Previous
Lavender
Hortensia is an older girl at Crunchem Hall Primary School. She’s not particularly attractive, as she eats chips greedily and has a huge boil on her nose. But this ceases to matter to Matilda and Lavender as Hortensia tells them all about the pranks she’s pulled on Miss Trunchbull. Hortensia has done things like putting syrup on Miss Trunchbull’s chair, or putting itching powder in her knickers. And for these transgressions, Miss Trunchbull has locked Hortensia in the Chokey, a narrow closet with broken glass and sharp nails embedded in the walls (a person in the Chokey has to stand straight upright or risk getting cut). As Hortensia tells the younger girls about her exploits, she turns into a goddess in their eyes and inspires Lavender to put a newt in Miss Trunchbull’s water jug.
Hortensia Quotes in Matilda
The Matilda quotes below are all either spoken by Hortensia or refer to Hortensia. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 8
Quotes
“I have discovered, Miss Honey, during my long career as a teacher that a bad girl is a far more dangerous creature than a bad boy. What’s more, they’re much harder to squash. Squashing a bad girl is like trying to squash a bluebottle. You bang down on it and the darn thing isn’t there. Nasty little things, little girls are.”
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10
Quotes
Both Matilda and Lavender were enthralled. It was quite clear to them that they were at this moment standing in the presence of a master. Here was somebody who had brought the art of skullduggery to the highest point of perfection, somebody, moreover, who was willing to risk life and limb in pursuit of her calling.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12
Quotes
Already Lavender’s scheming mind was going over the possibilities that this water-jug job had opened up for her. She longed to do something truly heroic. She admired the older girl Hortensia to distraction for the daring deeds she had performed in the school. She also admired Matilda who had sworn her to secrecy about the parrot job she had brought off at home, and also the great hair-oil switch which had bleached her father’s hair. It was her turn now to become a heroine if only she could come up with a brilliant plot.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Matilda LitChart as a printable PDF.
Hortensia Quotes in Matilda
The Matilda quotes below are all either spoken by Hortensia or refer to Hortensia. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 8
Quotes
“I have discovered, Miss Honey, during my long career as a teacher that a bad girl is a far more dangerous creature than a bad boy. What’s more, they’re much harder to squash. Squashing a bad girl is like trying to squash a bluebottle. You bang down on it and the darn thing isn’t there. Nasty little things, little girls are.”
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10
Quotes
Both Matilda and Lavender were enthralled. It was quite clear to them that they were at this moment standing in the presence of a master. Here was somebody who had brought the art of skullduggery to the highest point of perfection, somebody, moreover, who was willing to risk life and limb in pursuit of her calling.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12
Quotes
Already Lavender’s scheming mind was going over the possibilities that this water-jug job had opened up for her. She longed to do something truly heroic. She admired the older girl Hortensia to distraction for the daring deeds she had performed in the school. She also admired Matilda who had sworn her to secrecy about the parrot job she had brought off at home, and also the great hair-oil switch which had bleached her father’s hair. It was her turn now to become a heroine if only she could come up with a brilliant plot.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
