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a child, aside from one instance in the novel where she claims she was not a child for very long and became a woman very fast. In many adaptations, Ms
Trunchbull often exhibits narcissistic traits, such as psychological projection and extreme self-importance. In spite of her cruelty and sadism, the Trunchbull considers herself to be a magnanimous and heroic figure, believing the children she punishes are inherently evil and deserving of the punishments they receive. She refers to children as gangstas, vipers, criminals, or members of the mafia. The Trunchbull especially considers Matilda to be a malicious, dangerous person. In the musical, Ms Trunchbull considers Matilda to be "the axis of evil" and in the 1996 movie, Ms Trunchbull refers to Matilda as "a carbuncle, a blister, a festering pustule of malignant ooze." In the 2022 movie adaptation of the musical, it is revealed Ms Trunchbull cannot stand anybody saying no to her, and in the 1996 movie, Ms Trunchbull claims that in the school, she is God.
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made it appear to be suicide. Agatha then became the legal owner of the Honey estate and
Jennifer's legal guardian. Jennifer's exposure as a little girl to Agatha's abuse inevitably rendered her soft-spoken and timid. Jennifer admits she became Agatha's slave, doing the chores and housework. Once Jennifer graduated from school and teachers' training college, Agatha seized hold of Jennifer's hard-earned salary, wanting her to pay off the food she ate and the clothes she wore as a child, for the first five years of her teaching career (in the 1988 novel, she left her with a net pay of £1 per week calling it "pocket money").
305:, is "disciplined" in front of the entire student body by being forced to eat an entire colossal chocolate cake, on stage, during a school assembly. Miss Trunchbull's reasoning for the punishment is that cake is "much too good for children", who do not deserve to eat any. In the novel, Trunchbull relates having used
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Due to her physically demanding lifestyle, Ms
Trunchbull is described in the book as being a very imposing and muscular woman, with a neck similar to that of a buffalo, legs resembling hams, and thick, trunk-like arms. Adaptations frequently portray her as having broad shoulders and a pink, flustered
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to scare children as punishment, which often ends in accidents or injuries. In the film, Miss
Trunchbull showcases her Olympian strength when she "hammer-throws" a girl named Amanda Thripp by her pigtails after telling her to chop off her pigtails, sending the child several hundred feet into the air.
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Ms
Trunchbull is the despotic headmistress of Crunchem Hall, and her bizarre and extreme discipline is handed out over the most minor misdeeds. Small transgressions are often penalized severely, even if unintentional. Ms Trunchbull's contempt for children is so great that she denies ever having been
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as a young adult; in the musical, the song 'The Hammer' suggests she became the 'English hammer-throwing champion' in 1969; meanwhile, in the novel, she performed similar exploits, but the exact dates and events are not mentioned. She often throws children into the sky or out of upper-story windows
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Agatha
Trunchbull is the aunt of Jennifer Honey and served as her childhood guardian after the death of her parents, having already moved into the family home following the death of Jennifer's mother (Agatha's sister). It's strongly implied that Agatha murdered Magnus Honey, Jennifer's father, and
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thus uses her telekinetic abilities to drive Ms
Trunchbull from her own house by posing as Magnus' spirit and levitating a chalk stick to scrawl a message on the board, warning her to give his daughter her house and money. Terrified, Ms Trunchbull subsequently flees and the house is passed to Ms
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when it was legal, however its recent ban in state schools does not stop her from using cruel and unusual punishment. Also in the novel, according to
Hortensia, Trunchbull treats parents the same way she treats children, leading them to be afraid to stand up to her.
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Honey, who in the films also becomes the school's new headmistress. In the novel, the deputy head Mr. Trilby (not seen or mentioned in any of the films) takes over the headship of the school.
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the matron at St Peter's preparatory school in Weston-Super-Mare, which Dahl attended could have been another inspiration as she was a bully and is described as having a similar body shape.
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Ms
Trunchbull is depicted as an unwholesome role model, a fierce tyrannical monster who "frightened the life out of pupils and teachers alike", notorious for her cruel and wildly
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Amanda miraculously lands softly in a field of blooming wildflowers. Another instance involves a boy named Bruce
Bogtrotter, who, after eating a piece of Ms Trunchbull's
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and aired on September 22, 2007. This documentary commemorated Dahl's 90th birthday and also celebrated his impact as a children's author in popular culture.
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In the 1996 film, Ms Trunchbull is a former shot putter, hammer, and javelin thrower, having competed in the
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confirmed that she auditioned for the role in the 1996 movie during a filmed interview with
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owner, a "mean and loathsome" old woman named Ms. Pratchett, by putting a dead mouse in a
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into Ms Trunchbull's water jug. According to Dahl's widow Felicity's annotations in
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It is revealed that Ms Trunchbull is very superstitious and has an intense fear of
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Dr. Magnus Honey (brother-in-law/step-brother-in-law) (victim)
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discipline, with trivial misdeeds (including simply wearing
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jar. This would later inspire Dahl to include a scene in
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Matilda Honey (adoptive step great-niece, disowned)
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564:"Christopher Sieber Joins the Cast of 'Matilda'"
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665:Roald Dahl
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363:Portrayals
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32:character
579:4 August
569:NY Times
547:4 August
459:BBC News
411:Jo Brand
257:pigtails
707:Matilda
670:Matilda
466:8 March
377:musical
375:in the
336:Matilda
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232:), the
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219:Matilda
179:British
102:musical
63:Matilda
52:(1996).
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486:Ranker
277:ghosts
152:Family
139:School
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66:(1988)
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