Agatha Trunchbull, also known as Miss Trunchbull or simply The Trunchbull, the fictional headmistress of Crunchem Hall Primary School (or Elementary School), is the main

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, ri ...

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...

’s 1988 novel ''

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...

'' and its spinoffs: the 1996 film ''

'' (played by

Pam Ferris Pamela Ferris (born 11 May 1948) is a Welsh actress. She has starred in numerous British television series, including ''Connie'' (1985), '' The Darling Buds of May'' (1991–1993), '' Where the Heart Is'' (1997–2000), '' Rosemary & Thyme'' ...

), the 2011 musical ''

'' (played by

Bertie Carvel Robert Hugh Carvel (born 6 September 1977) is a British actor. He has twice won a Laurence Olivier Award: for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his role as Miss Trunchbull in '' Matilda the Musical'', and for Best Actor in a Suppor ...

) and the 2022 film '' Matilda the Musical'' (played by

Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress. Regarded as one of the best actresses of her generation, she has received numerous accolades throughout her four-decade-long career, including two Academy Awards, two British A ...

). She is said to look "more like a rather eccentric and bloodthirsty follower of the stag-hounds than the

headmistress A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...

of a nice school for children". Miss 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 idiosyncratic discipline: trivial misdeeds (including simply wearing

pigtail A woman with long pigtails and braids. In the context of hairstyles, the usage of the term pigtail (or twin tail or twintail) shows considerable variation. The term may refer to a single braid, but is more frequently used in the plural ("pi ...

s) incurring punishments up to potentially-fatal physical discipline.

Fictional character biography

Miss Trunchbull's contempt for children is so great that she denies ever having been a child herself aside from one instance in the novel where she claims she was not a child for very long and became a woman very quickly. After finishing high school, she competed in the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 19 ...

. Miss Trunchbull is the maternal aunt of Jennifer Honey. Miss Trunchbull served as Jennifer's childhood guardian after the passing of her parents. It's strongly implied that Agatha murdered Magnus Honey, Jennifer's father, and made it appear as a suicide. Miss Trunchbull blames Miss Honey for her sister's death. 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 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 salary. Out of adoration for her schoolteacher,

uses her telekinetic abilities to drive Agatha from her own house one day by posing as Magnus' spirit and levitating a chalk stick to scrawl a message on the board. Terrified, Miss Trunchbull subsequently vanishes and gives back her house to her niece, after which Miss Honey becomes the new headmistress. It is revealed that Miss Trunchbull is very superstitious and has an intense fear of

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to re ...

black cat A black cat is a domestic cat with black fur that may be a mixed or specific breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular breed. The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) recognizes 22 cat breeds that can come with solid black coats. The Bombay b ...

s, and the supernatural in general. Her fear is later used as a weakness for Matilda to scare her thus teaching Miss Trunchbull a lesson. Miss Trunchbull was a past shot putter, hammer, and javelin thrower in the

Munich Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

. She often throws children and uses a

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydropon ...

to scare children as punishment, which often ends in accidents or injuries. She is brutal to all children and also made a boy (Bruce Bogtrotter) eat a colossal chocolate cake as punishment for apparently eating a piece of her own chocolate cake.

Inspiration

As children, Roald Dahl and his friends played a trick on the local sweet-shop owner—a "mean and loathsome" old woman named Mrs Pratchett—by putting a dead mouse in a

gobstopper Gobstoppers, also known as jawbreakers in the United States, are a type of hard candy. They are usually round, and usually range from across; though gobstoppers can be up to in diameter. The term ''gobstopper'' derives from "gob", which is sl ...

jar. This would inspire Dahl to include a scene in ''Matilda'' where Matilda's friend Lavender puts a

newt A newt is a salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae. The terrestrial juvenile phase is called an eft. Unlike other members of the family Salamandridae, newts are semiaquatic, alternating between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Not all aqua ...

into Miss Trunchbull's water jug. She was also inspired by

Faina Melnik Faina Grigorievna Melnik (russian: Фаина Григорьевна Велева-Мельник, uk, Фаїна Григорівна Мельник (''Faina Hryhorivna Melnyk''); 9 June 1945 – 16 December 2016) was a Soviet discus thrower, a ...

, the Olympic gold medalist in the

Portrayals

Miss Trunchbull is portrayed by

in the 1996 film, and by

in the

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

, later replaced by former '' Two of a Kind'' and '' Shrek The Musical'' star

Christopher Sieber Christopher Luverne Sieber (born February 18, 1969) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles Kevin Burke in '' Two of a Kind (American TV series)'' and Agatha Trunchbull in '' Matilda the Musical''. He was nominated for the Tony A ...

plays the role in the 2022 film adaptation of the musical.

Miriam Margolyes Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The ...

confirmed that she auditioned for the role (before Ferris was cast) during a filmed interview with Jo Brand for the UK television special ''

's Revolting Rule Book'' which was hosted by

Richard E. Grant Richard E. Grant (born Richard Grant Esterhuysen; 5 May 1957) is a Swazi-English actor and presenter. He made his film debut as Withnail in the comedy ''Withnail and I'' (1987). Grant received critical acclaim for his role as Jack Hock in Mar ...

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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trunchbull, Miss Female characters in film Literary characters introduced in 1988 Fictional bullies Fictional child abusers Fictional English people Fictional female murderers Fictional principals and headteachers Fictional track and field athletes Female literary villains Female film villains Matilda (novel) Roald Dahl characters Fictional Olympic competitors