Count Olaf certainly does sound evil. Imagine forcing children to stand near a stove!

I will love you if I never see you again, and I will love you if I see you every Tuesday.

Like People, animals will become frightened and likely do whatever you say if you whip them enough.

He who hesitates is lost

Figuratively, they escaped from Cout Olaf and their miserable existence. They did not literally escape, because they were still in his house and vulnerable to Olaf's evil in loco parentis ways.

One has to adopt a sort of Zen calm, in which you know you wrote the best book that you could at the time.

Reading is one form of escape. Running for your life is another.