Matilda Wormwood
| Matilda Wormwood | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Matilda |
| Last appearance | Matilda |
| Created by | Roald Dahl |
| Portrayed by |
In the film: Mara Wilson Alissa & Amanda Graham, Trevor & James Gallagher (newborn) Kayla & Kelsey Fredericks (age 9 months) Amanda and Caitlin Fein (toddler) Sara Magdalin (age 4) In the Musical Molly Barwick Lucy-Mae Beacock Adrianna Bertola Elise Blake Paige Brady Hayley Canham Tasha Chapple Mattea Conforti Cleo Demetriou Tori Feinstein Cristina Fray Evie Hone Sophia Gennusa Josie Griffiths Gabrielle Gutierrez Zaris-Angel Hator Chloe Hawthorn Eliza Holland Madore Kerry Ingram Cara Jenkins Sophia Kiely Anna-Louise Knight Oona Laurence Jade Marner Rileigh McDonald Lara McDonnell Lollie Mckenzie Isobelle Molloy Georgia Pemberton Gabriella Pizzolo Clara Read Sasha Rose Mimi Ryder Bailey Ryon Milly Shapiro Matilda Shapland Sara Sheen Emily-May Stephenson Brooklyn Shuck Lottie Sicilia Mia Sinclair Jenness Ripley Sobo Fina Strazza Georgia Taplin Bella Thomas Violet Tucker Mabel Tyler Ava Ulloa Abbie Vena Alexandra Vlachos Lizzie Wells Lara Wollington Eleanor Worthington Cox |
| Voiced by | Lauren Mote |
| Information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Student |
| Relatives |
Harry Wormwood (father) Zinnia Wormwood (mother) Michael Wormwood (brother) Miss Honey (adoptive mother) Magnus Honey (adoptive grandfather, deceased) Mrs. Honey (adoptive grandmother, deceased) |
| Nationality | English (novel) American (film) |
Matilda Wormwood, also known by her adoptive name Matilda Honey, is the title character and protagonist of the bestselling children's novel Matilda by Roald Dahl. She is a highly precocious six and a half year old girl who has a passion for reading books. Her parents do not recognize her great intelligence and show little interest in her, particularly her father, a secondhand car dealer who has performed numerous abusive actions on her. She discovers she has psychokinetic powers which she uses to her advantage. In the BBC Radio 4 two-part adaptation of the novel, she is played by Lauren Mote and in the film, she is portrayed by American actress Mara Wilson.
Matilda has either black or dark brown hair in the novel (however in the film her hair is bright brown) and is small in size. In the film, she says she is six and a half, in the novel, she is five and a half when she starts school. She is described as sensible and quiet, and almost unaware of her intelligence, but, as Roald Dahl observed, if one talked to her about literature or mathematics, she would show the extent of her intelligence (Dahl, 1988)." However, her friend Lavender sees her as gutsy and adventurous. She has the mental ability of telekinesis, the ability to move and levitate inanimate objects by mere thought, without having to physically touch them.
Matilda is a young girl of genius intelligence, having developed skills such as walking and speech at early ages. However, these prodigious characteristics displayed by her character are perpetually ignored by her wealthy, neglectful, dimwitted parents who deem their daughter's incredible literacy skills and knowledge as worthless and spend more time watching television. Angered by her parents' arrogance and rudeness towards her, her vindictive side is shown through the vengeful practical jokes that she plays on her parents after they've done wrong against her (such as replacing her father's hair tonic with her mother's platinum blonde hair dye and gluing her father's favorite hat to his head with Superglue).
After entering kindergarten, Matilda's sweet-natured teacher Miss Honey takes an immediate interest in her kindness and intelligence, but is shocked by her mother and father's lack of regard for her and careless dismissal of her intellect. Matilda is also frequently challenged by the behavior of the tyrannical headmistress Miss Trunchbull, who disciplines students through what can best be described as extreme child abuse for little misdeeds, as well as being very strong. Upon learning of how the life of Miss Honey, who happens to be Miss Trunchbull's niece, has been so negatively affected by her aunt's abuse, Matilda is inspired to put her newly discovered abilities to good use in assisting her beloved teacher in her time of need.
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Wikipedia