Owings i
Laney Owings
Mrs. E. Richardson
University English II
19 November 2007
How Children’s Fantasies Come to Life in Roald Dahl’s Matilda
Elaborated Thesis: Matilda empowers children by confronting their deepest fears of
punishment, indulging their fantasies for revenge, and by offering a model of
positive motivation.
I. Methods of punishment on children
A. Miss Trunchbull’s methods on children
1. Placing children in The Chokey
2. Making Bruce Bogtrotter eat a huge cake in one sitting
3. Flinging Julius Rotwinkle out of a window
4. Swinging Amanda Thripp by her pigtails
5. Grabing Rupert by his hair
6. Holding Eric up by his ears
7. Holding Wilfred upside-down by his ankle
B. Mr. Wormwood’s methods on Matilda
1. Riping pages out of Matilda’s library book
2. Constantly calls Matilda ignorant and stupid
3. Accusing a completely innocent Matilda of cheating and lying
II. Children’s revenge on their superiors
A. Children’s methods on Miss Trunchbull
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1. Lavender putting the newt in Miss Trunchbull’s water
2. Hortensia sprinkling itching powder in Miss Trunchbull’s pants
B. Matilda’s methods on Mrs. Trunchbull
1. Using powers to tip the water on Miss Trunchbull, releasing the newt
2. Using powers to write a threatening letter to Miss Trunchbull
C. Matilda’s methods on her father
1. Putting parrot in the fireplace
2. Putting hair-dye in her father’s hair products
3. Putting superglue in her father’s hat
III. Offers a model of positive motivation for children
A. Better life for Matilda
1. Moving of parents
2. Vanishing of Miss Trunchbull
3. Living with Miss Honey
B. Better life for children
1. Vanishing of Miss Trunchbull
2. Miss Honey being named head teacher
Owings 1
Laney Owings
Mrs. E. Richardson
University English II
19 November 2007
How Children’s Fantasies Come to Life in Roald Dahl’s Matilda
In Roald Dahl’s Matilda, the young inhabitants of the story must rely on “grownups” for life, just like all children. The main character, Matilda, is placed into an odd set
of circumstances, especially life with a mother and father who find her despicable.
Matilda quickly learns that in order to survive, she must learn to rely on herself and her
own abilities. Matilda becomes a child prodigy, in a sense. At a young age, she not only
cares for herself and is exceedingly intelligent, but she also develops telekinetic powers
that she uses to her advantage. When Matilda’s parents enroll her in school, albeit late,
she shocks the teacher, Miss Honey, with the workings of her mind.
Miss Honey
immediately takes the matter to the evil headmistress, Miss Trunchbull. Miss Trunchbull
harbors the feelings that small children are the scum of the earth, and thinks that Miss
Honey wants Matilda in a better learning environment just to be rid of her. For the time
being, Matilda must be content in a grade level significantly lower than she needs, but
Miss Honey secretly provides her with upper-level materials. Matilda continues to excel
academically, but conditions at school grow bleaker by the day. Miss Trunchbull persists
in her wicked behavior, harshly punishing the children, innocent or not. With the help of
Matilda and her powers, though, the children rebel against the adults. Matilda empowers
the children in the novel and the reader by confronting their deepest fears of punishment,
indulging their fantasies for revenge, and by offering a model of positive motivation.
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Matilda empowers both the children in the novel and the children reading the
novel by confronting their deepest fears of punishment. Hortensia, an upperclassman,
tries to instill this fear in young Matilda by saying, “She [Miss Trunchbull] hates very
small children…If you survive your first year you may just manage to live through the
rest of your time here. But many don’t survive” (102-103). At first the children are
terrified of what may happen. Later, the persistent fear of harm from adults results in the
children bonding together for their protection.
Hortensia also says, “We are the
crusaders, the gallant army fighting for our lives…It’s a tough life. We all try to support
each other” (Dahl 109). The children come to the realization that in order to endure Miss
Trunchbull’s wrath, they must depend on each other.
Miss Trunchbull is known for her outlandish demands and expectations. When
the children fail to comply, her punishments grow more severe with each altercation.
Bruno Bettelheim comments, “The more we try to please [the authority figure], the more
implacable its demands” (37). This is evident in the headmistress’ methods. Her least
extreme vice is a contraption entitled “The Chokey,” which is a small area with three
walls made of cement filled with broken glass and a door with thousands of sharp nails
hammered through from the outside. Miss Trunchbull is known for throwing children
into The Chokey after minor misbehavior, left to stand for hours filled with fear of one
slight movement that will send them into the wall of nails or glass. All of the children in
the story fear The Chokey, yet it rarely stops them from creating problems that result in
their placement there. This suggests that though fear exists, the children do the only
thing they know how to do in the situation, revolt. Bettelheim says, “That one must not
give up, despite initial failure, is such an important message for children” (33). Even
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though they are incorrectly punished at time, the children in the story persevere by
misbehaving, what they consider their only means to power.
