The Wicked Years 1
Gregory Maguire
Summary edited from: SuperSummary
NOTE: The BOOK and the MUSCIAL are two very different stories. If you are looking for a summary of the musical, I suggest Broadway.Fandom.com
PROLOGUE
Floating above the Yellow Brick Road, the Wicked Witch of the West hovers on her broom and watches four companions walking below her. The Tin Man, a Scarecrow, and a Lion tell the girl that the Witch is a hermaphrodite, a lesbian, a married man, the spurned lover of a married man, abandoned by her mother, and possessed by demons. Hurt by these rumors, the Witch comforts herself with the reminder that the politics of Oz turned her into who she is.
PART ONE: MUNCHKINLANDERS
1. THE ROOT OF EVIL. In Rush Margins, Melena is ready to give birth to her first child. Her husband Frex, a minister, is upset about the timing; he has an important day with his parish and hopes the baby will wait to be born. The fact that he prioritizes work over his unborn child angers Melena, though she knows Frex is devotedly moral and committed to the parish.
2. THE CLOCK OF THE TIME DRAGON. Frex asks a local woman to help Melena while he’s away. Before properly setting off, Frex reviews the letters he’s received about the problem called the “Clock of the Time Dragon.” The Clock of the Time Dragon is an immense clock engraved with decals and composed of tiny figurines of animals, fairies, saints, peasants, and royals. The clock travels from town to town, operated by dwarves. A cousin from a neighboring town warns Frex that the clock carries sin and chaos. Before arriving in Rush Margins, the clock stopped in a neighboring town. A puppet show depicted a young unmarried woman and a widow engaging in an orgy with a married man. The talons of the dragon pointed to three townspeople in the crowd: Grine, the widow Letta, and Letta’s daughter. The townspeople turned on Grine, and the daughter disappeared. Frex contemplates the changing tides of his community. Recent droughts have made the people anxious, and he knows it is easy to seek entertainment over God in times of struggle. However, Frex is confident that his parish won’t succumb to the sin of the Clock of the Time Dragon; after all he’s done for them, he is sure they will not turn against him.
3. THE BIRTH OF A WITCH. People are already gathering in the town square, so Frex tries to preach, imploring them to go home. When the Clock of the Time Dragon arrives, Frex is astounded by its magnitude. The little door opens and a puppet that looks like Frex hops out. The puppet tells the story of a pious man who preached the value of the simple life while hiding emeralds with his blue-blooded wife. At the end of the story, the puppet is stabbed with an iron stake. The parishioners watch a new story from the clock while Frex is assaulted. A woman helps hide him in her cellar. He asks about Melena, and the woman assures him Melena will be helped too. At home, Melena is unconscious as her labor progresses. A young woman enters the house and warns the midwives of the drunk mob searching for Melena. They roll Melena to the graveyard, where the dwarves have left the clock for the night. Melena gives birth inside the clock. The women initially disagree on the baby’s sex but ultimately conclude it’s a girl. Peculiarly, the baby’s skin is green. When the midwife reaches out to her, the baby bites her finger off.
4. MALADIES AND REMEDIES. Melena sends for her former nanny for help. Nanny is confident that Melena’s genes will win out over Elphaba’s green skin. Nanny is determined to show Elphaba all the humanity a baby deserves. Frex posits Elphaba’s skin may be green due to his proclamation that the devil was coming on the day of her birth. Melena admits that her marriage bores her and the judgment of Frex’s peasant parish frustrates her. When Frex was away, strangers passing through the town would sit and eat with Melena. Often, she would take drugs, but she isn’t sure if she had sex with any of them. Melena recalls one man who gave her a green bottle that knocked her out and gave her strange dreams. Nanny searches Melena’s cupboards for ingredients to create a bleach for Elphaba’s skin. She comes across the green bottle from Melena’s memory; it is labeled “Miracle Elixir.” She is unable to bleach Elphaba’s skin and discovers that Elphaba screams and struggles when she is close to water; she must be bathed in milk, giving her a sour smell. Frex tries and fails to give Elphaba an exorcism. Nanny departs, understanding that there is nothing she can do to help.
