Volumnia Gaul

Volumnia Gaul
Occupation	Head Gamemaker Scientist University professor Obstetrician (formerly)
Home	The Capitol
Gender	Female
Book Appearances	The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Movie Appearances	The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Portrayed by	Viola Davis

"What happened in the arena? That's humanity undressed. The tributes. And you, too. How quickly civilization disappears. All your fine manners, education, family background, everything you pride yourself on, stripped away in the blink of an eye, revealing everything you actually are."

—Dr. Gaul to Coriolanus Snow

Volumnia Gaul, usually known as Dr. Gaul, was Head Gamemaker and the overseer of every Hunger Games since their inception, at least up to and including the 10th Hunger Games. She was also a professor of military theory at the University and head of the Capitol's Experimental Weapons Division, based at the Citadel where she bred various twisted muttations in her laboratory. Gaul was a cruel woman who began her career as an obstetrician, but found that it was not for her, as parents wanted reassurances that she felt she could not give.

Biography

"Dr. Gaul did not breed lapdogs; she designed weapons."

—Coriolanus's thoughts about Dr. Gaul

It was Dr. Gaul who was indirectly responsible for the creation of the Hunger Games, as she viewed the Games as a way to represent the lack of control and order that would overcome Panem without the Capitol. While serving as an instructor at the University, she assigned a project to her students: to create a punishment for one's enemies so extreme that they would never be allowed to forget how they had wronged them. Two of her students, Casca Highbottom and Crassus Snow, got together to work on the project. Highbottom was drunk at the time and Snow plied him with even more alcohol to draw out his darker impulses, leading him to create the Hunger Games. Snow assured him it was a private joke, but then turned in the project to Dr. Gaul while Highbottom was sleeping off the alcohol. After the war was over, Dr. Gaul pulled out the proposal and introduced Casca Highbottom to Panem as the creator of the Hunger Games.

She oversaw the 10th Hunger Games and, although it was said to be Casca Highbottom who created the mentor program, she was, in fact, the one pulling the strings. Although not technically a staff member of the Academy, she appeared to the mentors throughout the Hunger Games, handing out various assignments and saying that she was mentoring their mentorships. One of these assignments was a group project to brainstorm a proposal on how betting and sponsorship might be integrated into the games. However, shortly afterwards, one of the mentors, Arachne Crane, was killed, distracting their minds from the task. Coriolanus Snow, however, suspected that she might still expect to have the assignment turned in and thus wrote up a version of the proposal. He also attached Clemensia Dovecote's name to it, thinking that he was doing her a favor. Gaul, however, correctly sussed out that the proposal was the work of only one person. She placed the proposal inside a tank of neon snake mutts and ordered them both to reach into it. The snakes did not react to Snow as they recognized his scent, but a half dozen of them bit Dovecote. Her life was only saved by the quick administration of an anti-venom.

Afterwards, Gaul warned Snow not to lie to her again and that she would cut him off if he did so, not protecting him from Casca Highbottom. She praised his proposal and agreed to implement it, showing no concern whatsoever for Clemensia.

Dr. Gaul later appeared at the funeral of Arachne Crane, sitting directly beside the president of Panem, President Ravinstill. She swore that the Hunger Games would go forward with more energy and commitment than ever before, dedicating the 10th Hunger Games to her memory. Later, during another class meeting, Sejanus Plinth confronted her, telling her that she and the Capitol had no right to starve and punish people. Rather than getting outwardly angry, she seemed amused by his behavior, and told the class that wars were won with heads and not hearts. She described the war as being endless and ordered the class to write an essay on everything that they found attractive about war. She was disappointed by Coriolanus Snow's essay, which seemed to be mostly drivel, while Sejanus Plinth tried to shock her by saying that he thought there was nothing attractive about the war, other than the opportunity to right wrongs, which it didn't. She also said herself that she loved how the war proved her right.

