Agatha Trunchbull is the main antagonist of Matilda by British author Roald Dahl and its film adaptation. She was the principal of Crunchem Hall Primary School. Agatha was both highly abusive and homicidal who would torment the children at the school including the main protagonist Matilda Wormwood.
Actions and Characteristics[]
- Trunchbull was the principal of the Crunchem Hall Primary School where she had power and authority over the school staff and children. As the principal, she was abusive of her powers by the excessive punishment she would inflict upon the children for minor offenses or for simply annoying her. She was an authority figure at the school and held power over school activities. She is shown running Crunchem Hall Primary School like a dictator where she sees herself as a god and where all the students are afraid of her.
- She is portrayed to be the most dangerous and homicidal character in the film. Also, she is easily the most incomparably powerful antagonist, possessing nigh-inhuman physical strength as well as excellent hearing.
- She was shown to highly sensitive to her environment by being attentive to items that were out of place when she left the house to figure out people who broke into her house.
- She was able to cause the big three-story house to shake by when she jumped from the third floor catwalk to try and go after the intruders in her house to kill them.
- She was able to punt a black cat with one kick along with throwing a child with no issues.
- She is the most evil and heinous character who is shown to be a choleric sadistic torturer. She enjoys physically and emotionally torturing children in the cruelest ways possible as means of asserting her authority towards anyone she perceives to be weaker than her. In addition, she shows no genuine care for her niece, Jennifer Honey, as she was the one who broke her arm years ago and shows no love for her on top of possibly killing her parents.
- Unlike the other antagonists of the film like the Wormwoods, Trunchbull is portrayed to be the grimmest threat when she appears. She is the only character in the film portrayed to have the potential to cause serious physical harm or kill anyone who provokes her.
- It takes Matilda and the help of the children to stop her as she was the most dangerous threat to the school and the overall setting. The Wormwoods in comparison got defeated easily at the end of the novel, proving that Trunchbull is ultimately a more serious threat and harder enemy to Matilda than her own abusive family.
Stats[]
| Intelligence | 3 / 5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Skills | 3 / 5 | |
| Speed | 3 / 5 | |
| Stamina | 3 / 5 | |
| Strength | 4 / 5 |
For information on stats, review the stats page.