5. THE QUADLING GLASSBLOWER. A year and a half later, Melena struggles to love her daughter. Frex travels for work, leaving Melena constrained by the narrow boundaries of her life. In Frex’s absence, Melena whiles away her mornings by drinking. One day, she is interrupted by a stranger at the gate. The man, named Turtle Heart, is fit, large, hails from far away Quadling Country, and has an odd manner of speaking. Melena admits that her upper-crust family never would have had a Quadling over. Turtle Heart laughs this off; he is affable and playful with Elphaba. Turtle Heart is a glassblower, and he blows a glass orb to thank Melena for her hospitality. He and Melena strap Elphaba up and tie the orb to a string above her, distracting her while he and Melena go to bed together.
6. GEORGRAPHIES OF THE SEEN AND UNSEEN. Frex spends the winter away, fasting and preparing for whatever his next step may be. When he returns home, he brings Nanny with him. Frex is impressed that Melena has hosted Turtle Heart, as Quadlings are among the lowest of the social classes in their world. Turtle Heart asks Frex about the world he’s seen. Frex draws a circle representing Oz, then divides the circle into different regions. Each region has its own identity, culture, and peoples. Frex asks Turtle Heart about his religion, a concept Turtle Heart doesn’t understand. Nanny brings up her affection for Ozma, the princess of Oz, who will rule over the Emerald City when she grows up. Frex is frustrated that Nanny cares more about the human world than the eternal one, but he is happy to be home and admires his beautiful wife.
7. CHILD'S PLAY. Nanny worries that a large creature lurks about the house. Nanny and Turtle Heart both stay the summer with Melena and Frex. Nanny takes Melena aside to discuss her affair with Turtle Heart. Melena has formed a deep relationship with Turtle Heart, who “didn’t shrink from beastly little Elphaba” (59) and who had restored Melena’s joy. Nanny encourages Melena to send Elphaba to school, reasoning that Elphaba needs to learn how to get along with other children; to confront her differences and move past them. They enroll Elphaba in a town daycare.
8. DARKNESS ABROAD. Nanny is suspicious of Turtle Heart and reminds Melena that he’s of a different culture. One night over dinner, Melena asks Turtle Heart why he left his home in the first place. He responds with the word “horrors,” which Elphaba repeats—her first word. Government officials invaded Quadling Country for its rich rubies. The government has started planning tax and military systems. Turtle Heart hopes to travel to the Emerald City to speak with the Ozma Regent about leaving the Quadlings alone. Frex proposes a move to Quadling Country, seeing an opportunity to convert many people, but Melena reveals that she can’t travel because she is pregnant. The father’s identity is unclear. Nanny tells Melena about her meeting with a sorceress named Yackle about Elphaba’s green skin. Yackle concocted a potion for Melena to drink if she becomes pregnant again, to avoid bearing another odd green child. Yackle also predicted that Elphaba will be a great woman who will rewrite history.
