Agatha Trunchbull
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Miss Agatha Trunchbull (nicknamed The Trunchbull) is the
fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...
al
headmistress A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, 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. Role While s ...
of Crunchem Hall Primary School (or
Elementary School A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
), and the main
antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...
's 1988 novel ''
Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Mathilda (gastropod), ''Mathilda'' (gastropod), a genus of gastropods in the family Mathildidae * Matilda (horse) (1824–1 ...
'' and its adaptations: the 1996 film ''
Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Mathilda (gastropod), ''Mathilda'' (gastropod), a genus of gastropods in the family Mathildidae * Matilda (horse) (1824–1 ...
'' (played by
Pam Ferris Pamela Ferris (born 11 May 1948) is a British actress. She has starred in numerous British television series, including Connie (TV series), ''Connie'' (1985), ''The Darling Buds of May (TV series), The Darling Buds of May'' (1991–1993), ''W ...
), the 2011 musical, and the 2022 musical film adaptation (played by
Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. Emma Thompson on screen and stage, Her work spans over four decades of screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Emma Thompson, her accola ...
). She is said to look "more like a rather eccentric and bloodthirsty follower of the stag hounds than the
headmistress A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, 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. Role While s ...
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 An idiosyncrasy is a unique feature of something. The term is often used to express peculiarity. Etymology The term "idiosyncrasy" originates from Greek ', "a peculiar temperament, habit of body" (from ', "one's own", ', "with" and ', "blend ...
discipline, with 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 is the despotic headmistress of Crunchem Hall, and her bizarre and extreme discipline is handed out over the most minor misdeeds. Small transgressions, even if unintentional, are often penalised severely. Miss Trunchbull's contempt for children is so great that she denies ever having been 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, Miss 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 gangsters, vipers, criminals, or members of the mafia. The Trunchbull especially considers
Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Mathilda (gastropod), ''Mathilda'' (gastropod), a genus of gastropods in the family Mathildidae * Matilda (horse) (1824–1 ...
to be a malicious, dangerous person. In the musical, Miss Trunchbull considers Matilda to be "the axis of evil" and in the 1996 film, Miss Trunchbull refers to Matilda as "a carbuncle, a blister, a festering pustule of malignant ooze". In the 2022 film adaptation of the musical, it is revealed that Miss Trunchbull cannot stand anybody saying no to her, and in the 1996 film, Miss Trunchbull claims that in the school, she is God. 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). In the 1996 film and the musical film adaptation, she is Jennifer's step-aunt. It is strongly implied that Agatha murdered Magnus Honey, Jennifer's father, and 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 teacher 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"). It is revealed that Miss Trunchbull is superstitious and has an intense fear of
ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...
s,
black cat A black cat is a Cat, domestic cat with black fur. They may be a specific Purebred, breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular or mixed breed. Most black cats have golden iris (anatomy), irises due to their high melanin pigment content. Bl ...
s, and the supernatural in general. In support of her schoolteacher, Matilda thus uses her telekinetic abilities to drive Miss 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, Miss Trunchbull faints. Later, she subsequently flees, and the house is passed to Miss 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. In the 1996 film, Miss Trunchbull is a former shot putter, hammer, and javelin thrower, having competed in the
1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...
as a young adult; in the musical, the song "The Hammer" suggests she became the "English hammer-throwing champion" in 1969, while 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 storey windows and uses a
crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. In other words, a crop is a plant or plant product that is grown for a specific purpose such as food, Fiber, fibre, or fuel. When plants of the same spe ...
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. 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
chocolate cake Chocolate cake or chocolate gâteau (from ) is a cake flavored with melted chocolate, cocoa powder, or both. It can also have other ingredients such as fudge, vanilla creme, and other sweeteners. History The history of chocolate cake goes b ...
, 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 corporal punishment on the pupils when it was legal, but 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, leaving them afraid to stand up to her. Due to her physically demanding lifestyle, Miss 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 complexion.


Inspiration

As children,
Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...
and his friends played a trick on the local sweet shop owner, a "mean and loathsome" old woman named Ms. Pratchett, by putting a dead mouse in a
gobstopper A gobstopper, also known as a jawbreaker in Canada and the United States, is a type of hard candy, boiled sweet. It is usually round, and usually ranges from across; though gobstoppers billed as having a diameter as large as have been marketed ...
jar. This would later 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. According to Dahl's widow Felicity's annotations in '' More About Boy'' the matron at St Peter's preparatory school in
Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...
, which Dahl attended, could have been another inspiration as she was a bully and is described as having a similar body shape. She was also inspired by
Faina Melnik Faina Grigorievna Veleva-Melnik (; ; ; 9 June 1945 – 16 December 2016) was a Soviet discus thrower, a 1972 Summer Olympics champion in the discus event. During her career she set 11 world records. Career Melnik was Jewish, and was born in ...
, the Olympic gold medallist in the
1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...
.


Portrayals

Miss Trunchbull is portrayed by
Pam Ferris Pamela Ferris (born 11 May 1948) is a British actress. She has starred in numerous British television series, including Connie (TV series), ''Connie'' (1985), ''The Darling Buds of May (TV series), The Darling Buds of May'' (1991–1993), ''W ...
in the 1996 film, and by
Bertie Carvel Robert Hugh Carvel (born 6 September 1977) is a British film and theatre 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 ...
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 Character (arts), charac ...
, later replaced by former '' Two of a Kind'' and ''
Shrek The Musical ''Shrek the Musical'' is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire. It is based on the 2001 DreamWorks Animation film ''Shrek'', along with elements of its sequels: ''Shrek 2'', '' Shrek Forever After' ...
'' star
Christopher Sieber Christopher Luverne Sieber (born February 18, 1969) is an American actor. Known primarily for his extensive roles on stage in musicals, he has received nominations for two Tony Awards, two Drama Desk Awards, and two Outer Critics Circle Awards ...
.
Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. Emma Thompson on screen and stage, Her work spans over four decades of screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Emma Thompson, her accola ...
plays the role in the 2022 film adaptation of the musical.
Miriam Margolyes Miriam Margolyes ( ; born 18 May 1941) is a British and Australian actress. Known for her work as a character actor across film, television, and stage, she received the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mrs. Mingott in Marti ...
confirmed that she auditioned for the role in the 1996 film during a filmed interview with
Jo Brand Josephine Grace Brand (born 23 July 1957) is an English actress, comedian, presenter and writer. Starting her entertainment career with a move from psychiatric nursing to the alternative comedy stand-up scene and early performances on '' Satur ...
for the UK television special ''Roald Dahl's Revolting Rule Book'' which was hosted by
Richard E. Grant Richard E. Grant (born Richard Grant Esterhuysen; 5 May 1957) is an Eswatini-born 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 H ...
and aired on 22 September 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 characters based on real people Fictional child abusers Fictional English people Fictional female murderers Fictional female sportspeople Olympic Games in fiction Fictional principals and headteachers Fictional track and field athletes Female literary villains Female film villains Matilda (novel) Roald Dahl characters