So, in Maguire's saga of the Wicked Witch, Liir is a crucial and important that is introduced in the fourth section of the first book. What makes his story so important is that it continues the story in the sequential books in the saga and plays an important role in each. So, let's get right into it and talk about Elphaba's son, Liir.
Liir Thropp (imaged above) is first introduced in the first book in the fourth section, "Into the Vinkus". He is a young boy, possibly elementary school-age, and knows very little; but, is very attached to Elphaba until her demise. At one point, Elphaba even calls Liir "her little dog". That is just too much! Additionally, Liir was born in the mauntery (or convent) while Elphaba is unconscious. So, in this post, we will be discussing all the events of Liir's life within the first book that we are introduced to along the way; and, since this year celebrates its 15th anniversary of Son of a Witch, I will showcase some fun facts about that book as well.
So, as begin the fourth seciton of the book, we discover a little boy has been walking around with Elphaba. We do not know anything about this boy, but he clings to the Witch of the West like a mommy. So, as he leaves with Elphaba from the mauntery (or known as a convent in our world) at the edge of the City of Emeralds, so begins his journey in life in Oz. The two leave with the Grasstrail Train, who are departing to traverse the Vinkus country, and during this time, we are first introduced to the boy as Liir when he tells a dog, "Killyjoy", his name, which is what instigates Elphaba to call him "her little dog". At the end of their journey with the Grasstrail Train, the two end up at Kiamo Ko (seen above), the infamous witch's castle, and ends up moving in with Fiyero's wife (Sarima), his children, and her many sisters (also known as the Arjiki Tribe). During his time here, Liir becomes attached to Nor, one of Sarima and Fiyero's children, as her other children (Manek and Irji) are just bullies to him (like convincing him to jump into a well where he almost drowns). Nor, as we find out in later books, is short for Ilianora and is the youngest of the three children as well as being the a princess of the Arjiki tribe housed at Kiamo Ko.
Nor's family and Liir have plenty of adventures throughout many different years at this castle and not a lot happens here, except that Nor's family ends up being taken away by the Army of Oz under the command of Commander Cherrystone. After the family is taken, Liir, Elphaba, and Nanny (along with her animals) are now living alone in the castle. Now, Liir's involvement in the Wicked saga does not end at the end of the Vinkus section, but continues on into the final section of the first book, where he meets Dorothy, of whom he does not think very highly, and into the next three books.
So, if you are interested in checking out Liir's childhood story, check out the first Wicked book and read just the fourth section of the book; but, if you want more information on where Liir's story goes, definitely check out the second book, Son of a Witch, which focuses mostly on him and his journey through life. Well, that is all there is to know about Liir Thropp during his time in the Vinkus and if you would like to know more about this mysterious character, find out more here.
As a bonus feature, I will be highlighting some fun facts as a small celebratory post for the 15th anniversary this year of Son of a Witch, the second book in Maguire's Wicked saga.
Nuns in Oz?!
First up, did you know that there are Nuns in Oz? Oh man! Who would have guessed? Introduced in the first book, the Church of St. Glinda is a convent (or known in the book as a MAUNTERY) with nun (or MAUNTS). By the second book, it has become known as the Cloister of St. Glinda and Yackle, an ancient witch has become part of the convent. The reason that this is relevant is that Liir conceives his daughter with Candle at the convent. This is also ironically the place where Liir was born unbeknownst to Elphaba. Who would have guessed that Liir would have frequented this place so much?
A Prison in Oz?
Next up, a prison that definitely is not like the one Baum described. In The Patchwork Girl of Oz, we are introduced to the concept of jail in Oz as Ojo is sent to jail for picking a six-leafed clover. In Maguire's saga, Southstairs is an underground prison underneath the Emerald City that holds deviants and criminals in the Land of Oz. Liir visits this place in the book and interacts with various people in this underground prison world, including Shell Thropp, Elphaba's younger half-brother. Uncle Shell?!?
Sheltergod "Shell" Thropp
Now, after Turtle Heart, a traveling Quadling, and Melena hooked up in the first book, Melena gave birth to Shell, Elphaba's younger half-brother. Since the first book, he built up quite a world for himself and became a well-known figure in Southstairs. Some would even call him an "Emperor Apostle", as is his title in the book. At the prison, Shell would inject a complacency formula into the prisoners to get information out of them that could be useful in taking down conspiracy theorists in Oz or any information that would be useful in the Munchkinlanders War on Oz. He is truly a fascinating character that needs more Fan Art done of him.
Liir is Bisexual
Another fun fact about Liir is that Liir is bisexual in the story. He sleeps with a woman unconsciously but sleeps with a man consciously. He is the first character in Oz that has noticeably been identified on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. Many other characters' sexual proclivities have been questioned and hypothesized; but, none as noticeable and identifiable as Liir's attraction for both his daughter's mother, Candle, and his best friend in the army, Trism. It is wonderful to see inclusion and reality in books that emulate real life.
Tip, Mombi, and the Purple Cow
One last tidbit that I found interesting and a definite throwback to Baum's world is the purple cow and Mombi appear in this book. So, let's rewind a little bit before moving forward. So, in Baum's The Marvelous Land of Oz, Mombi had a purple cow's head with four horns mounted on the wall. It did appear in the film, The Wonderful Land of Oz, where you can see here. So, in Maguire's second book, Liir meets up Tip and Mombi coming home with a newly acquired purple cow with four horns. It is a brief mention in the book and easily one that can be skipped, but keep an eye out for the purple cow's beginnings in Mombi's care.
