It's actually kind of remarkable how central Mildred is while so rarely being the 'best' at anything in a conventional sense. In 'The Worst Witch', she's the clumsy, perpetually ink-stained student at Miss Cackle's Academy who can't seem to get a spell right or keep her broomstick under control. But that's the whole point, isn't it? She's the eternal underdog, the one who muddles through not on prodigious talent but on sheer stubborn kindness and a good heart. Her loyalty to her friends Maud and Enid, and even her sometimes-rival Ethel Hallow, defines her more than any magical feat.
What I always found interesting is how the series lets her grow without losing that core identity. She never becomes a flawless top student, but she earns respect through her actions, like saving the school multiple times through pure, inventive courage. It's a quieter, more relatable arc than the 'chosen one' narrative. You root for her because she feels real—the girl who trips over her own feet but will stand up to a witch-hating mob without a second thought.
Honestly, I kind of resented Mildred when I was a kid reading these! I wanted the competent, cool witch, and here was this protagonist who constantly made messes and got everyone into trouble. It felt frustrating. It took me rereading them as an adult to appreciate what Jill Murphy was doing.
She's not an icon of girl power in a fierce way; she's an icon of persistence. The world expects a certain kind of orderly, precise witch, and Mildred is a chaotic, compassionate disaster. Her strength is that she doesn't change to fit the mold—the mold eventually has to expand a little to make room for her. The fact that she's consistently 'the worst' but never expelled or truly hated by her good teachers says a lot about the series' gentle message: there's more than one way to be good.
Mildred Hubble is the main character of Jill Murphy's 'The Worst Witch' books. She's a student at a witch school who is famously terrible at magic—always messing up spells, crashing her broom, and causing havoc. But she's also really kind and brave, which ends up saving the day more often than not. It's a classic underdog story that's been loved for generations, way before Hogwarts was a thing. The recent TV adaptation on CBBC actually does a lovely job of capturing her messy, well-meaning spirit.
2026-07-13 08:51:45
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The thing about Mildred's arc that hit me sideways wasn't the big magic moments, but the quiet shift in how she sees her own flaws. At the start of 'The Worst Witch', she's pure, uncontainable chaos – tripping over her own robes, getting spells spectacularly wrong, and feeling like a permanent outsider at Miss Cackle's Academy. You watch her internalize that 'worst' label so completely. Her evolution isn't really about becoming the 'best' witch. It's about learning to channel that chaotic energy into something creative. By the later books, her 'mistakes' often become unconventional solutions. She stops trying to perfectly mimic Ethel Hallow and starts leaning into her own stubborn, compassionate, and oddly resourceful instincts. The character growth is in the self-acceptance, not the grade improvements. Her loyalty to Maud and Enid stays the constant core, but she becomes their anchor as much as they are hers. The final book gives you this witch who's still messy, but now understands her messiness is part of her strength, not a disqualification from it.
I keep thinking about her relationship with authority, too. She never becomes a rule-follower, but she learns which rules are worth bending and which structures actually keep people safe. It’s a subtle maturation you only notice looking back.