earticle

영어

Despite the popularity of Roald Dahl’s Matilda (1988), there is comparatively little criticism of the main antagonist of Miss Trunchbull. Matilda is a story about the struggle against tyranny, specifically Miss Trunchbull who is “a fierce tyrannical monster” (Dahl 67). However, Miss Trunchbull is also a woman of positive attributes such as her excellence in male sports and as the principal of the school, the voice of authority. Furthermore, without Trunchbull who fascinates everyone with her charisma, authoritarian voice, childish whims, masculine features and physical strength, there would be no engaging conflict in Matilda. Drawing on Judith Butler’s concept of the performativity of gender, this paper suggests that performativity constructs the figure of Miss Trunchbull and this explains her monstrosity. Rather than reading Trunchbull simply as a “fierce tyrannical monster” figure that is comic, immature, and monstrous, this paper argues that Trunchbull is a unique and fascinating character that obliterates the gender dichotomy, child/adult boundaries and one who destabilizes power dynamics.