Unfortunately, Miss Trunchbull’s methods do not end with The Chokey. Bruce
Bogtrotter, a student at Matilda’s school with an affinity for food, sneaks Miss
Trunchbull’s prized chocolate cake and devours it.
The evil headmistress gains
knowledge of this incident and decides to indulge Bruce and calls the entire school to an
assembly. The narrator says, “You could see [Bruce] was beginning to wonder what all
this was leading to” (123). Bruce begins to imagine the worst scenarios, but takes
comfort in the fact that the law forbids Miss Trunchbull to hit him with her riding-crop.
Suddenly, the cook comes out with a cake eighteen inches in diameter. Miss Trunchbull
says, “It’s all for you, every bit of it. As you enjoyed that slice you had yesterday so very
much, I ordered cook to bake you an extra large one all for yourself” (124). Bruce’s first
notion is delight, but then he realizes that he has to eat the entire cake in one sitting. His
comrades in the audience are as terrified for him and he is for himself. After hours of
eating, Bruce finally succeeds. When he does, the children jump up and cheer for him,
truly feeling that sense of empowerment from their combined feelings of terror of the
punishment.
Another incident occurs when Miss Trunchbull catches Julius Rottwinkle eating
Liquorice Allsorts in class and “simply picked him up by one arm and flung him clear out
of the open classroom window” (110). The Trunchbull also flings Amanda Thripp
through the school yard by swinging her around by her pigtails and releasing her. Other
tactics include suspending children in the air by their hair, ears, and ankles for long
period of time before dropping them on the floor. All of these horrific incidents have one
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factor in common: whether it is voiced or not, the children always support and cheer the
victim. With each new incident, their fear of punishment turns into empowerment when
the children realize that though pain is involved, they all survive and will continue to
survive. Bettelheim says, “Children need the dark materials…because they need to make
sense—in a symbolic, displaced way—of their own feelings of anger, resentment, and
powerlessness” (qtd. in Talbot 98). Even though the punishments can be brutal, they are
necessary for the empowerment of the children.
Mr. Wormwood, Matilda’s crazy father, also serves as a source of fear for
punishment. He is solely interested in his illegal car dealership, eating, and watching the
“telly.” In The Cynics Dictionary, a child is defined as “A creature that stands halfway
between an adult and the TV set” (“Child” 45). That is precisely what Matilda is to her
father. Matilda’s father does not respect who she is and regards her as “…nothing more
than a scab. A scab is something you have to put up with until the time comes when you
can pick it off and flick it away” (Dahl 10). Matilda handles his ripping the pages from
her library books, constant reference to her as ignorant and stupid, as well as a cheater
and liar. His severe exercising of his authority empowers Matilda to seek revenge. The
narrator reminds the reader, “The only sensible thing to do when you are attacked is, as
Napoleon once said, to counter-attack” (41). Matilda makes use of this advice and exacts
her own punishment.
The children reading the novel are also empowered by observing their fear of
punishment bring realized in the fictional characters, who survive the mistreatment. One
critic says, “Most of Dahl’s readers are presumably not mistreated, and yet they
intuitively understand that the beatings and humiliations meted out to his young
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characters are metaphors for the powerlessness of being a child” (Talbot 98). Despite
varying circumstances, all children can relate on some level to Dahl’s characters. Talbot
also says that the children “appreciate that Dahl so nakedly takes their side” (98). In a
world where children must obey the commands of those bigger, both literally and
figuratively, any and all support is claimed at the first opportunity. Eileen Donaldson
comments that Dahl, “enables his readers to transcend their respective realities through
the use of the fantastic mechanisms that he writes into his books…Dahl’s readers may
embrace, at the very least, the illusion of a unified world” (screen 1). This illusion of a
unified world helps the children to be somewhat at peace in a world where they are
always following orders. One critic asserts that stories like Dahl’s help “maintain the
balance between wishes and fears” (Sale 25). This balance keeps the reader and the book
from being isolated, and therefore empowered by a sense of connection to “fellow
sufferers.”
