Hi again! Your theory about Widdershins and Theodora makes a lot of sense. It got me thinking about the age of another character: On TGG, Esme says that she was a close friend of Fiona's mother and that they went to school together. It can be a lie, of course, but I don't see any reason for it (besides, we know that Widdershins family was divided by the schism, and the death of Widdershins' wife is never clearly explained so we don't know if she joined the fire-started side of the schism). (1/2)
Iâve copied the second part of your question below:
(2/2) That would mean that Esme is older than Widdershinsâ generation (that would explain a lot, including why Beatrice only met her later and not during her apprendiceship), but Iâve often seen Esme described as being younger than Olaf (although I canât recall anything about that in the books). Is there any indication of her age that Iâm missing? (Seems like my questions always end up relating with charactersâ ages, for some reason..) Again thank you for running this wonderful blog!
I always appreciate your analyses, volunteer! Thanks!
And good catch on that reference! Iâve copied the quote youâre referencing below:
âI think the ruby ring is very in,â EsmĂ© purred. âIt would look wonderful with my flame-imitating dress.ââThat was my motherâs,â Fiona said quietly.âShe would have wanted me to have it,â EsmĂ© said quickly. âWe were close friends at school.â[The Grim Grotto, Chapter Thirteen]
This would, indeed, support the idea of Esme being slightly older than Olafâs and Lemonyâs generation of volunteers. However itâs pretty clear Esme is lying in this passage. She probably went to the same school as Fionaâs mother, but i doubt they ever were close friends. Furthermore schools can include a very wide age range. Just because Esme and Fionaâs mom attended the same school as the same time doesnât mean they are the exact same age.
Itâs true that Esme is often theorized as younger than Olaf because of this passage:
âI wouldnât say you were O.K.â EsmĂ©âs voicecalled down to them from the top of the passageway. Her voice echoed off the walls of the passageway, but thechildren could still hear every cruel word. âYouâre alive, but youâre definitely not O.K. Assoon as the auction is over and the Quagmires are on their way out of the city, Gunther will come and getyou, and I can guarantee that you three orphans will never be O.K. again. What a wonderful andprofitable day! My former acting teacher will finally get his hands on not one but two enormous fortunes!â[The Erastz Elevator, Chapter Ten]
However this could simply mean that Esme began to study acting later in life, when Olaf was already an adult. He could be the younger of the two for all we knowâŠ
As to the other volunteers, Esme could have met them at any time. The only volunteer she seems to have met quite lately on is Beatrice Baudelaire:
And I would hop like nobody has ever hopped before, if I could somehowgo back to that terrible Thursday, and stop Beatrice from attending that afternoon tea whereshe met Esmé Squalor for the first time.[The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Two]
I donât think the fact they never met during their apprenticeship necessarily means thereâs a significant age difference. We know Josephine and Olaf are about the same age (from âThe Beatrice Lettersâ & âShouldnât You Be In School?â) but they donât seem to have met before âThe Wide Windowâ. There are a lot of volunteers running around: you canât expect all of them to know each other.
