Matilda Family

Of course the first line of the book is immediately undercut by everything we learn about Matilda's no-good parents. Most parents are like this. But Matilda's aren't. They're as extraordinarily awful as she is extra great. For once, the kid actually is wonderful. Yet there's no danger of Matilda's own parents acknowledging that.

Just what kind of family is this? They have this totally awesome daughter, and yet totally ignore her. Every little kid needs a family, but with parents like this, Matilda might have to go out and find her own. What she's stuck with at home doesn't seem too promising.

Okay, Matilda might not be sitting up in her room sobbing over it every night, but that doesn't mean she doesn't care that her mom totally ignores her. In fact, we think Matilda probably cares a great deal (what kid wouldn't?), and this little line goes a long way to show it. But the fact that she says it only "a little sadly" shows she's resigned to her parents' behavior. They've always been like that and probably always will be.

Oh, Miss Honey. Forgive us for calling you a bit naïve. Like the narrator at the beginning of the book, she expects most parents to be naturally interested in their kids and think the best of them. But she hasn't met the Wormwoods. She has no idea just how uninvolved and uncaring parents can be.

In this mini-epiphany, Matilda realizes she never thought about people like teachers having families before. While we're betting that most kids don't think about this either, Matilda isn't most kids. Maybe it wasn't on Matilda's radar because her own family is so awful. She'd probably forget them if she could, so why try thinking about other people's families, too?

Miss Honey could've told her dad about the aunt, but chances are he wouldn't have believed her—and then the aunt would probably have gotten even worse as a result. Sometimes it's tough being a kiddo, and not having much of a voice.

Miss Honey had to grow up before her time. In a different way, so did Matilda. But boy, did Miss Honey have it particularly rough. As terrible as Matilda's parents are to her, they're nowhere nearly as awful as this aunt is to Miss Honey. Frankly, if this were a true story, Shmoop would be calling the authorities right about now.

Miss Honey insists on thinking the good of people. She's met Mrs. Wormwood, so she knows what a waste of space Matilda's mother is. Yet she still thinks Mrs. Wormwood will miss her daughter or worry about her. Matilda knows better. But hey, at least Matilda's able to smile about it now, rather than talk about it sadly, like she did in "The Reader of Books."

It's a last insult that her parents don't even look back to say goodbye as they leave Matilda behind forever. But even that can't spoil the triumph of Matilda finally getting the mom she deserves in Miss Honey.

In the Wormwood household, dinnertime is family time in name only. Really, it's just an excuse for these lazy-bones parents to watch TV. It's not like they're chatting up their kids or talking about their days. So Mr. Wormwood's high and mighty rant is really just a cover-up for the fact that he'd rather stare at a screen all night than have a conversation with his own daughter.