Quote 13
"You could have just packed up and walked away," Matilda said.
"Not until I got a job," Miss Honey said. "And don't forget, I was by then dominated by my aunt to such an extent that I wouldn't have dared. You can't imagine what it's like to be completely controlled like that by a very strong personality. It turns you to jelly." (17.62-3)
Miss Honey's predicament just goes to show that while physical imprisonment is awful, it's the mental prison that really counts. Sure, with a job and a house, she's physically free of the Trunchbull. But it's clear that her aunt's emotional abuse has kept her mentally confined for years. It's only with Matilda's help that she can finally be set free.
Quote 14
"I know what you're thinking," Matilda said. "You're thinking that the aunt killed him and made it look as though he'd done it himself."
"I am not thinking anything," Miss Honey said. "One must never think things like that without proof." (17.38-9)
Okay, we were going about our merry business thinking the Trunchbull was a mean old tyrant. But now she's a murderer, too? Could this woman get any worse?