For anyone not familiar with the 1988 Roald Dahl classic children’s book Matilda - I wish I could be you and read it again for the first time.

However, until you do, you’ve been warned — there are spoilers ahead!

The novel tells the story of a highly intelligent, kind, and misunderstood little girl who lives with her cruel family and uses books and her imagination as a means of escape. When her neglectful parents finally realise they’ve forgotten to send six-year-old Matilda to school, they ship her off to Crunchem Hall Primary School, where she meets the cruel headmistress, Agatha Trunchbull - also known as ‘The Trunchbull’ – a towering, authoritarian ex-hammer throwing champion who loathes children and takes an instant dislike to Matilda.

Matilda, pushed to her limits by her parents’ shouting, the constant noise of mindless television shows, and relentless bullying from The Trunchbull, discovers she can move objects with her mind when she allows her anger to bubble to the surface. She eventually harnesses her powers to stand up to The Trunchbull, not only for herself but also for her classmates and her kind and nurturing teacher, Miss Honey.

The book was adapted into a movie starring Mara Wilson as Matilda in 1996, and later reimagined as a musical by Australian songwriter, comedian and all-round genius Tim Minchin in 2010. Most recently, a film adaptation of the musical was picked up by Netflix in 2022.

“These books gave Matilda a hopeful and comforting message: You are not alone.”

— Roald Dahl

Image courtesy of Sony Pictures

While Matilda is often celebrated for its themes of resilience, justice, and the triumph of the underdog, it also holds deeper layers that resonate with the Autistic community. Her intelligence, her sense of being ‘different,’ and her struggle to be seen and valued strongly parallel the Autistic experience. As someone who deeply connected with the story growing up, only to be diagnosed with Autism at the age of 39, I now see reflections of my own journey in Matilda’s story.

This post explores those connections across different adaptations, diving into how Matilda speaks to neurodivergence and embracing one’s true identity.

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The Book

Many late-diagnosed Autistic individuals (especially those assigned female at birth [AFAB]) might agree that Roald Dahl likely didn’t intend to create an Autistic female protagonist when he published the book way back in 1988. Yet, Matilda’s intelligence, isolation, and love for learning so closely reflect the experiences of many twice-exceptional Autistic people — those who are both gifted and Autistic. Her disconnect from her family, who fail to understand or value her, resonates with the Autistic community, who often feel misunderstood in neurotypical environments. Matilda’s intense focus on reading is also deeply relatable, as it mirrors the special interests that many Autistic individuals develop and pour their hearts and souls into.

The Movie

While the movie (besides being set in the USA) largely stays true to the book, Mara Wilson’s portrayal of Matilda brought a new layer of connection to the character.

On screen, Matilda appears so tiny and sweet, with her quiet moments of strength and vulnerability often framed against the towering figures of her parents or The Trunchbull. This contrast makes her experiences feel more immediate and relatable, even for kids like me at the time who had already connected with her in the book. For many children watching, her smallness emphasised her bravery, making her story resonate in a whole new way.

Matilda’s relationship with Miss Honey also hits harder on screen. Watching Miss Honey — the first person to ever truly see Matilda — marvel over her intelligence and kind spirit adds emotional weight. The bond they form by the end of the movie could easily be seen as a portrayal of a neuroaffirming figure for Matilda, something many Autistic people long for.

For me personally, the movie felt particularly powerful because I was 11-years-old when it came out — older than when I first read the book (countless times, I might add). The story had already stuck with me, but seeing it on screen, with all the emotions and visual cues, made it land differently. Though I didn’t have evil parents, and my school didn’t have a Trunchbull, I did have a run-in with a teacher who definitely had Trunchbull vibes (but that’s a story for another time). I was definitely a bookworm too, just like Matilda. My vocabulary developed early, and it was always remarked that I was “bright”, introspective, observant, and a daydreamer. I always felt different from my friends — though I didn’t know why. And I longed to find my own Miss Honey at school.

Even though I had friends, and a family who loved me, I still yearned to be truly seen and understood by someone. I didn’t understand it at the time, but I was searching for someone who could recognise a part of me that I couldn’t even fully grasp myself at the time. Watching Matilda find that in Miss Honey made me feel like maybe, one day, I could find someone who saw me in the same way.

The Musical

Having connected so deeply with both the book and the movie, I was beside myself when I heard that Matilda was going to be adapted into a musical, written by one of my favourite artists — Tim Minchin. It happened to coincide with a trip I was taking to the United States, and seeing the musical in New York City became one of my most treasured memories.

I cried multiple times throughout the show, listened to the soundtrack on repeat for the rest of the trip, and booked tickets to see it again in Melbourne the second they went on sale (and then I cried again). That was almost 10 years ago, and the soundtrack still hits me right in the feels — Every. Single. Time. Now, with just a few months until I see it in London, I fully anticipate being even more of a mess seeing it for a third time, as the story and its songs have only grown more meaningful to me over the years.

Tim Minchin’s brilliant songwriting elevated Matilda to new heights. He has an incredible ability to blend humour and heart, crafting lyrics that are clever, playful and yet profoundly moving. The songs explore themes like Matilda’s quiet rebellion, her strong sense of justice, and her feeling of not belonging, diving deeply into the emotions behind them. Through these themes, he unintentionally created a deep connection to the Autistic experience.

In Tim’s recent tour for his new book You Don’t Have To Have A Dream, he explained that he didn’t intend for his rendition of Matilda’s character to resonate so strongly with the Autistic community — particularly his song Quiet — and it took him entirely by surprise.

“But I wonder if inside my head,
I'm not just a bit different from some of my friends.”

— *Quiet*, Tim Minchin

Image courtesy of netflix.com

For many Autistic individuals, Quiet captures the sensory overwhelm of the world around us and the desperate need to retreat into the safety of our own minds.

Matilda doesn’t conform to the expectations of her family or her world. Throughout the musical, this theme is pushed even further. Through Minchin’s lyrics, we see Matilda fully embrace her identity, becoming the hero of her own story. It’s a journey many Autistic people relate to — the struggle to be true to oneself in a world that tries to force conformity.

Tim then shared that, although he doesn’t consider himself neurodivergent, his daughter is Autistic, and he “understands her more than he understands anyone else in the world.”

Realising that Tim’s daughter is growing up with a father who seems to so deeply understand and celebrate her filled me with overwhelming comfort and joy, almost too much for my little neurodivergent heart to bear.

What makes this feel even more magical is that Matilda the Musical began taking shape in 2009, when his daughter would have been just a toddler. It’s unlikely he knew about her neurodivergence at the time, which makes the musical’s themes seem almost serendipitous in their resonance with the Autistic experience.

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Matilda (in any of its adaptations) may not have explicitly been written with neurodivergence in mind, but the depth and relatability of its themes make it a powerful story for many Autistic individuals — myself included.

The story continues to resonate because it shows us that being different is something to be embraced. For many in the Autistic community, Matilda is a symbol of resilience, of accepting who you truly are, and of the importance of finding our tribe – the people just like Miss Honey who see and value us for who we truly are. Whether through Roald Dahl’s original book, the 1996 movie, or Tim Minchin’s heartfelt musical, Matilda’s story teaches us that standing up for ourselves and embracing our differences is where our true power lies.