PART TWO: GILLIKIN
1. GALINDA. Seventeen-year-old Galinda is on the train to Shiz. She barely registers the world outside her window, thinking instead of her privileged beauty and how she was smart enough to get out her hometown through admission to a well-respected school. She sits across from a Goat, whom she avoids making eye contact with. The Goat introduces himself as Doctor Dillamond, a professor at Shiz. He asks about her opinions on Animal Rights and the new law that would ban Animals like him from riding in trains. Galinda shuts down the conversation, unconcerned with Animal Rights and instantly unimpressed by Doctor Dillamond. At Shiz, Galinda is awed by the architecture. She meets Madame Morrible, the headmistress of Crage Hall, for registration. Galinda joins the other pretty girls mingling around the parlor. The girls are accompanied by their Amas, or chaperones, but Galinda’s Ama Clutch stepped on a nail and had to go to the medic before Galinda boarded the train. Galinda realizes that the Amas are arranging roommates. Left without representation, Galinda shamefully watches the more sophisticated girls pair up. Madame Morrible announces that the rest of the girls must live together in a dormitory, as supervision is mandatory. Galinda protests, insisting that her Ama is on the way. Madame Morrible agrees to place Galinda into a dorm with one other girl on the condition that her Ama will watch over both girls. Galinda agrees, and Madame Morrible introduces Galinda to Elphaba. Ama Clutch arrives the next day, happy to help both girls. Out of Elphaba’s earshot, Galinda asks Ama if she’s noticed that Elphaba is green. Ama admits it’s a little odd but thinks exposure to different people will be good for Galinda. The night before, Galinda visited Madame Morrible to convince her that Ama Clutch couldn’t be responsible for too many girls, inventing a story that Ama fell off a cliff and damaged her brain. Madame Morrible replied that if Elphaba doesn’t like her situation, she will leave of her own accord. Although Galinda isn’t sure what Madame Morrible has against Elphaba, she suspects Madame Morrible is trying to recruit Galinda into a secretive campaign against Elphaba. Elphaba spends much of her time curled up with a book. From afar, Galinda admires Elphaba’s hair and finds it “entrancing, the more so because the girl was otherwise so ugly” (89). Galinda forges friendships with the other, wealthier girls. Rumors start to spread about Elphaba among the girls. One of the girls recalls hearing that Elphaba is of the Thropp family, who were instrumental in forging a militia in Nest Hardings and tearing up the Yellow Brick Road in the years prior to the Glorious Revolution. They wonder how Elphaba seems so poor coming from such a well-regarded family on her mother’s side. Elphaba has a charming quality, as if she is unfinished. Elphaba tries on Galinda’s hat, and Galinda finds her surprisingly pretty. They chat about Elphaba’s book on unionist lectures. Elphaba tells Galinda that her father is a unionist minister, so she’s interested in knowing more about his ideology. One of the lectures is about good and evil and whether evil really exists. Galinda says evil is boredom, and she’s unmoored when Elphaba asks for her genuine opinions on evil. Galinda is unaccustomed to thinking seriously about her opinions, which she uses simply for social connections in conversation. Madame Morrible hosts a poetry night for the girls and invites the boys from Three Queens College and the Ozma Towers. Male and Animal professors accompany the boys. Madame Morrible recites a poem that ends with the proclamation that animals should be seen and not heard, causing a stir in Doctor Dillamond and the other Animals. Because the poetry is recited, no one knows if the poet meant animals or Animals. Galinda is relieved when a short man from Munchkinland approaches her and Elphaba and introduces himself as Boq. He recognizes Elphaba from their childhood in Rush Margins, where his father was mayor. Elphaba insults him and storms off. Unoffended, Boq remarks to Galinda that he must not be mistaken, as there aren’t many green people in the world. Galinda posits that Elphaba doesn’t like being recognized by the color of her skin. The next week, Doctor Dillamond asks the girls for their opinions on Animals, worried that they aren’t making the connection between the poetry night and current events. Embarrassed, all the girls rush out except for Elphaba. When the second semester starts, Galinda tries and fails to switch roommates. She isn’t sure what to study, so Madame Morrible suggests sorcery. Elphaba’s younger sister will start school at Shiz the following year, and Madame Morrible implies that Galinda will certainly not want to be around the sister. If Galinda studies sorcery, she can move out of her dorm with Elphaba.
