By: Lemony Snicket
“Well-read people are less likely to be evil.”
Lemony Snicket, The Slippery Slope
*This post contains spoilers for The Slippery Slope and A Series of Unfortunate Events
For a discussion on the first nine books in the series, see the linked posts bellow:
Overview:
In The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket, the Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny, find themselves separated once again. Violet and Klaus are on a precarious journey up a treacherous mountain, while Sunny is in the clutches of the villainous Count Olaf. As they face numerous challenges and discover more about the mysterious V.F.D. organization, the siblings must rely on their resourcefulness and each other to navigate the dangers that lie ahead. The book explores themes of resilience, friendship, and the consequences of inaction in the face of injustice.
Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken
The main reference of The Slippery Slope is from Robert Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken. If you are unfamiliar with the work it is as follows:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken
Divergence on Paths; Literally & Figuratively
Sunny is on a different path than Klaus and Violet. Sunny is traveling with Count Olaf and his crew making her ride up the mountain physically easy but mentally scary. Klaus and Violet on the other hand have a journey that is physically demanding but they don’t have the looming fear of being trapped with Count Olaf. They of course face their own dangers and hardships along the journey but are not trapped with their antagonist.
This is the first time in the series where the siblings are split up and the reader sees what is happening on both paths. There have been times in earlier books where they were split up (Sunny being trapped in the cage in The Bad Beginning, Violet being almost operated on in The Hostile Hospital and Sunny working in the administration office in The Austere Academy) but Snicket never gives the point of view of the one sibling separated from the other two.
This could simply be because Sunny is starting to come into her own as a character. She drives her own story and her baby persona is nearly gone as she continues to grow as a person.
A figurative diversion of paths comes when Klaus and Violet have the opportunity to hold Esme as their prisoner. They are all set to trap Count Olaf’s girlfriend and hold her in exchange for their sister. They had a choice and ultimately decided against becoming the villains that they have been fighting for the entire series. Most would argue that holding her prisoner would be justified given all that she has put them through. However, Klaus and Violet take the high road and end their plan to trap her just in time.
Taking the Road Less Traveled
Violet and Klaus take the advice of the mysterious snow scout and use the Vertical Flame Diversion as a short cut to the V.F.D. headquarters. The tunnel goes straight up to the top of the mountain as opposed to hiking the long journey on the regular path. By doing this the siblings save precious time and avoid any dangers that might be on the usual path.
This is referred to by Snicket as “The Road Less Traveled” which is one of the last lines in Frost’s poem.
“Until the two Baudelaires’ journey, the passageway had not been used for many years, ever since one of my comrades removed the pole in order to use it in the construction of a submarine. So it would be accurate to say the Vertical Flame Diversion was a road less traveled”
Lemony Snicket, The Slippery Slope
Which Ever Way You Go…You Might Miss Out or Might Avoid Something
It is easy to look back on a decision and wish you had gone another way. However, this can lead to indecisiveness because you are afraid to miss out or come upon something unpleasant.
When Klaus and Violet manage to stop the caravan and get out, they avoid the fate of crashing off the cliff. Had they stayed in a little longer to gather useful material they would have perished. They may have regretted that they did not salvage anything useful but they still had their lives.
Quigley the Cartographer
Quigley being a cartographer is no mistake. He is Violet and Klaus’ guide throughout the story. He often makes decisions on which paths they should take. Much like Frost’s poem, the siblings often have a few paths to chose from and Quigley directs them to the one that is most advantageous to their journey.
Even small decisions like whether to enter the V.F.D. headquarters through the storage area or the kitchen.
Schism
We finally learn a good amount of background on the mysterious V.F.D.. Quigley is able to tell Violet and Klaus that it stands for Volunteer Fire Department and that almost everyone they have encountered in the series was once a member.
The reason that some of the members turned evil along with Count Olaf was due to an event they refer to as the Schism. A schism is a split in a group between a particular event or belief. If you will, one group chose one path and the other chose the alternate route. It is a tangible way to explain two paths diverging.
Overall,
This book had a better balance of action and plot reveals than previous books. All of the trials and tribulations that the siblings have gone through are finally paying off and they are getting real answers about their parent’s past.
I enjoyed that it wasn’t all misfortune and woe. While they have a definite answer on their parents survival they also found Quigley. The Baudelaires have another ally and they know that reuniting him with his siblings is going to make their friends so happy.
Let’s also discuss the reference to Robert Frost’s poem. I don’t think I drew this many themes from any of the other books and as far as I can tell, all the other entries in the series are referencing full novels. The theme of choosing your path and not knowing if your decision was the correct one was prominent throughout their entire journey.
Finally, it might be because we just had a snowstorm here in the Northeast but the snowy mountain setting was very enjoyable. I literally just took a hike in the woods during the storm so I was immersed in the setting.
Rating: 4/5 stars
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