Many of us already know the story of Dorothy and her twister trip to Oz. But few know the tale from Elphaba Thropp’s perspective. Are you born green, wicked and witchy … or is wickedness thrust upon you?
Many of us already know the story of Dorothy and her twister trip to Oz. But few know the tale from Elphaba Thropp’s perspective. Are you born green, wicked and witchy … or is wickedness thrust upon you?
When Elphaba Thropp was born, she was shockingly green. She was a spinach-cabbage-and-kale-in-a-blender sort of tint. And she had a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. In fact, just as the screaming newborn was born, she proceeded to bite a midwife’s finger clean off.
It wasn’t a very auspicious beginning. They had to tie tiny Elphaba down and strap her jaw closed so she wouldn’t chew off her own hands. And breastfeeding, well, that was off the table. The infant’s first word was “horrors,” which seemed shocking but appropriate at the time.
Elphaba’s mother, Melena, didn’t even want to touch the little “creature.” She professed to have absolutely no idea how her child could have possibly come out so beastly. Though, there were whispers that Melena was none too particular about the mind-numbing substances she put into her body or the, ahem, individuals she invited into her bed.
Minister Frexspar Throppe made sure those rumors were squelched. He also made sure to keep the baby out of public view.
Anyway, it is safe to say that Elphaba’s upbringing was far from warm and loving. Still, by the time the green girl grew to near-adulthood there was enough money spent and care taken to ensure that she was well-spoken and quite bright. Clever enough, in fact, that she was sent to Shiz University.
Shiz is not the loftiest of schools, but respectable. And Elphaba’s reception there was exactly what you might expect in light of her bony, green countenance and sharp fangs: Other students loathed her instantly.
Elphaba found herself rooming with a pretty blonde named Galinda. Galinda was far more concerned with her beauty, her wardrobe and her social position than pretty much anything else, so the two weren’t exactly instant besties.
But here’s the thing: At 17, Elphaba was bright and thoughtful. She read her father’s religious and political books. She was well aware of the struggles that Oz was having with things of faith and things of government. And she was not evil.
She didn’t have any true belief in faith or politics. But she was generally a good person, mindful of the problems in her world. She hated how Animals, beast-like individuals who could talk and be a productive part of Oz society, were being treated, for example. And she pushed back against any prejudice she saw.
But therein lies the rub. Just like the Animals, or the typically diminutive Munchkin people, Elphaba didn’t fit in. She always was and always would be someone on the outside looking in. Her natural-born angular features and greenish glare made her instantly seem evil in the eyes of others.
But is evil born? Or is it, bit-by-bit and step-by-step … made?
Christianity is not addressed in the book …
… but faith and religion are addressed constantly. Oz is in turmoil over its internal struggles related to the important issues of religion, science and politics. The whole of society seems to be collapsing thanks to that struggle.
Elphaba’s father is an official in the church of the Unnamed God. And he’s set up as a charlatan who’s more concerned with his power base than anything of faith. There’s also a “pleasure faith,” which is a worship of hedonistic sexuality. “Tiktokism” is a mech-focused form of religion. There’s talk of a dragon that dreamt the world into being and lives beneath Oz. And some speak of an ancient belief in a Fairy Queen named Lurline. We hear about some who hold pagan dances and make human sacrifices.
In any case, Elphaba rejects all expressions of faith and spiritualism. And the novel’s narrative voice mirrors her disdain, spurning what it sees as the shallow and pointless nature of belief in any higher power. (The author continues that tirade throughout.)
A traveling glassblower befriends Melena and moves in with them, uses his glass and second sight to predict the future. Young Elphaba is drawn to this soothsaying as well.
There’s also some magic casting in the mix. Galinda and Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose, both become well-known witches who cast some spells—such as enchanting shoes to help a cripple walk and enchanting an ax to maim a woodcutter. Those two and Elphaba are offered secret magical positions of importance in the government. But Elphaba refuses.
Elphaba is eventually given a mysterious book of magic called a grimoire. She uses it to cast a spell that helps a monkey learn to speak. She also acquires a broom that can levitate and fly. But she admits that she was never very good at sorcery of any stripe.
We see a spell-like concoction bring a pair of deer antlers back to life and attack a man. We hear fortunes told and see objects being changed into other objects. A dying woman is magically forced to recount something she had seen in the past—blood spilling from the corner of her eyes. A levitation spell causes a sandwich to explode. Etc.
This is a world where magic is accessible, but it’s only used around the edges of the story.
There are, frankly, very few admirable people in this book. Elphaba’s mother is generally self-focused and alcoholic; she’s also obsessed with her younger, more beautiful days when she had no responsibility. And while Elphaba’s father comes to love both of his daughters (and a son), he isn’t always honest or upright.
