George Hawthorne

“	Silent, class, and take your seats, because school is in... session!	”
	— Principla Hawthorne to The Fright Club^[src]

George Hawthorne was a recurring character on Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. He was portrayed by Bronson Pinchot.

He was the strict principal of Baxter High before Lilith, parading herself as Mary Wardwell, feasted on him.

Character Description[]

Baxter High's villainous, puritanical principal. He is a constant thorn in Sabrina's side and is always trying to thwart her escapades.^[1]

Early Life[]

At some point in his life, George Hawthorne managed to become the Principal of Baxter High. During his career as Principal of Baxter High, he ordered that certain books considered problematic be banned from the school library.

Throughout Chilling Adventures of Sabrina[]

Physical Appearance[]

Hawthorne was a middle-aged Caucasian male with dark hair, and an athletic build. As his position of the Principal of Baxter High, he was known to wear a smart business suit and striped tie, as his work uniform.

Personality[]

Despite being the Principal of Baxter High, he was an unpleasant and unreasonable man, with little compassion or sympathy for the well-being or interests of his students. He showed a grossly neglectful attitude towards the welfare of vulnerable students, such as when he callously told Sabrina that her friend Susie Putnam, who was being bullied, should simply consider leaving the school. He was also rather chauvinistic and seemed to harbor a sexist attitude against female students, shown by his disapproval and refusal to allow WICCA to form. Furthermore, he was a very conservative man with a puritanical perspective on life, as shown by his purge of controversial literature from the school library, possibly fearing it could spread radical or revolutionary attitudes and ideas among his students. However, he did show occasional moments of decency and fairness, such as when he decided to let the school board review a banned book on Rosalind Walker's wishes.

Despite his seemingly tough and authoritarian approach to his career, in reality, he was rather cowardly and easily frightened. This was shown with his severe arachnophobia, which was exploited by Sabrina on the suggestion of Madam Satan, as a revenge ritual for his callous attitude towards Susie's well being. This magical attack terrified him instantly upon being surrounded by numerous spiders and left him in such a state of shock and horror that he took absence from work for a few days to recover.

Relationships[]

WICCA[]

CAOS-Caps-1x03-The-Trial-of-Sabrina-Spellman-67-Harvey-Rosalind-Sabrina-Susie — The WICCA club v. Principal Hawthorne

Principal Hawthorne was a strong opponent of WICCA, Women's Intersectional Cultural and Creative Association and fought against its creation. Principal Hawthorne was very hostile against the club's founder, Sabrina Spellman and the girl's habit of challenging his authority and breaking the school rules that she and her friends believed were outdated and unjust. When Rosalind Walker, another club member, accused him of censorship about the allowed school readings, Principal Hawthorne was forced to admit defeat in front of strong evidence of a "book purge" from the school library.

Baxter High Ravens[]

CAOS-Caps-1x02-The-Dark-Baptism-53-Billy-Carl-Ed — Baxter High Ravens

Unlike WICCA, Principal Hawthorne was a strong supporter of the local varsity team, the Baxter High Ravens. Although the team's players like Billy Marlin and Carl Tapper were often involved in brawls and harassment of other students, Principal Hawthorne was always willing to turn a blind eye to their wrong actions. When Sabrina accused the boys of bullying Susie Putnam due to their gender identity, Principal Hawthorne defended the boys. According to Madam Satan, posing as Ms. Wardwell, this was due to the chauvinist and misogynist ideology of Principal Hawthorne, the head of a patriarchal school system.

Mary Wardwell[]

CAOS-Caps-1x10-The-Witching-Hour-63-Principal-George-Hawthorne-Madame-Satan-Mary — Hawthorne flirting with Ms. Wardwell

Although George Hawthorne had a low opinion of women, he was infatuated with school teacher Mary Wardwell. After she was taken over by Madam Satan and underwent a drastic change in her look, becoming more appealing than she was before, Principal Hawthorne repeatedly tried to ask her out. Unbeknownst to him, though, the meek teacher had actually been taken over by a demonic witch who devoured him after she finally accepted his invitation to dinner.

Appearances[]

Part 1[]

Part 3[]

"Chapter Twenty-One: The Hellbound Heart"

Trivia[]

During Part 1 of the series, Principal Hawthorne is the subject of some cannibal jokes and references before actually being eaten by Madam Satan in "Chapter Ten: The Witching Hour".
Although Principal Hawthorne doesn't appear in the Archie Comics, he bears resembles to Principal Willard Kraft from the 90s sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Principal Waldo Weatherbee from the Archie Show, a 60s animated series. The common traits are a personal dislike of Sabrina Spellman and an aversion to magic, of which all three were often victims.
In "Chapter Five: Dreams in a Witch House", Principal Hawthorne dated Hilda Spellman, a nod to Mr. Kraft dating Aunt Hilda (and Aunt Zelda, at some point) in the 90s sitcom.