2. BOQ. One night, Boq walks to Crage Hall hoping to run into Galinda, whom he hasn’t stopped thinking of since the poetry event. Instead, he runs into Elphaba, who teases him for looking for Galinda. Elphaba agrees to set up a meeting. Three days later, Boq meets with Elphaba and Galinda. Galinda tells Boq that she’ll never be with him. His height, social standing, region of origin, and family history are incompatible with her background. They are interrupted by Ama Clutch, who shoos Boq away because the girls of Crage Hall are not allowed to fraternize with boys without permission and supervision. Boq is embarrassed when the girls walk away making fun of his looks. Boq goes into the city and peruses the kiosks. He notices literature and slogans that criticize the Wizard’s move to take control of Oz from the Ozma Regent 16 years prior. Boq sits at a café with a new pamphlet from the Emerald City. The news is bleak; Animal uprisings and other protests have caused tension throughout the regions. Boq fears secessions. He looks up and spots Elphaba. She sits with him and shows him the fancy things she’s buying for her sister, Nessarose, who will soon attend Shiz. They talk about Galinda, whom Elphaba has grown fond of. She tells him about her work with Doctor Dillamond, whom Boq idolizes. They have been searching for a gene or characteristic that differentiates animals from Animals. Because Elphaba is a girl and Doctor Dillamond is a Goat, neither are allowed into the Briscoe Hall library, which houses precious documents that may help their studies. Boq volunteers to retrieve the resources, and Elphaba gratefully accepts. As they leave the café, they notice the absence of any Animals in the streets. Boq involves his friends to help Elphaba. They try to find documents from old unionist philosophies about the origins of Animals. Legends tell the story of animals running from danger while those who stayed became Animals, or the story of a spell that turned some animals into Animals. Boq finds an old illustration of a witch with an animal in her grasp. Though he isn’t sure if the witch is drowning or saving the animal, he logs the illustration to show Elphaba. Boq is forever changed one day when he runs into Elphaba, Galinda, and other Crage Hall girls in a huddle. Elphaba tells him that Doctor Dillamond is dead, and Boq spots a medic covering Doctor Dillamond with a blanket, his throat cut open. The night before, Ama Clutch had noticed something odd happening in Doctor Dillamond’s lab from the window of their dorm. Ama Clutch went down without saying anything to the girls and never came back; she’s now hospitalized. Galinda cries for Ama Clutch, but Boq is disgusted that anyone could think of Ama when Doctor Dillamond is dead.
3. THE CHARMED CIRCLE. Ama Clutch stays in the hospital, muddled and smiley. Galinda starts going by the name “Glinda” in honor of Doctor Dillamond, who misunderstood her name when they first met. Without Ama, Glinda and Elphaba call for Nanny to accompany Nessarose and act as Ama. Boq meets Nanny and Nessarose at the train station. Nanny tells Boq about their family and brags that Elphaba will one day take over the title of Eminent Thropp. Glinda has learned a difficult lesson. She feels guilty that she lied about Ama Clutch’s tumble over the cliff, believing the lie manifested Ama’s new, real mental break. Glinda is now close with Elphaba and hopes that Nessarose’s arrival won’t impede their friendship. Elphaba told Glinda Nessarose’s story before her arrival: Nessarose was born without arms on a night when townspeople had made a human sacrifice of Turtle Heart, whom Elphaba knew as a friend of the family. In homage to Turtle Heart, Frex moved his family to Quadling Country to preach. Their mother Melena lived five more years before dying in childbirth with their brother Shell. In the years after Melena’s death, the Quadlings were rounded up, placed in settlement camps, and mostly killed off. Animals were drafted back to the countryside to work the land and give the people a false sense of empowerment. Elphaba emphasizes to Glinda, “It’s a systematic marginalizing of populations, Glinda, that’s what the Wizard’s all about” (152). Glinda tries to devote herself to her studies, but she finds no natural ability in sorcery. She works hard and is supported by a clumsy teacher, Miss Greyling. Elphaba asks why a university founded in unionist beliefs would teach sorcery. Glinda argues that sorcery is not religious or irreligious; it’s simply a skill to learn like reading or writing. Boq and Elphaba attend the same class taught by Doctor Nikidik. Their lecture is interrupted by a new student, a Winkie from the Vinkus. His entrance disrupts Doctor Nikidik’s presentation, and his potion goes awry and bewitches a set of decorative antlers that pin the Winkie to the wall. Glinda asks Miss Greyling why Doctor Nikidik’s demonstration is