Arthur Poe

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Arthur Poe
A Series of Unfortunate Events character
Arthur Poe, as drawn by Brett Helquist
Gender	Male
Hair color	Brown
Age	"Middle-aged"
Film actor	Timothy Spall
1st appearance	The Bad Beginning
V.F.D. alliance	Probably Neutral but perhaps Evil

Arthur Poe (usually referred to as simply Mr. Poe) is a fictional character from the A Series of Unfortunate Events book series by Lemony Snicket. He is a banker in charge of the affairs of the Baudelaire orphans. He was their guardian for a short time in The Bad Beginning before it was arranged the Baudelaires would go and live with Count Olaf. His incompetence and self-centeredness in a position of authority make him an instance of the Pointy Haired Boss stock character. He has a wife, Polly, and two children, Edgar and Albert, but they appear only in the first book.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Although his fiduciary responsibility is to help the Baudelaires, he is rarely helpful, due to his obliviousness, as well as his focus on his banking career rather than the Baudelaires' well-being. Though the Baudelaires are very obviously smarter than him, he dismisses everything they say as the ramblings of little children. Some fans of the series believe that Poe is being deliberately unhelpful -- that is, he is actually a villain (some think he is actually a member of V.F.D.). In The Reptile Room, he goes completely mad when Sunny is bitten by the Incredibly Deadly Viper but is never helpful to the Baudelaires in any way.

Timothy Spall as Mr. Poe in the 2004 film.

Poe's employer is Mulctuary Money Management. The word "mulct" means "to embezzle funds." This has also led to speculation that Poe is after the Baudelaire fortune, and has purposely placed them in peril. Others believe it is merely a satirical comment on the general perception of banks.

The fact that Mr. Poe has a cough could mean that he's a villain or volunteer and is using his cough as part of the Voice Finery Disguises. It could also mean that his sister, Eleanora and himself are both orphans and have been through many fires - thus, giving him a bad cough because of all the smoke. However, this is not a very strongly suggested theory, because then Eleanora should have a cough as well.

In several of the books, he seems to be very excited about receiving a promotion. His title at Mulctuary Money Management in The Bad Beginning is not stated, but at the start of The Miserable Mill, while on a train to Paltryville, he announces to the children that he is now Vice President in charge of Coins. Then in the sixth book in the series, The Ersatz Elevator, he becomes Vice President in charge of Orphan Affairs. Since then, he loses touch with the Baudelaires until a brief appearance of him in end of The Grim Grotto on Briny Beach, right before the Baudelaires meet Kit Snicket.

It is unclear whether Mr. Poe escaped the fire at Hotel Denouement in The Penultimate Peril. Also, some people believe he is killed or will be killed with a harpoon gun, drawn from the second paragraph on page 233 of The Penultimate Peril - Snicket says "it wasn't Mr. Poe's destiny to be killed by a harpoon gun, at least not this evening in particular." This could mean that Mr. Poe will be killed by a harpoon gun on some other occasion, but it may refer to the fact that he just failed to die on this occasion, or merely be Lemony Snicket's pessimistic writing style. However, in the end of The End, it is revealed that Mr. Poe is/was an associate of Count Olaf, after a verbal parley Olaf had with Ishmael. It is also not revealed if Mr. Poe was shot by a harpoon. Though Poe remains a buffoon in the film, he never says anything explicitly patronizing, though his patronizing attitude is implied.