Quote 4
"Up to now," Miss Honey went on, "I have found it impossible to talk to anyone about my problems. I couldn't face the embarrassment, and anyway I lack the courage. Any courage I had was knocked out of me when I was young. But now, all of a sudden I have a sort of desperate wish to tell everything to somebody. I know you are only a tiny little girl, but there is some kind of magic in you somewhere. I've seen it with my own eyes." (17.14)
This is the real tragedy of the Trunchbull's abuse. She's so frightening, so awful, that she knocks the courage out of her victims, particularly those she has been abusing for ages. Miss Honey isn't not brave. It's just that any courage she may have had has been squelched by the evil Trunchbull.
Quote 5
"Do you think that all children's books ought to have funny bits in them?" Miss Honey asked.
"I do," Matilda said. "Children are not so serious as grown-ups and they love to laugh."
Miss Honey was astounded by the wisdom of this tiny girl. She said, "And what are you going to do now that you've read all the children's books?"
"I am reading other books," Matilda said. "I borrow them from the library. Mrs Phelps is very kind to me. She helps me to choose them." (7.116-119)
We can't help but wonder if Matilda might be speaking for the man himself, here—Roald Dahl. After all, all the books he wrote for children had funny bits, and that's what makes him such a memorable author. Kids love to laugh, and Roald Dahl loved to make kids laugh.
Quote 6
"I'm sure you know," Miss Honey said, "that children in the bottom class at school are not expected to be able to read or spell or juggle with numbers when they first arrive. Five-year-olds cannot do that. But Matilda can do it all. […]" (9.27)
Miss Honey compares Matilda, the genius, against all the other five-year-olds there are. She says, very confidently, that there are things children that age simply are unable to do. The fact that she "can do it all" shows how exceptional Matilda is. She's young, sure, but she can do more than many adults (like, oh, her father).