considered life sciences when it operated as a spell. Miss Greyling details the differences between science and sorcery. While science seeks to break down elements of the world for understanding, sorcery synthesizes these elements to create and heal. In the next lecture, the Winkie takes a seat far away from the front. A classmate named Avaric criticizes the Winkie’s bluish-diamond skin and claims he heard that the Winkie’s name is Fiyero and that he’s a prince in his home county. For his next lecture, Doctor Nikidik brings out a shivering young lion cub and asks the room if the cub is an animal or an Animal. Elphaba stands and declares that its mother can testify to that and asks why the cub has been separated from its mother. Other students posit that because the cub is too young to have learned any language, it’s impossible to tell between Animal or animal. Doctor Nikidik proposes that, in cauterizing the part of the lion’s brain responsible for language, he can erase its pain. The cub runs away from the professor amid the students’ protests. Two girls chase after the lion cub and rescue him, running away with him in their aprons. Madame Morrible calls Nessarose, Nanny, and Elphaba in for a meeting. She says she’s heard from their father, who has taken on a mission to return the Ozma Regent to power. Madame Morrible warns them that the school doesn’t take kindly to royalist views, but Nessarose assures her that she only believes in the Unnamed God, and Elphaba declares that she doesn’t care about any of it. Frex has also sent a package for Nessarose that contains red shoes that sparkle with crystals, which he learned to make from Turtle Heart. Later, the group of friends stay out late. Fiyero tells them about his marriage at age seven to a girl he will not really be with until age 20. Nessarose and Elphaba tell funny stories about their father, partially to help ease Elphaba’s resentment at being overlooked. Nessarose tells everyone how much Frex loved Elphaba’s singing. The friends demand a song, and the entire pub is transfixed by Elphaba’s beautiful voice. Glinda receives word that Ama Clutch is on her deathbed. She and her closest friends go to say their goodbyes. Before she dies, Ama Clutch tells Elphaba and Glinda that Grommetik, Madame Morrible’s tiktok, killed Doctor Dillamond. Madame Morrible hosts a reception after Ama Clutch’s funeral. When all the guests have gone, she sits down with Glinda, Elphaba, and Nessarose. Morrible claims that she sent Grommetik to the lab with a pot of tea, and Grommetik found Doctor Dillamond dead from a lab accident. Morrible believes that Ama Clutch must have been so shocked that her mental condition regressed. But Morrible has a more serious reason for meeting with the girls: She has been assigned by great powers to find women who can help the Wizard heal the violently strained intercultural wars raging throughout Oz. Morrible wants to train the girls to serve their country as powerful agents for the Wizard. Elphaba convinces Glinda to go to the Emerald City to meet the Wizard. Emerald City is mammoth and seems misplaced in the horizon of the countryside. As they walk, Elphaba notes that there are no Animals around; she suspects that they’ve all gone into hiding. Elphaba and Glinda wait five days and endure several interviews before they can meet with the Wizard. When they are finally given an audience, they are initially scared off by the sight of him; he seems to be an amalgam of lights and rain. His voice is large and aggressive. Elphaba reports the murder of a great mind. The Wizard dismisses Doctor Dillamond as a mere animal. Elphaba refuses to return to Shiz. Glinda protests, and the friends say a tearful goodbye.
PART THREE CITY OF EMERALDS
Three years after graduating, Fiyero is married with a wife and children. He visits Saint Glinda’s Square to pay homage to the girl he knew back in school. He is surprised to find Elphaba there, but she pretends she doesn’t know him. He watches Elphaba sneak away and follows her. When he finally reveals himself to her, she has no choice but to invite him into her home. Elphaba lives in a run-down room with a cat and no running water. Fiyero says he’s in the city on business, and Elphaba tries to evade his questions about what she does. He asks why she never got in contact with anyone, and she replies that it was for the safety of her loved ones. She fears the Gale Force, a security force that is not above using torture to find dissenters and activists. Fiyero is taken by the desire for company written all over her face.
Elphaba continues to meet with Fiyero. Though she never asks after his family, she does ask after their old mutual friends. He shares that Boq married and moved back to Munchkinland, where his wife is unhappy and often tries to commit suicide. After one of their meetings, Elphaba tears up and Fiyero reaches for her. They have sex and fall in love.