Matilda also indulges the character’s and the reader’s fantasies for revenge. Once
the characters overcome their fears of punishment, a light of strength and courage grows
within them. Many attempts had already been made by upperclassmen, such as pouring
itching powder in Miss Trunchbull’s gym shorts and pouring molasses in her seat at
prayers. However, the first actions that started to make a true difference were those of
the younger age level, whom the upperclassman had already dubbed useless. Bettelheim
claims, “it is typically the youngest child, who, although at first thought little of or
scorned, turns out to be victorious in the end” (44). The first evidence of this comes
about on the day that Miss Trunchbull is scheduled to teach Matilda’s class. During this
time, Miss Trunchbull requires a pitcher of water and a glass, which a student in the class
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is responsible for. Lavender, Matilda’s friend, is assigned this task and immediately
begins plotting. After school, Lavender gets a newt and places it in Miss Trunchbull’s
pitcher the next morning. The newt plops into the glass when Miss Trunchbull pours the
water and she goes into a frenzy. For all of her meanness and cruelty, she proves to be
extremely uncourageous.
The narrator relates says, “The Trunchbull…stood
there…quivering like a blancmange.
She was especially furious that someone had
succeeded in making her jump and yell…because she prided herself on her toughness”
(161). This suggests that Miss Trunchbull uses her brutality on a daily basis to mask her
fright.
Immediately Miss Trunchbull blames Matilda, who is completely ignorant and
innocent of the act. Matilda is filled with rage and “her eyeballs were beginning to get
hot, as though vast energy was building up somewhere inside them” (165). Suddenly,
Matilda’s powers tip the glass and “…the newt splashed out all over Miss Trunchbull’s
enormous bosom” (166).
Matilda follows Bettelheim’s example and realizes that
“intelligent planning and foresight combined with hard labor…make [Matilda] victorious
over even…most ferocious [enemies]” (42). This realization, as well as the realization of
her powers, plays a significant role in Matilda’s future plans for revenge. At this point,
the reader, who has been identifying with the protagonist, “is not only given hope, but is
told that through developing his intelligence he can be victorious over even a much
stronger opponent” (Bettelheim 43).
This idea will be reinforced when Matilda is
victorious over Miss Trunchbull.
Revenge on Miss Trunchbull does not stop with the newt incident. Matilda, still
furious for being blamed for an act she did not commit, begins to plot new revenge.
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After the newt incident, Matilda becomes close with her teacher, Miss Honey, and goes
to her house every day after school. During these visits, Matilda learns of Miss Honey’s
past.
Miss Honey is Miss Trunchbull’s niece, and Miss Trunchbull was given
guardianship over Miss Honey after Miss Trunchbull secretly murdered Miss Honey’s
father and made it look like suicide. After Miss Honey’s father dies, Miss Trunchbull is
cruel to her, strips her of her belongings, and forces her to be a servant in her own home.
Matilda is appalled to learn of this, and thinks very hard about how to solve it. This
parallels with Bettelheim’s explanation that “all decisions [are] up to us, including
whether we wish to make any at all” (43). Obviously, Matilda is not one to let things
pass unnoticed. Bettelheim also says that, “To bear up under the pangs of his envy, the
child needs to be encouraged to engage in fantasies of getting even…then he will be able
to manage at the moment, because of the conviction that the future will set things aright”
(52). In order for Matilda to put her anger aside, she must plot a payback to remain calm.
Matilda uses her brilliance to come up with a plan benefiting her, Miss Honey, and in the
end, the entire school.
The day comes for Miss Trunchbull to teach Matilda’s class again, and it begins
with the usual physical abuse of the children for minor misdemeanors. While Miss
Trunchbull is in the process of holding a boy upside down by his ankle, Matilda uses her
powers to suspend a piece of chalk in air and make it start writing on the chalkboard.
The piece of chalk, with Matilda’s help, writes a note to Miss Trunchbull from Miss
Honey’s father, threatening to get her if she does not give Miss Honey her house back
and leave. The narrator says, “[Miss Trunchbull’s] face had turned white as snow and
her mouth was opening and shutting like a halibut out of water and giving a series of
Owings 8
strangled gasps” (222).
Miss Trunchbull faints and the class stares in wonder, not
wanting to wake her from her trance. Matilda, on the other hand, “continued to sit
motionless at her desk…She felt as though she had touched something that was not quite
of this world, the highest point of the heavens, the farthest star” (225). Matilda’s feeling
is the result of Bettelheim’s theory of the child’s planning, intelligence, and victory.
Even though Matilda is victorious over Miss Trunchbull, she still has troubles to
face at home. The Cynics Dictionary defines adolescence as, “The period in a kid’s life
when parents become difficult” (“Adolescence” 5). Even though Matilda’s parents are
always difficult, their presences become unbearable as Matilda grows older and smarter.