Almost everyone else in positions of power (including those who come to care for Elphaba) are corrupted by one vice or another, be it power, greed or sex.
Nanny, an older woman brought in to raise and care for Elphaba and Nessarose, is probably the most consistent of the human adults on hand. But even she has her own self-serving failings.
Stepping back and looking at Oz as a whole, the society at large is presented as a crumbling and failing one, guided more by lusts and desires than anything good and upright. (It’s implied that things really began to crumble when the Wizard arrived in a balloon.)
In truth, Elphaba and Dorothy are portrayed as the most honorable individuals in Oz. Elphaba has her moral failings (more on that below). But at her core, Elphaba seeks the betterment of Animals and other victimized groups. She confronts those who’ve been corrupted by power. However, despite her efforts, she still makes some poor choices and is publicly painted as a wicked witch.
Dorothy, on the other hand, is simply young and innocent. She has no desire or intention of hurting anyone. (But again, those painful situations are thrust upon her almost by accident.)
The government of Oz, led by the Wizard, is wholly corrupt. It nearly wipes out the Quadling race to obtain an underground vein of rubies. It purposely pushes Animals out of sentient service to Oz and back to being mere beasts, owned by others. Etc.
Doctor Dillamond is an Animal professor at Shiz and the one true upright and caring individual we meet. And he is murdered for his efforts (more below).
There is a smattering of f- and s-words throughout the book along with uses of “d–n,” “h—,” “a–hole” and “whore.”
Melena is addicted to wine and a leafy substance that lessens pain and renders her unconscious. (She uses her addiction as an excuse to explain her infidelity.) Students at Shiz drink beer and stronger liquors. One group at a club is also impacted by drug-laced incense in the air. We see some of them get quite inebriated, and that drunkenness sometimes leads to sexual situations.
As mentioned above, Doctor Dillamond is a Goat professor who is kind to human students and secretly volunteers his time to study the consciousness of Animals. He’s murdered, and Elphaba sees his corpse with a slashed open throat.
In fact, there are a number of people (including many of Elphaba’s fellow students) who are killed in the course of the story. Some die in rather gruesome ways, being stabbed, beaten or shot. One individual has her skull crushed by a large marble trophy, for instance. Elphaba’s armless sister is accidentally killed by a falling house.
When Elphaba is a child, she’s taken to interact with a group of other children. Then they pick on her for her greenness and eventually gang together to beat her down. Elphaba’s father is beaten by a crowd and soils himself from the punishment.
Discussions of sexuality and sexual situations in the land of Oz permeate this story.
For instance, an adult Elphaba overhears the Scarecrow and Tinman sharing rumors about her sexuality. One suggests that she’s a lesbian who is addicted to women and drugs. The other states that the witch may well be an emasculated male having an affair with a married man.
That sort of nebulous morality is revisited throughout the story. We read detailed sexual interludes between Melena and one of her lovers. She exposes her breasts to a stranger. And we hear her discussions of a man’s endowments and passion. [Spoiler Warning] Elphaba realizes that the Wizard had a sexual fling with her pretty mother, resulting in Elphaba’s birth. And the man’s intoxicating “Magical Elixir” likely contributed to the fact that Elphaba was born green.
Elphaba later has her own affair with a married man that includes some fully described sexual interactions. (It’s implied that a married Galinda has an affair with the same man.)
At Shiz, some male students get drunk and dance about in silky undershorts as a crowd watches. Other students discuss watching a performance with a scantily clad witch who uses her near-nakedness and body parts as part of her act.
And later, though Elphaba and Galinda decline to attend, several of the students go to a sexual performance and prostitution club. They are awash in booze, drugs, and sexual flirtations. And they’re ushered into a public sex scene between two of their number and a large sentient Animal. As the narrator describes the scene, we’re told that the people who are watching “tear at their own buttons” in self-gratification.
We also hear of other “pleasure faith” interactions in the course of the story.
None.
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West takes its cues from L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (and the 1939 movie) and flips the script: It shows us the story from the Witch of the West’s (Elphaba Thropp’s) point of view.
That’s a creative idea. But fans of the original source material (or the Wicked musical) should know that this book’s world is very different from the one they’re familiar with.
This land of OZ is a world mired in religious struggle and political turmoil. It’s also filled with gritty pain, jackbooted oppression and sexual corruption. This is a place losing its former beauty and its magic. In fact, Elphaba Thropp’s story is more a tale of pain and underground political rebellion than a magical fantasy about an Emerald Oz.
The book delivers positive encouragements to stand against the abuse of innocents and to fight governmental corruption. But parents should think twice (or three times) before letting their young readers dive into this rather dark and dour tale.
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Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not necessarily their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
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