One night, Fiyero relays bad news from Quadling Country, where armies are taking over land and evicting people. He asks after her family, and Elphaba tells him about growing up with a minister father who used her as a pawn to convert or shame irreligious people. She details the desiccation of the Quadlings after the Wizard’s coup and how her father fled further north with his converts. Despite her harsh words, Elphaba loves her father dearly and respects his commitment to faith.
Elphaba keeps her work secret from Fiyero, though he knows she’s involved in some sort of counter-government work. He assumes it has to do with Animal Rights, but Elphaba will only say that she has no self, but she has purpose. Fiyero worries that Elphaba’s secretive work makes her unable to understand the value of the individual person. Both Elphaba and Fiyero know that their relationship will end when Elphaba inevitably disappears.
Fiyero is alone at a café when a Gale Force agent enters and strike a Bear cub in front of his wailing mother. The agent is one young man, and the Bears are surrounded by Quadlings. Fiyero wonders why these marginalized groups don’t work together to overtake the Gale Force agent, whom they outnumber. Now that he is forced to think more about these issues with Elphaba, Fiyero sees the realities of her work all around him.
Elphaba tells him that they need to take a break while she conducts a mission. Though Elphaba loves Fiyero, she puts her principles and the moral well-being of her society ahead of her own feelings. During sex, she admits that her cell is comprised of four people whom she knows of; to know more would endanger her. Their mission is to kill the Wizard.
While gift shopping for his wife and Elphaba, Fiyero runs into Glinda and her wealthy husband. Nessarose is also in town, training to take over the Eminent Thropp position. Glinda asks about Elphaba, but Fiyero doesn't want to ruin Elphaba's efforts to keep them safe and says he hasn't seen her.
He doesn’t tell Elphaba about running into Glinda. On the eve of an important holiday, Elphaba warns Fiyero away from crowded public areas. Fiyero secretly follows her to a crowded square outside a theater, where a large group of people have gathered around a gazebo under the supervision of the Gale Force. A carriage arrives and Elphaba stiffens, a sign that the person in the carriage is the target. It’s Madame Morrible, but she is followed closely by a group of young girls, so Elphaba abandons her mission. Fiyero returns to Elphaba’s room to wait for her but is accosted and killed by the Gale Force.
The Church of Saint Glinda is home to a sect of nuns. Since it is the middle of dinner, the youngest nun on duty opens the door to a shivering green woman who looks haunted and afraid. She welcomes the woman in for safety and offers her whatever she needs including sanctuary. She sees the blood on Elphaba and tries to help her wash, but Elphaba shies away from the water. The nun puts her with the old ladeis that cannot do much and says she will be back after midnight since they are in the middle o fhteir holiday mass. The nun, Mother Yackle, coaxes the green woman to sleep.
PART FOUR: IN THE VINKUS
1. THE VOYAGE OUT. Seven years later, Elphaba is on her way out of the convent. After two years in the city convent, Elphaba moved to a larger monastery outside the Emerald City. Now, her journey back to society will be long, arduous, and dangerous. A little boy named Liir travels with her. They have hired a chaperone to guide them through disputed territories and to negotiate for them should they be accosted. Their caravan comes across a community of Scrows whose princess turns into an Elephant. Elphaba tells this Elephant Goddess that she needs to make amends with Fiyero’s widow. The Elephant gives Elphaba the gift of three crows to use for protection and communication. She advises Elphaba to travel in the disguise of a witch and reminds her that her destiny is in her own hands. Close to Fiyero’s tribal lands, the caravan’s dog Killjoy attacks a baby. Elphaba saves the baby and discovers it’s a small snow monkey. She adopts the snow monkey baby, and the caravan continues.