She faces humiliation and degradation from her father on a daily basis, who refuses to
believe that she is anything but the scum of the earth. This is not easy for a growing
Matilda who, like other children according to Jacquelyn Sanders, “strives to master both
an outer world that is continually expanding and an inner world of emotions that are often
tumultuous” (qtd. in Fenwick 15). Matilda is a prime example of this idea because she
has so many things happening in her life outside of home, and at the end of each day,
returns to a place that makes her life even crazier.
According to May Hill Arbuthnot, “Every human being wants to love and be
loved. This need is so pressing that when it is frustrated in one direction it will provide
its own substitutes…” (5). For Matilda, this substitute is books, the one place her mind is
free to be someone else in another life. When Mr. Wormwood, Matilda’s father, rips the
pages from her library book, Matilda prepares for payback. The narrator relates, “A
small victory or two would help [Matilda] to tolerate [her parent’s] idiocies and would
stop her from going crazy” (29). Matilda has a friend with a pet parrot who has an
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uncanny ability for imitating humans in speech. Matilda gives her friend her pocketmoney for the whole week, and she gets to take the bird home for one day. Of course,
Matilda has the perfect use for it. She hides it in the fireplace and that night at dinner, the
parrot begins to talk. Matilda gets quite the feeling of satisfaction from her family’s
terror resulting in them fleeing from the house.
Matilda’s revenge—and increasing empowerment—continues after her
father’s verbal abuse the night before at dinner. After waking early, Matilda obtains her
father’s hat which is “…one of those flat-topped pork-pie jobs with a jay’s feather stuck
in the hat-band…” (Dahl 30). Dahl also says, “[Mr. Wormwood] though it gave him a
rakish daring look, especially when he wore it at an angle with his loud checkered jacket
and green tie” (30). Matilda regards the hat as abominable, and fills it with super glue.
Mr. Wormwood puts the hat on but notices nothing out of the ordinary. Upon arriving at
his illegal car dealership, he realizes that it is not coming off, and to his dismay, has to
wear it while putting sawdust in gear-boxes and using an electric drill to drive the
numbers backwards on car mileages. At home that evening Mrs. Wormwood tries to
remove the hat, only causing Mr. Wormwood pain resulting in a scream that rattled the
window-panes. Mrs. Wormwood blames Mr. Wormwood, calling him stupid for trying
to stick another feather in his hat. A day later when the hat was still quite firm on Mr.
Wormwood’s head, Mrs. Wormwood cut the hat off, leaving Mr. Wormwood “with a
bald white ring around his head, like some sort of monk. And in the front…there
remained a whole lot of small patches of brown leathery stuff that no amount of washing
would get off” (Dahl 36). A very satisfied Matilda makes fun of Mr. Wormwood for
days.
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Unfortunately, Matilda’s revenge only places a temporary fix on her parent’s
behavior. Again, Matilda faces cruelty from her father and she follows her plan to seek
revenge when these incidents occur. Her newest plan involves using her mother’s extrastrong platinum blonde hair-dye. She rises early one morning and pours three-quarters of
her father’s Oil of Violets hair tonic down the sink and replaces it with her mother’s
extra-strong platinum blonde hair-dye. Several hours later, Mr. Wormwood waltzes into
the kitchen, only to be greeted with shrieks and food being thrown into the air by his
wife. The narrator comments, “A splendid noisy scene was building up nicely in the
breakfast room… [Matilda] simply sat there admiring the wonderful effect of her own
handiwork” (61-62). Mr. Wormwood begins to wonder why such a scene is being made
until he looks into Mrs. Wormwood’s compact and becomes as alarmed as everyone else
present. Matilda and Mrs. Wormwood terrify Mr. Wormwood even more when they
explain how strong the product is and how likely his prized hair is to fall out.
These indulgences of revenge help the children in the novel and those reading the
novel to justify the madness in daily life, thus empowering them to live in a chaotic,
fearful world. Bettelheim comments, “the child gets ideas about how he may create order
out of the chaos which is his inner life” (75). In Matilda, these ideas present themselves
in the form of revenge, which seems to be their only vice. Another critic points out that
“[Dahl] understands the shadow world in which most children live and…understands that
the only way in which to combat shadow is to use a means as intangible as shadow to
fight it” (Donaldson, screen 8). For Dahl’s characters, this intangible means consist of
anything from Matilda’s magic to simply intelligence and planning. Through indulging
Owings 11
in revenge, the readers and characters alike are put on a level plane where they can
connect, and in a sense, support each other.
