Official Strandler is definitely a main Shadow in Matched, in Cassia's life. She is the most tangible villain in the story, even though the Society itself, through her, or with her, could be considered a Shadow, and villain.
Official Strandler does anything she can to get in Cassia's way and make her journey more difficult. She tries to make an experiment out of Cassia and Ky, and be in control of it all, and everything Cassia does. She is cruel and evil.
Cassia's thoughts: She does not stand to greet me. When I come close to her, I do not sit down. It's bright out here, and I squint my eyes against the white of her uniform and the metal of the bench, both dazzling, sharp, crisp in the sunlight. I wonder if she and I see things differently now that we don't just see what we hope to see.
The sun shines almost directly overhead, the light unflattering. Her skin looks papery and misted with sweat. Her edges seemed blurred, her uniform and its insignia small, less powerful than the last time we talked.
I hate the Officials the most when they do this: when they act as if they have seen it all before, as if they have seen me before. When really they have never seen me at all. Just my data on a screen.
