Happy Halloween Readers,
So, I read the Wicked years series books after seeing the
musical and becoming slightly obsessed I honestly lost my mind when I
discovered the musical was based on a book (well two books). I have also
misplaced them when I moved so I’m sorry it’s a picture of the theatre program.
Unlike the popular movie and Baum's writings, the novel
presents events, characters and situations from Baum's books in new ways,
making a number of alterations, for example, this novel is not really
child-friendly; it contains adult language and content, including violent
imagery and sexual situations. Many people might believe this book series fails
to meet the standards of The Wizard of Oz. I'm not afraid to say... but we're
not in Hollywood's Oz anymore. Also, if you think Hollywood's Oz is an actual
thing look into the stories of what the poor Judy Garland had to go through.
The Wicked Witch of the West is a pretty clear-cut
character. She is evil. She is green.
She is scary.
Wicked takes this evil, green and scary witch and turn
her into a person we can love and it doesn't do it in a cutesy way. Elphaba is
born a freak in the eyes of the people around her she is not only green, but
she had teeth like a shark and has a severe allergy to water. Her upbringing
wasn't too much better She had to help raise and take care of her beautiful and
crazily armless sister who eventually become the Wicked Witch of the East. She
was ostracized in school. Her roommate Galinda, who would eventually become
Glinda, the good witch, could barely stand her and despite all of this, we grow
to like her. She's smart as a whip, sarcastic and actually quite fun.
Elphaba cares for all living creatures she gets involved
in a cause to help protect the capital A Animals (those that can talk), who are
being rounded up, by the real bad guy of the story: The Wizard. We even see her
take a lover and fall in love and then we see her lose her lover. The evolution
of her becoming the Wicked Witch of the West is a natural and logical path and
even at the end, crazy as she became, we understand her and pity her, making
her that much tragic.
Maguire gives a theory to why Elphaba is Green the
Miracle Elixir It was given to Elphaba's mother who took it and had bizarre dreams.
is suggested that Melena taking the potion when Elphaba was conceived may be
why her skin is green. Elphaba keeps the bottle of elixir with her throughout
her life and takes some late in life and has prophetic dreams. Some are so
disturbing to her that she rarely sleeps for the rest of her life this could
possibly be part of the cause of her loss of wits near the end of her life.
Dorothy takes this object to the Wizard as proof of Elphaba's death.
The brilliance behind Maguire's books is his understanding
that both the fantasy world and the real world can be united by mystical
situations, realistic emotions, and simple human spirit. It seems rather, that
he intends to take the perfect pretty worlds we are used to, and turns them
into something we hate recognizing about ourselves. Maguire demonstrates that
no matter what… life happens. People get jealous, people feel resentments and
hurt. There isn't always a simple solution to everything.
In 2003, the novel was adapted as the Broadway
musical Wicked.
Books in the series
- Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
- Son of a Witch
- A Lion Among Men
- Out of Oz
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