At its core, Matilda most strongly offers a model of positive motivation to the
reader and the characters in the novel. After Matilda uses her powers to write a note to
Miss Trunchbull, who thought that it was the ghost of Miss Honey’s father, Miss
Trunchbull did not return to school the next day. Mr. Trilby, the Deputy Head, inquires
after her and comes to the conclusion that Miss Trunchbull vanished. The next day, Miss
Honey receives a letter stating that the last will and testament of her late father had
mysteriously been found and revealing that Miss Honey is the rightful owner of the
property previously occupied by a Miss Agatha Trunchbull. The letter also reveals that
Miss Honey’s father’s lifetime savings are also left for her, completely untouched. Mr.
Trilby is appointed Headmaster and Matilda is quickly moved into a higher grade much
more suited to her brilliance. Though Matilda suddenly discovers that her powers no
longer work, she is completely content with the discovery because they are no longer
needed.
Matilda goes to Miss Honey’s house after school every day and the two have long
conversations and become very close. One afternoon Matilda arrives home and her
parents are in a frenzy. They are both packing furiously and ordering Matilda to do the
same, only providing that they are going to Spain because the climate is better. Matilda
runs to Miss Honey’s house and explains that her parents are leaving and that she must go
with them. Miss Honey tells Matilda that this is because her father is a crook. A shocked
Matilda begs Miss Honey to keep her so she will not have to go to Spain. The pair run to
Owings 12
Matilda’s house and ask if Matilda can stay. Both parents hurriedly agree and tear down
the street, disappearing forever.
The readers of the novel can identify with the happily-ever-after aspect of
Matilda, no matter how hard their lives may be because subconsciously, they want the
same thing and are prone to go after it. Bettelheim notes that stories like Matilda are
“optimistic, no matter how terrifyingly serious some features of the story may be” (37).
He also recognizes that this optimism “sets the fairy tale apart from other stories in which
equally fantastic events occur, whether the happy outcome is due to the virtues of the
hero, chance, or the interference of supernatural figures” (37). The happy outcome plays
a significant role in the story because it brings the horrible beginning of Matilda to an
end, which in turn gives the reader a sense that everything may work out for them, as
well. The story also “projects the relief of all pressures and not only offers ways to solve
problems, but promises that a ‘happy’ solution will be found” (Bettelheim 36). The
happy solution is important because it shows that bad things can be stopped. Matilda
also offers a model of positive motivation that the reader can relate to because it is
“presented as ordinary, something that could happen to you or me or the person next door
when out on a walk in the woods” (Bettelheim 37). It is much easier for the reader to
relate to things ordinary to them, rather than trying to relate to something supernatural.
Through these examples, Matilda offers a model of positive motivation and
empowerment.
Matilda is put into an odd set of circumstances of which she learns to make the
best. Her parents think little of her, her headmistress is exceedingly evil, and her life
seems to grow worse by the minute. However, using her resources, Matilda comes out on
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top. Matilda empowers children by confronting their deepest fears of punishment. Miss
Trunchbull is constantly punishing children for minor misbehaving. Eventually, the
children grow used to this and little by little, are no longer scared of her anymore.
Matilda also indulges children’s fantasies for revenge. Matilda and her classmates learn
that in order to put a stop to the wrath of Miss Trunchbull, the must revolt. Matilda also
uses this tactic on her parents. Finally, Matilda offers a model of positive motivation.
Despite the hardships that had to be endured, Matilda and the children are set free from
Miss Trunchbull and Matilda is also set free from her unkind parents. Matilda empowers
readers to know that they do not need to fear punishment, that revenge is sometimes
necessary, and that things really can work out for the best.
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Works Cited
Arbuthnot, May Hill. Children and Books. 3rd ed. New York: Scott, 1964.
“Adolescence.” The Cynic’s Dictionary. 2nd ed. 2000.
Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy
Tales. New York: Knopf, 1976.
“Child.” The Cynics Dictionary. 2nd ed. 2000.
Dahl, Roald. Matilda. New York: Penguin, 1988.
Donaldson, Eileen. “Spell-Binding Dahl: Considering Roald Dahl’s Fantasy.” Change
and Renewal in Children’s Fantasy (2004): 131-140. Literature Resource Center.
Mississippi U for Women Lib., Columbus, MS. 24 Sept. 2007
<http://galenet.galegroup.com.libprxy.muw.edu/servlet/LitRC?vrsn=3&OP=conta
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&bConts=16303>.
Sale, Roger. Fairy Tales and After: From Snow White to E.B. White. Cambridge,
Massachusetts: Harvard, 1978.
Sanders, Jacquelyn. A Critical Approach to Children’s Literature. Chicago: The
University of Chicago Press, 1967.
Talbot, Margaret. "The Critics – A Critic at Large - What Children See in Roald Dahl."
The New Yorker, July 2005: 93+.