Dr. Gaul showed up at the Capitol TV broadcast of the games, where she was questioned by host Lucretius Flickerman about their slow start. Normally, there was much more action at the start of the games. She explained however, that the bombing of the Capitol Arena created a number of new hiding spots and there was also a new element in the games with the tributes having the opportunity to receive food and water from sponsors. When she stated that the games might last indefinitely, Flickerman replied that he hoped she had more magic tricks up her sleeve. Gaul responded that she had rabbit muttation that was part pit bull that she would love to see him pull out of a hat. Lucky blanched at this, seemingly sickened and told her that he had his own pets. Coriolanus Snow whispered to Lysistrata Vickers that he almost felt sorry for Flickerman, but she replied that the two deserved each other.

Sejanus Plinth's tribute, Marcus, was strung up in the arena, having tried to escape in the wake of the bombing. Seeing this, Plinth was disgusted and sneaked into the arena, hoping to do something for Marcus. Upon discovering this, Dr. Gaul called Snow, ordering him and Plinth's mother, who happened to be with him, to come to the arena. She then ordered Snow into the arena to rescue Plinth and he did so, knowing after the snake attack that she was not something to mess with. He succeeded in the mission, but ended up having to kill one of the tributes, Bobbin. Following this, she described his experience in the arena as a "lesson," saying that what happened was humanity undressed and mankind in its natural state. She then called his essay drivel, except for a part about control at the end of it, and ordered him to write another essay about the value of control and the social contract required for survival.

After Snow became a Peacekeeper in District 12, he sent Dr. Gaul a letter, and later, a jabberjay he'd used to secretly record Sejanus, who had confessed his complicity in a rebel plot. As a result, Sejanus was executed for treason. Afterwards, she engineered Snow's return to the Capitol, describing his time in District 12 as a "summer vacation" and stating that she had no intention of investing so much time in him to hand him off to the districts. She then revealed that he was to study under her at the University. Snow was then taken on as an apprentice Gamemaker and studied advanced military strategy in classes taught by Gaul. His murderous intentions were brought to the fore and he made Dean Highbottom the first victim of his signature method of killing: poison.

Physical description

Dr. Gaul is a stooped, old woman with frizzy gray hair.

Dr. Gaul in her purple reaping outfit.

Film adaptation

In the film, she is portrayed as an older Black woman with a gray Afro, growing white at the roots. She also has heterochromia; one eye is dark brown and the other a piercing shade of blue. During the reaping, she wore a gold-purple dress with a ruffed neck.

Director Francis Lawrence referenced Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka for the "almost mad scientist look" given to Dr. Gaul. The character's heterochromia was a suggestion from actress Viola Davis herself, made possible with contacts by Jessica Nelson at Veiled Optics. Tamar Aviv was responsible for the old-age makeup done on Davis for the role, and Sergio Lopez-Rivera was her personal makeup artist.

Personality and traits

"Hippy, hoppity, how did you fare? Did they greet you like friends or just sit there and stare?"

—Dr. Gaul, asking the mentors how they got along with their tributes during an interview session

She spoke in a sing-song voice and often used silly phrases such as "Hippity, hoppity." Her playful personality belied her twisted nature. She had unnerved Coriolanus Snow since his childhood. Once, during a school field trip, she melted the flesh off a lab rat with a laser before the eyes of Snow's class of nine-year-olds, then asked if anyone in the class had any pets they were tired of. She was quick with praise for those that impressed her, but disliked betrayal and lying. As a result, she could turn quite vicious when she believed that she had been wronged. She also showed pleasure at the expense of others' suffering, as she eradicated all recordings of the 10th Hunger Games but kept a recording for herself for her own amusement. She also indirectly killed Treech, Coral and Circ with her snake mutts, showing that she is not fearful of killing others including children.

She was a morning person, energetic and ready during morning briefings.

Etymology

Coriolanus and Volumnia are both names of characters in William Shakespeare's Coriolanus. In the play, Volumnia is Coriolanus's mother who prevents him from destroying Rome out of vengeance. Interestingly, in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Dr. Gaul is one of the main advocates of the Hunger Games, and she encourages Snow down his dark path.

Her surname, Gaul, was a region and people in Western Europe taken over by the Romans under Julius Caesar.