So, what was your favorite part of Liir's childhood or life? Feel free to comment and post any fan art or stories as this is one character that definitely needs more celebration in different media forms; but, until next time, we'll be seeing you somewhere over the Vinkus.
Answers to Into the Vinkus Quiz: 1) Oatsie Manglehand; 2) Kellswater; 3) Killyjoy/Makejoy; 4) Liir; 5) Yunamata; 6) Princess of the scrow; 7) Kiamoko; 8) Sarima: 9) Nor: 10) Grimmerie.
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Welcome to the VINKUS! Or in Baum's world, the Winkies Country. In Maguire's world, it is an offensive term to use "Winkie", so it uses the ancient way of saying the country's name: The Vinkus. In this area of Oz, Elphaba has quite a few harrowing experiences and what a good way to start off by seeing what we all remember from this section of the book.
1) What is the name of person in charge of the Grasstrail Train, who takes Elphaba into the Vinkus?
2) What is the name of the place of the Lake where the Grasstrail Train passed by first?
3) What is the name of the wolf that belong to the cook?
4) What is the name of the boy that is with Elphaba on this trip?
5) What is the name of the tribe that Elphaba and the Grasstrail Train first encounter?
6) Who is Princess Nastoya?
7) What is the name of the castle where the Grasstrail Train is going?
8) What is the name of Fiyero's wife, the Arjiki princess?
9) What is the name of Fiyero's daughter?
10) What is the name of the magic book that Elphaba finds in her wardrobe?
Good luck and the answers to the quiz will come with next week's post, when we learn more about the magic book Elphaba finds in her wardrobe. Feel free to post any artwork that inspires you from this quiz as well. It would be great to see what topics inspire people and until then, we'll be seeing you somewhere over the Vinkus. In our final post on the City of Emeralds, we look at some fan art that has been created in which was inspired by the City of Emeralds section, even some art work from the illustrator of the Wicked saga, Douglas Smith. In the City of Emeralds section, there are multiple dates that Fiyero and Elphaba go on and in the end, they end up in Fiyero's loft above a corn factory and across the street from a theatre. There, Elphaba, her newly obtained cat, Malky, and Fiyero all stay and enjoy their time together. So, here's a couple pictures that I enjoyed celebrating their love and connection. Along the way, Fiyero has a run in with the Gale Force, the military force that supports the Wizard of Oz, who end up capturing Fiyero and killing from his loft in front of Elphaba, who is in mortal shock. In the musical, the tornado becomes the "gale force", which is carrying Dorothy; and, as the tornado comes, Fiyero has a run-in with it but survives. This piece below is inspired by that part of the musical but also shares the comradery in the book. Another part of this section that we also get to experience is the Lurlinemas days that the two spend together. If you want to know more about this Ozian holiday, you can check out my previous post for more information. We even learn about Fiyero's secret life and how he has a wife and children back in the Vinkus country during one of Elphaba and Fiyero's many disucssions. Toward the end of the section and after Fiyero is killed, Elphaba leaves for the Church of St. Glinda (imaged below) and stays there until the close of the "The City of Emeralds" section. Now, since I picked fan art that spoke to me, I want to hear from you. If you have a favorite piece of fan art regarding Fiyero and Elphaba or some other piece of work regarding the events in this section (like Madame Morrible almost getting stabbed by a drag queen), feel free to post it below and share it with others. Even more so, I sure do hope you have enjoyed our activities so far as we have about 10 more weeks left in our celebration of the 25th anniversary of Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West and until next time we'll be seeing somewhere over the Vinkus. For more art galleries of the artists above, click the links below to see more:
James Claridades Horn OK Please hriviel asootsprite
As we continue our 25th Anniversary celebration of Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, we continue moving through the City of Emeralds by checking out some videos inspired by this section of the book. First up, Galinda and Elphaba first walk into the City of Emeralds and we hear all about the very first, short visit to the City of Emeralds.
Of course, Elphaba and Galinda get to meet the Wizard in the Gillikin section and he appeared to them, in the book, as a luminescent giant skeleton, which inspired the giant, golden head from the play. So, here's a video on the creation of the Wizard of Oz head used in the play, which used the book description as inspiration.
Also, if you are interested in seeing the other episodes of Behind the Emerald Curtain, feel free to check it out here. It was a online TV series that went behind the scenes of the musical and many videos cover the City of Emeralds scenes.
Of course, there are plenty of other stories from the City of Emeralds like what ever happened to Crope and Tibbett from the Philosophy Club scene or (SPOILER ALERT) how Fiyero gets killed from the Gale Force military force that works for the Wizard of Oz. However, since those scenes never got put into video form, let us hear some stories from some of the actors who portrayed some of our favorite characters in the musical. Below is a 20-min collection of videos from a TV series that aired back in 2011 for the premiere of Wicked in Singapore. WICKED TV SHOW from Monster Image on Vimeo.
Of course, if you are interested in more Tales from the City of Emeralds, check out this 3-part behind-the-scenes documentary from Singapore made in 2011 as well. Here's the link to the first part. It is a decent half-hour piece of Ozian entertainment.
I sure hope you have enjoyed the various videos from the City of Emeralds and have also enjoyed the City of Emeralds section in the book. In this section, we get to experience Elphaba's love with Fiyero, Fiyero's other life in the Vinkus country, Lurlinemas as well as learning about Elphaba's pregnancy at a nunnery. It is truly a city where so many tales happen. I mean, how great would it be if there was a show called "Tales from the City (of Emeralds)". Anyways, what is your favorite tale from the City of Emeralds? Please feel free to comment below and until next time we'll be seeing you somewhere over the Vinkus. |