Matilda: Chapter 16 Summary & Analysis

Miss Honey leads Matilda down the village’s High Street and onto a country road. Once they’re past the village, Matilda seems to suddenly come alive. She runs beside Miss Honey, hopping and talking about her strange power and all the things she could push over with it. Miss Honey cautions Matilda to calm down—they’re wading into the unknown and they need to be careful. Matilda is too excited to take Miss Honey’s concern too seriously. Miss Honey says she’s trying to figure out where Matilda’s power came from—perhaps it has to do with how precocious Matilda is. She has to tell Matilda what “precocious” means and is shocked when Matilda seems unaware of how exceptional she is.

Then, Matilda asks if Miss Honey is afraid she’s going to hurt herself, and she insists that using her power feels “lovely.” Also, it was easier the second time, so she probably just needs to practice. By this time, the landscape is rural and there are changing autumn trees all over. Miss Honey distracts Matilda by telling her the names for the trees until, finally, they reach a gap in the hedge. Miss Honey leads Matilda through a gate and down a narrower, rutted lane.

Matilda realizes she’s never thought of Miss Honey as a real person who doesn’t just live at school. Does she have a sibling, or a mother, or a husband at home? When Matilda asks, though, Miss Honey says she lives alone in a small farm worker’s cottage. She points ahead to a tiny brick cottage shaded by trees and surrounded by blackberries and nettles. Miss Honey recites part of a poem by Dylan Thomas, which she thinks of every time she approaches her house. In it, the speaker tells a girl to not “fear or believe” that a wolf in sheep’s clothing will leap out and eat the girl’s heart. Matilda is stunned; she’s never heard such beautiful poetry. Miss Honey is embarrassed and pushes on ahead.

Matilda hangs back; she’s frightened now. This cottage seems like something out of a fairy tale. But when Miss Honey calls for her, Matilda follows her teacher into the house. Miss Honey isn’t tall, but she has to crouch inside. The kitchen is the size of a closet, with a sink (with no taps), a shelf, and a cupboard with a camping stove on it. There’s only a single bottle of milk. Miss Honey sends Matilda outside to the well with a bucket to draw water.

Matilda thoroughly enjoys the task. When she returns with the water, though, she asks how Miss Honey ever gets enough water for a bath. Miss Honey explains that she heats a bucket of water, strips, and washes herself, just like poor people in England used to do—though in the olden days, people didn’t have a nice stove like she has. Matilda asks if Miss Honey is poor and Miss Honey says she is. As Matilda watches Miss Honey make tea, slice brown bread, and spread margarine on it, Matilda sees her teacher is right. She seems to sense that she shouldn’t embarrass Miss Honey, though, so she insists she doesn’t need sugar.

Miss Honey takes the tray and leads Matilda to the sitting room. Matilda is stunned: the room is tiny and the only furniture are wooden boxes. It’s appalling that Miss Honey lives here. Something fishy must be going on. Miss Honey invites Matilda to sit and eat the bread; she eats most of her food at school. Wanting to be polite, Matilda complies. This is strange and sad, but fun—and Matilda wants to know what’s going on. Miss Honey pours tea and tells Matilda that her power is amazing. It’d be interesting to figure out how much Matilda can do, and Matilda says she’d love to find out.