Mrs. Wurmhout

Mrs. Wormwood is Matilda’s mother and one of the adults who decides where Matilda will live. In the novel’s final scene, she agrees to let her daughter remain with Miss Honey as she and the rest of the family prepare to leave for the airport. Her brisk consent frees Matilda to choose a home with someone who welcomes her, while the family’s departure closes the story with a marked contrast between separation and care.

Identity and Family

Mrs. Wormwood appears in the concluding episode alongside Mr. Wormwood and their son. When Matilda returns home after visiting Miss Honey, she finds her parents in the hallway stuffing clothes and belongings into suitcases. The family is preparing to leave within half an hour, and Mr. Wormwood tells Matilda to pack quickly because they must catch a plane. The scene introduces Mrs. Wormwood through hurried action rather than explanation: she is part of the household’s abrupt departure, with no account offered here of the family’s destination or plans beyond the airport.

Consent for Matilda to Stay

Matilda arrives at the airport-bound departure asking to remain with Miss Honey, who has offered to care for her and pay her expenses. Miss Honey makes clear that she will take Matilda only if both parents wholeheartedly agree, and addresses Mr. Wormwood with the offer. Mrs. Wormwood responds by telling him to let Matilda go if that is what she wants, adding that it will be one fewer person to care for. Her consent is decisive in practical terms: it allows Matilda to stay rather than be taken away with the family.

The manner of that consent defines the scene’s emotional contrast. Mrs. Wormwood does not argue over Matilda’s request or ask her to reconsider; she treats the arrangement as a reduction in responsibility. The text gives no further explanation of her motives, so her agreement is best understood through what she says and does: she permits the separation while continuing to attend to the family’s departure.

Departure and Narrative Significance

As the family loads the car, Mrs. Wormwood says that a suitcase must go on the back seat because the trunk has no room. This small logistical detail keeps her attention on packing even as Matilda’s future is being settled beside her. Once Mr. Wormwood also gives permission, Matilda throws herself into Miss Honey’s arms, and Miss Honey holds her close. Mrs. Wormwood then gets into the car with Mr. Wormwood and their son.

The family drives away, and the son waves through the rear window; Mrs. Wormwood and Mr. Wormwood do not look back. Miss Honey continues holding Matilda as the large black car disappears around the end of the road. Mrs. Wormwood’s final action is therefore not a farewell but a departure without a backward glance. Against Matilda’s embrace with Miss Honey, that silence gives the ending its clear division: Matilda is left behind by her family, but welcomed into a new home.