it out of her eyes.
Violet's inventions
These inventions are later exhibited on the Federation starship USS Violet Baudelaire in the Star Trek universe.
- In The Bad Beginning, Violet makes a grappling hook, from metal rods and torn clothing.
- In The Reptile Room, she makes a lockpick, from two prongs from an electrical socket, a thumbtack, and some soap.
- In The Wide Window, she makes a signaling device, from a piece of cloth, fishing pole, a metal bucket, and a burning hairnet.
- In The Austere Academy, she makes a staple-making device, using a small crab, a potato, metal rods, creamed spinach, and a fork. She also makes a few pairs of tap shoes by attaching pieces of metal to the soles of normal shoes.
- In The Ersatz Elevator, she makes rope out of extension cords, curtains, and neckties. She also makes welding torches, from heated fire tongs, and crowbars, from bent fire tongs.
- In The Vile Village, she makes a battering ram, using a wooden plank, water, and spongy bread. She also assists Hector in constructing a Self-Sustaining Hot Air Mobile Home using various mechanical devices.
- In The Hostile Hospital, she makes an intercom system, using an empty soup can with a hole. She also makes an escape device, from rubber bands.
- In The Carnivorous Carnival, she tries to make a cart as an escape vehicle, using vines, roller coaster parts and a piece of rubber.
- In The Slippery Slope, she makes a drag chute, using hammocks and a mixture of sticky condiments, and a brake, using a wooden table. She also makes climbing shoes using forks, fake fingernails, ukulele strings, and a candelabra.
- In The Penultimate Peril she makes a drag chute using dirty laundry sheets.
- In The End, Violet invents a water filter in order to make salt water drinkable. She also makes a sling for her and her siblings to use to carry baby Beatrice.
- In Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (video game), Violet invents various things, such as the Smasher, the Lobber, the Lockpick, the Sprayer, the Lever Yanker, the Reptile Retriever, the Brilliant Bopper (Klaus's weapon), the Fruit Flinger (her own weapon), the Baby Booster (which helps Sunny jump), the Steady Stilts (so that Violet can reach high places) and the Levitating Loafers (which can make Klaus fly).
- In The Dismal Dinner, Violet invents a very cold, very hard device made from a silver pie server and the ear of the snowman ice sculpture to lessen Sunny's pain from "teething" as soon as Sunny stopped looking out the window and sucked on it.
Disguises
A recurring theme in the series is the Baudelaire children's disguises. At the end of The Vile Village, they are falsely accused of murder. From this point on, they have no more guardians, and are on the run from the police. While running from the police, Violet assumes the following disguises:
- In The Hostile Hospital, Count Olaf disguises her as a patient so that he can conduct a fake operation and cut her head off.
- In The Carnivorous Carnival, Violet and her brother dress as a two-headed freak.
- In The Slippery Slope, Violet poses both as a Snow Scout and as a Volunteer.
- In The Penultimate Peril, Violet disguises herself as a hotel concierge.