The Hook-Handed Man

Fernald (usually referred to as The Hook-Handed Man) is a fictional character and the secoundary antagonist of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events series. He is known for having two large and sharp hooks where his hands should be. In the movie adaptation, he was portrayed by British actor Jamie Harris.

Biography

The Hook-Handed Man is one of Count Olaf's original troupe members introduced in the first book, The Bad Beginning, and of the original set of henchmen, he remains with the group the longest.

In The Grim Grotto, it is revealed that his real name is Fernald. His last name is unknown, though he does state that it differs from that of his stepfather, Captain Widdershins. Olaf never refers to Fernald by his name; instead, Olaf and Esmé call him "Hooky".

Before joining Count Olaf's theatre troupe, Fernald and his sister Fiona lived with Widdershins on his submarine, the Queequeg. However, after growing tired of Widdershins’ constant nautical ejaculations and bossy behavior, Fernald eventually flees the submarine. His activities thereafter are mostly unknown, and it is not revealed how or when he lost his hands.

Throughout most of the series, he conspires with Count Olaf to steal the Baudelaire fortune. However, in The Grim Grotto, he reunites with Fiona, who abandons the Baudelaires and joins Olaf's troupe to be with her brother. However, the two siblings later turn against Olaf, who later reveals, in The Penultimate Peril, that Fernald and Fiona stole his submarine and escaped.

In The End, a shipwrecked Kit Snicket tells the Baudelaires that she, Ink, Phil, Widdershins, Fernald and Fiona sailed out to sea in the Queequeg to find the self-sustaining hot air mobile home where Hector and the Quagmire triplets were living, in order to aid them in a battle against trained V.F.D. eagles. However, the eagles popped the balloons of Hector's mobile home, and the falling wreckage destroyed the Queequeg. At this point, the mysterious question mark-shaped object called the Great Unknown approaches and takes everyone except Kit and Ink, although it remains unclear whether it rescued or captured them.

Plots

In several books, he appears in various guises to aid Olaf with his plans; his hooks are always hidden in these attempts. He often uses the alias O. Lucafont, an anagram of Count Olaf.

In the second book of the series, The Reptile Room, he disguises himself as Dr. O. Lucafont and arrives at Dr. Montgomery's house after receiving a call that there had been an accident. In the end when the adult characters finally realize who Count Olaf really is, "Lucafont" claims he will take Olaf to jail. Although Sunny Baudelaire bites Fernald's fake hands off before he can escape unexposed, the two men still flee the scene.

In the sixth book of the series, The Ersatz Elevator, he disguises himself (with extra-long jacket-sleeves) as the doorkeeper of 667 Dark Avenue. Still maintaining his façade, he bids on (and wins) the statue in which the two Quagmire siblings are hidden.

In the eleventh book of the series, The Grim Grotto, he is reunited with his sister Fiona, who, along with their stepfather Captain Widdershins, is working with the Baudelaire children. After Widdershins mysteriously disappears and the Queequeg is damaged, Fiona considers her brother to be her only family member left, and seemingly joins Count Olaf's troupe to stay with him.

Sometime later, though, Fernald and Fiona betray Olaf by stealing his submarine. They meet with their stepfather again (who, in the words of Kit Snicket, "had forgiven the failures of those he had loved") along with Kit and Phil to help repair the Queequeg and aid the Quagmire triplets and Hector in their self-sustaining air balloon.

However tragedy strikes, and trained eagles popped the hot air balloon, sending them crashing into the Queequeg. Stranded on the wreck, they see the mysterious question mark (an ambiguous shape that the Baudelaires had encountered on the radar screen that scared even Olaf) reappear. Although Kit is terrified of what she referred to as The Great Unknown, the others want to take their chances confronting it. The mysterious shape takes Fernald and the others away, its intentions and results still undescribed.

Good or evil?

The Hook-Handed Man is not without redeeming qualities; he periodically shows remorse and doubt regarding his crimes, and in The Grim Grotto, he tells Fiona and the Baudelaires that there is no clear division between good and bad people:

'People aren’t either wicked or noble,’ the hook-handed man said. ‘They’re like chef’s salads, with good things and bad things chopped and mixed together in a vinaigrette of confusion and conflict.’

In an interview with author Daniel Handler, the interviewer inquired why, 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, "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".

Appearances

• The Bad Beginning
• The Reptile Room
• The Ersatz Elevator
• The Hostile Hospital
• The Carnivorous Carnival
• The Slippery Slope
• The Grim Grotto

See also

• Count Olaf's theater troupe
• Fiona (A Series of Unfortunate Events)