Greetings Ozians (and Kansans)! Today's post is all about DOROTHY, according to Maguire's The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Of course, there are plenty of versions of Dorothy out there, but since this is a celebration of the first Maguire book in the Wicked saga, we are looking at Dorothy in Maguire's Oz. Now, the final section of the book, entitled, "The Murder and Its Afterlife", is the first section of the book that actually mentions Dorothy and what happens after Dorothy's house lands in Oz (seen above), at least according to Elphaba and other characters like when Elphaba asks Glinda all about this "alien girl" (Maguire, p. 333), who is Dorothy.
As Elphaba learns more about this "alien girl", we also learn quite a number of things right off the bat about Dorothy like she was absolutely shocked when she landed here as she had never heard of this place and apparently was not dressed very lady-like, all according to Glinda. She also walked off with Nessarose's shoes, which were given to her by Glinda, and was sent to the Emerald City to meet the Wizard of Oz in hopes of avoiding the Muchkinlanders war on Loyal Oz. Even more interesting is that Elphaba follows Dorothy along her entire journey practically, just watching what she does. I was not aware that she did that at all, but that would align the movie to this premise, wouldn't it? Additionally, as Elphaba and Dorothy journey "together", they meet up with different characters, both unfamiliar and familiar like Milla and Boq. After Dorothy meets up with Boq and Milla, Elphaba meets up with them, after finishing her "job" on Madame Morrible. Elphaba also learns more about Dorothy like how her name means "Goddess of Gifts" and the leader of her homeland was named "Theodore", possibly Theodore Roosevelt? Some truly fascinating aspects to unpack there. What do you think of all the different pieces of Maguire's Dorothy right off the bat?
Of course, Dorothy meets up with the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion (each pictured above), all of which are way different than Baum's versions. They all like to talk smack about Dorothy as well as Elphaba. We get to hear this whole conversation concerning what is being said about Elphaba around the Land of Oz as a prologue of the book but takes place during this section. Some of it is really messed up (see below).
At Kiamo Ko castle, Dorothy meets Elphaba; since, the Wizard of Oz has instructed Dorothy to kill the witch. Before getting inside the castle though, Dorothy and her companions had already killed Killyjoy, the bees and the crows, but did not defeat the winged monkeys. As Dorothy makes it up to the castle at the hands of the winged monkeys, her and Elphaba get to know each other. Elphaba dislikes her right off the bat because Elphaba's kindness was never rewarded so why should Dorothy's be rewarded? Now, at one point during the meeting, Elphaba unintentionally lit her broom on fire, which caught her cape and dress on fire. This then prompted Dorothy to grab a nearby bucket of water and douse Elphaba with it (not thinking anything of it) and caused Elphaba much pain and eventually led her to melt away into liquid and mist (seen below).
As Dorothy left the castle with Liir and her companions, she had to grab something to show the Wizard of Oz as proof of a task completed. She did not grab the broom because it had been burned beyond recognition and did not grab the Grimmerie because it was too thick to carry. So, she grabbed the mysterious green bottle of magical elixir as proof (seen below).
Dorothy makes it back to the City of Emeralds to have her famous discussion with the Wizard of Oz; but, where she ended up sparked a lot of speculation such as what happened to as to the silvery shoes she wore. One theory is that she flew off through the sky and the shoes fell off. Another theory was that she was in hiding away like Ozma and took the shoes with her. Either way, her story does not end here. Dorothy appears in the later stories of the saga as well where she meets Liir (in the second book), how she met the Lion, and how she eventually returns back to Oz in the Out of Oz book. For more about Dorothy in Maguire's Oz, check out her Wicked page.
Additionally, Dorothy makes minor appearance in the musical and is seen behind a scrim, which creates shadows that tell the story. In the scene where she appears, Dorothy throws water on Elphaba as a mere accident and totally melts her. She is then seen running off stage with Toto. So, to appreciate this scene more, please enjoy this digital puzzle that I created for this post (click on image).
Lastly, I offer up this one final activity that you can enjoy. In the book, Wicked: The Grimmerie, A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Hit Broadway Musical (cover below), it contains this scene in script form from the musical and briefly describes what is going on during all the chaos. So, if you want to get a copy of that book, you can experience that scene and much more from the musical.
Additionally, before we leave, I welcome you to please comment your favorite Dorothy moment from the Maguire books below or post your own artwork inspired by this section. Also, don't forget to check your answers from last week's quiz below! So, until we return next week for our weekly sectional puzzle, we'll be seeing you somewhere over the Vinkus. Answers to Murder and Afterlife Quiz: (1) Tornado; (2) A carrier pigeon; (3) Dorothy; (4) Glinda; (5) Wicked Witch of the East; (6) Glinda; (7) To keep an eye of Elphaba; (8) To track down her sister's shoes; (9) A broom; (10) Killyjoy
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |