Despite being a children’s story, Matilda has its dark parts, and one theory makes it even darker by completely changing her family history, which also makes her life more tragic. Roald Dahl is the mind behind some of the most popular and beloved children’s books, but it can’t be denied that there’s some darkness in most of them. Among them is Matilda, which got a film adaptation in 1996 with Danny DeVito as director. Matilda was a critical success, and though it was a box-office disappointment, it became widely popular after being released on home video.

Matilda introduces the audience to the тιтle character (played by Mara Wilson), a six-year-old child genius who is mistreated by her parents. On top of that, when she starts attending school, she comes across the tyrannical principal, Agatha Trunchbull (Pam Ferris), who loves using abusive methods on students. Matilda finds comfort in her friends and her teacher, Miss Honey (Embeth Davidtz), while she also discovers she has telekinetic powers. Even though Matilda’s story is already sad, a dark theory makes it even more tragic by changing her family history.

Matilda Theory Suggests Harry Wasn’t Her Biological Father

Zinnia Might Have Cheated On Harry In The Past

Matilda is the second child of Harry (DeVito) and Zinnia Wormwood (Rhea Perlman), who already had a boy, Michael. Since Matilda is born, Harry can’t hide his dislike and doesn’t even care about car safety when taking newborn Matilda home. Zinnia is no better, as she doesn’t pay attention to Matilda either and prefers to go play bingo every day. Meanwhile, Michael doesn’t care about Matilda, but he will take any chance to bully her and mess with her for not only being younger but also being different from the rest of the family.

It’s all this neglect and mistreatment from her family that leads Matilda to be very independent at an early age – by the time she’s four, Matilda cooks her own breakfast and goes to the library all by herself, with her parents not knowing about any of this because they don’t care. However, there are some minor but important differences in how Zinnia and Harry treat Matilda, which led a Reddit user to theorize that Matilda might be the result of an extramarital affair.

The author points out that even though both Harry and Zinnia are awful parents, Zinnia still gives some bits of attention to Matilda, such as leaving food for her on the stove or the microwave and asking about her day, even if she doesn’t actually want to hear it. Zinnia isn’t actively trying to hurt Matilda, nor is she doing anything to stop others from doing so, mostly Harry. Harry is abusive, but not just psychologically and emotionally. When Matilda tells him to yell at her so she can use her powers, his response implies that he tends to be physically abusive, too.

The author suggests Zinnia cheated on Harry and so Matilda was born, with Harry suspecting she was unfaithful but not knowing for certain – but that’s enough for him to dislike Matilda. Not only is Matilda a reminder of Zinnia’s infidelity, which is already a punch to his ego and his old-fashioned ideas of masculinity (which are very clear throughout the movie), but Matilda is so different from him and his family that it only frustrates him and angers him more that he has to raise a child that isn’t his.

The theory also explains why Michael is such a bully type of older brother to Matilda. Surely, Michael fits the typical portrayal of a bully and annoying older brother, but he’s borderline cruel to his sister. This can be explained by Michael seeing how his parents, especially Harry, treat Matilda, but there could be more to it. If Matilda wasn’t Harry’s daughter, Michael would remember how the family dynamic was before Matilda was born, so his final comment on being an only child again at the end of Matilda is his way of showing how he has longed to have a normal family dynamic again.

The author adds that there are some details throughout Matilda that support the idea of Zinnia cheating on Harry, such as her openly flirting with the undercover FBI agents and her reaction while talking to her friend on the phone about someone having a baby that wasn’t her husband’s. To Zinnia, Matilda is a reminder of a mistake she once made, which is why it’s not very hard for her to agree to the adoption, though not without showing a bit of emotion.

Where Do Matilda’s Powers Come From?

Could Matilda’s Powers Be Genetic?

One of the biggest questions about Matilda, both in the book and the movie, is how she got her powers or where they come from. Zinnia, Harry, and Michael are common people with no powers or special abilities of any kind, so it’s most likely not something genetic. It’s generally understood that Matilda’s powers are a result of her genius intellect, and even Miss Honey theorizes in the book that, because her brain is understimulated due to her poor schooling and her parents being way into watching TV all the time, Matilda’s unused potential manifests as telekinesis.

However, if the theory about Matilda not being Harry’s daughter is true, this adds another possible explanation for Matilda’s powers and high intelligence. In this case, Matilda’s intelligence and powers could be genetic, from her biological father’s side, and this raises yet another big question: how and where Zinnia met Matilda’s father, but that’s up to every viewer’s imagination.

How This Matilda Theory Makes The Movie’s Ending More Emotional

The Ending Takes A Different But Still Great Meaning

At the end of Matilda, her parents agree to let Miss Honey adopt her, and so the Wormwoods flee to Guam and Miss Honey and Matilda become the family they never had. Matilda is all about embracing one’s differences and talents, regardless of what others – family or outsiders – think, and that you’ll eventually find your place in the world, with the right people who appreciate your true self. Matilda fights her way through a family that doesn’t appreciate her and doesn’t truly see her, but if she’s not Harry’s daughter, the story’s message is a lot louder and more emotional.

Matilda, then, is raised by someone who doesn’t want her and will always be resentful of her for what she represents, but she still comes out on top and finds a loving home. No matter her family backstory, Matilda is and will always be special, and the message of being a good person, even when surrounded by horrible people, remains intact as well, more so as there’s no guarantee that her biological father was better than Harry Wormwood. The theory certainly adds more darkness to Matilda, but also puts the story in a different light.

Source: Reddit.