Author Roald Dahl's classic children's book character Matilda stood up to her school headmistress Miss Trunchbull in the book published in 1988. And now, three decades later, Matilda has a new nemesis-- US President Donald Trump.
Assembly Election Results
October 1, 2018 marked 30 years of the book being first published, introducing to the world Matilda Wormwood, Miss Trunchbull- her nemesis, and Miss Honey- her champion. As Matilda turned 30 this year, the figures of Matilda standing up to President Trump were set up at the Roald Dahl Museum in Buckinghamshire, England. They were created as a part of "reimagining" Matilda in modern times.
Leading to the 30th anniversary, the Roald Dahl Story Company had created a poll wherein they had asked Matilda fans to vote a person who Matilda would stand-up to in modern times. 'Trump was the public's top choice for the heroine's modern-day nemesis, the Roald Dahl Story Company said... Mr Trump topped a public poll about what Matilda's life would be like now, including who she would be standing up to, with Prime Minister Theresa May coming second and TV presenter Piers Morgan third,' reads a report by the BBC. And so, the Matilda statue standing up to Trump was erected at Dahl's home where he lived and wrote for 36 years.
Commenting on Trump being the popular choice in the poll, lexicographer Susie Dent, who is a part of the project, told CNN, “Female rage has always been quite a big taboo, but what Matilda shows is if you channel it effectively it can be a hugely important agent of protest... Trump was voted the most likely person that she would stand up to, and I’m assuming that people saw in him similar traits to Miss Trunchbull.”
"Matilda demonstrates that it's possible for anyone, no matter how small and powerless they feel, to defeat the Trunchbulls in their own lives - a message that feels even more relevant today than it did 30 years ago," said Bernie Hall, from The Roald Dahl Story Company, reports the BBC.
Meanwhile, Sir Quentin Blake, who had illustraled Matilda in the original 1988 book, has drawn eight new images of a 30-year-old Matilda Wormwood. She is seen in different roles including-- from world traveller, astrophysicist to Chief Executive of the British Library.