“Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” - Gregory Maguire

I said I was doing a deep dive; here it is. Read on for my thoughts on “Wicked” the novel. Any spoilers will be designated clearly so you can safely read on!

💚 The use of color for each of our 3 main female characters

As with the original “Wizard of Oz” novel and MGM movie, color plays an important role in “Wicked”. Elphaba’s green represents her otherness, rebellion, and her connection to nature and magic. Glinda’s pink symbolizes femininity, vanity, charm, and performative goodness. The novel less is clear regarding Nessarose, but I think that the color that best fits Nessarose is silver. She is gifted a pair of enchanted silver shoes by Frex that enable her to stand and walk. Silver represents her cool detachment, austerity, purity, rigid religious zeal, and desire for order.

💚 Glinda’s complicity in maintaining the Wizard’s power structure

Despite her personal growth at Shiz, the bond between Glinda and Elphaba cools when Glinda makes the decision to align with the Wizard and maintain his propaganda. Due to a  combination of personal pragmatism and public expectations, Glinda is unable to openly question the Wizard’s narratives.

Accepting the role of “Glinda the Good”

The title makes her a symbol of morality and goodness in Oz. Though she privately disagrees with many of the regime’s policies, publicly she aligns herself with the Wizard by accepting her title. If Glinda is “good” then Elphaba is necessarily “evil” per the Wizard’s propaganda machine. To retain the title she loves, Glinda must maintain public silence. Her cooperation allows the Wizard to use her public image to legitimize his regime as one maintaining righteousness and order.

Failure to publicly defend Elphaba

Although she knows Elphie to be a courageous and principled person, she is silent when the Wizard vilifies her as a dangerous rebel. This propaganda enables him to justify his authoritarian policies. Even when she privately grieves for Elphaba, Glinda says nothing to alter public opinion about her friend. Thus, the propaganda persists without challenge.

Consistent collaboration with the powers that be

Early in her career, Glinda is driven by personal ambition and a desire to maintain stability in Oz. Even after the Wizard leaves Oz, Glinda continues to work within the old power structures and Glinda the Good becomes a figurehead for maintaining the status quo.

Glinda’s political pragmatism

By contrast to Elphaba, Glinda values order over justice. She believes that openly challenging the regime a la Elphaba will only lead to chaos. Thus, she is willing to compromise her ideals for security and indirectly sustains an oppressive system.

Glinda is not malicious, but her reluctance to challenge the Wizard serves the regime’s interests. Glinda represents the costs of aligning with power and the idea of moral compromise.

💚 Elphaba and Glinda’s relationship [🚨 🚨 stop here if you don’t want spoilers 🚨 🚨]

The murder of Doctor Dillamond serves as a turning point for their relationship. Despite their stark differences, their bond grows into one of mutual respect and affection. Elphaba’s fierce sense of justice influences Glinda to question her privileged worldview, and Elphaba’s rigid opinion of Glinda is softened by Glinda’s growing compassion, kindness, and ability to change. However, some differences are too wide to bridge; their divergent approaches to morality and power lead to a distancing of their friendship.

While Glinda admires Elphaba’s courage and principles, she disagrees with her rebellious methods. Although she becomes a symbol of “goodness”, Glinda chooses to prioritize stability and her public image, thus diminishing her moral standing. Eventually, Glinda is left to grapple with her own complicity in Elphaba’s death. Having accepted the mantle of “Glinda the Good” and aligning herself with the Wizard’s authoritarian rule, she indirectly contributed to the public perception of Elphaba as “wicked”. Elphaba and Glinda’s divergent paths, are meant to highlight the complexities of living ethically in an unjust world.

Glinda’s reaction to Elphaba’s death showcases the shades of grey between good and evil. Privately, Glinda knows that her friend was not a villain, but a largely misunderstood person fighting for oppressed minorities. Glinda’s public persona which props up the Wizard’s propaganda, prevents her from challenging the narrative that Elphaba was evil. Glinda is left to privately mourn her friend and contend with her conscience which tells her she should have used her influence to protect Elphaba.

💚 Elphaba and Nessarose’s relationship

Born with green skin and a rebellious attitude, Elphie is largely ignored and resented by her extremely religious father, Frex. Nessarose, on the other hand, is favored by Frex who views her as a paragon of delicate virtue and praises her rigid religious devotion. The sisters have a strained relationship.

As adults, their ideological differences widen. Elphie becomes a passionate activist for Animal rights, while Nessarose becomes the authoritarian ruler of Munchkinland and employs cruel methods to enforce her theocratic views. Maguire uses Elphaba and Nessarose to highlight shades of morality. Elphaba the rebel leader is seen as “wicked” by society. Meanwhile, Nessarose uses oppression cloaked by “righteousness” to achieve law and order.

Later, when Nessarose, now the Wicked Witch of the East, is accidentally killed by Dorothy’s house, Elphaba is devastated. Although their relationship was fraught, Elphaba is wracked with guilt and pushed further into isolation as a result of Nessarose’s death.