The Baudelaire orphans now find themselves exploited by an unscrupulous
relative who runs a wood mill. The workers are paid in vouchers
for discounts for mostly useless items, and since they are not
given any cash, they cannot use those vouchers anyway. For lunch,
they are given pieces of gum, and they have to survive on the
stews they are given for dinner. The children and the other workers
are exhausted by the relentless schedule of backbreaking work.
Worst of all, there are clear signs that the evil Count Olaf is
plotting to get their fortune, but there is no sign of their scheming
relative … until he crops up in an improbable disguise.

Although the plot involving hypnotism and industrial accidents
is interesting enough, it is the moral lessons about character
that are most interesting to me. There is the well-meaning Charles,
who is a joint owner of the Mill with "Sir" their relative
with an unpronounceable name. Charles could, if he chose, stand
up to Sir and insist that the workers be treated fairly, and he
could do far more to help the orphans. But Charles is scared of
Sir, and lacks the necessary courage. Then there is Phil, one
of their fellow workers who is an inveterate optimist, who insists
on seeing the bright side of everything, even though this requires
being utterly unrealistic about his circumstances, the dangers
facing the children, and it turns out, the dangers facing him.
Both Charles and Phil, despite their good qualities, are useless
fools.

It is Violet who has to show the most courage in this story, because
Klaus gets hypnotized and becomes the hapless tool of evildoers.
Things are even worse for the orphans in this book than they were
in the previous ones, because they are not able to work together
to solve their problems. The heavy responsibility of saving the
day falls on poor Violet.

Lemony Snicket again reads the unabridged audiobook,
and I’m glad to report that he does a better job than he did in
The Wide Window, now articulating a greater range of voices,
with more character. This unhappy story will certainly satisfy
those who have enjoyed earlier books in the series. The format
of the series is, perhaps, a little narrow, since it is always
Count Olaf who is after the orphan’s fortune. But new themes
are introduced through the series; in this book, we see the exploitation
of children in factories, which adds a Dickensian flavor of moral
outrage to the story. The narrator, Lemony Snicket, is gradually
revealing more information about himself, and his work of documenting
the story of the Baudelaire children, which leads him to his own
adventures. One of the features of the series is the unfolding
of these writerly devices, and this makes up for the fact that
there is rather little character development of the children themselves.

Links:

• Real Audio excerpt from The Miserable Mill.
  
• Review of The Wide Window
  
• Review of The Reptile Room.
  
• Review of The Bad Beginning.
  
• Lemony Snicket web site.
  

© 2002 Christian Perring. First Serial Rights.

Christian Perring,
Ph.D., is Chair of the Philosophy Department at Dowling College,
Long Island. He is editor of Metapsychology Online Review.
His main research is on philosophical issues in psychiatry.
He is especially interested in exploring how philosophers can
play a greater role in public life, and he is keen to help foster
communication between philosophers, mental health professionals,
and the general public.

Categories: Fiction