2. THE JASPER GATES OF KIAMO KO. Elphaba makes it to Sarima, Fiyero’s widow. Sarima welcomes her in, and Elphaba immediately tries to confess to her part in Fiyero’s death. Sarima interrupts her, unwilling to hear the story. Winter in their land is difficult. Elphaba, Liir, and Chistery the monkey baby move into the rooms in Sarima’s tower. Still, Sarima refuses to hear Elphaba’s confession about Fiyero, suspecting that Elphaba must subconsciously want to hurt her by unburdening herself. Sarima knows that Fiyero was killed violently, that his body was never found, and that it had happened in a lover’s den. Beyond these facts, Sarima doesn’t want to know anything else. Elphaba has no choice but to accept Sarima’s offer for hospitality. Sarima’s sisters tell Elphaba about Fiyero’s death. A messenger came to tell them of the scene: massive amounts of blood in a room in a disreputable area, no body. Sarima had suspected Fiyero of having an affair with Glinda, whose beauty he highly regarded. Sarima theorizes that Glinda’s husband had Fiyero killed, but her sisters suspect that Fiyero was involved with some dangerous political dealings. After all, why would a jealous husband hide the body? The scene sounds more like the murder of a spy than a cuckold. One day, Elphaba runs into Sarima in the library. Elphaba has been enjoying a peculiar book called the Grimmerie, which Sarima received from a passing sorcerer. Elphaba keeps the book in her room and uses it to try to teach Chistery language in the hopes that he can be her key to reviving Doctor Dillamond’s old Animal research. Sarima and her family ask Elphaba about her broom. Elphaba was given the broom by a woman named Yackle, who told her it would be the key to her future. Sarima’s children play with Liir but are not kind to him. Her son Manek convinces Liir to hide in the basement well and leaves him there. A convoy of visitors arrive, including Nanny, to Elphaba’s delight. Nanny has been searching high and low for Elphaba, and finally traced her to Sarima’s home. Nanny moves in. Liir is still missing. Finally, Chistery finds Liir seemingly dead in the well. The adults pull him out, and Elphaba revives him. In vengeance, she breaks an icicle over Manek’s head and kills him.
3. UPRISINGS. A year later, Elphaba and her family are still at Sarima’s. Nanny recounts how Glinda visited Nessarose, now the Eminent Thropp, and bewitched her sparkling ruby shoes so that Nessarose can now walk and sit straight without any help. Elphaba has a difficult time understanding who or why Liir is. When she saved Liir from the well, he told her that fish in the well revealed that Fiyero is his father. Nanny asks if Liir is her son. Elphaba confesses that it’s possible, but that her state of mind upon arriving at the convent was so muddled that she doesn’t recall giving birth. Elphaba searches the Grimmerie for a way to overthrow a regime. She is surprised to find an image of a woman-fiend named Yakal who reminds Elphaba of Mother Yackle. One day, Sarima’s daughter Nor wanders the countryside contemplating her life and the loss of her brother when she comes across a group of soldiers. Nor approaches the men and brings them to her home. Elphaba tries to get rid of the men, but when they declare that they work on behalf of the Wizard and need lodging while they conduct work in the area, Sarima invites them to stay with her. In another conversation with Nanny about the past, Nanny speaks about finding Yackle for Melena’s potion. Contrary to how Melena talked about her upbringing, Melena had married Frex to get away from the responsibilities of becoming Eminent Thropp. Now that Nessa has the position, Elphaba worries that maybe “Nessie didn’t want the position of Eminence, and was just as incarcerated there as her older sister was here” (323). Elphaba considers whether she owes Nessa a chance at freedom, wondering, “Yet how much really could you owe other people? Was it endless?” (323). Nor becomes enamored with the soldiers. She cleans up after them and delights in their attentions. One day, while cleaning their quarters, she reaches for Elphaba’s broom and is shocked to find that it floats to her. She rides the broom up into the sky until Elphaba calls it back. It takes Elphaba a few nights to learn how to control the broom. A letter arrives for Nanny from Frex. Nessarose has led a coup against the Wizard, and Munchkinland has declared itself independent of Oz. Frex asks Nanny to send Elphaba if she finds her; he worries that Nessa is not the right woman for the job. Now that Elphaba can fly on the broom, she figures she can fly to visit her family and then return quite quickly. It takes Elphaba a week of flying and resting to get to Colwen Grounds. She is surprised that the farmland of Munchkinland is lush while the roads look destroyed. It is Elphaba’s first visit to Colwen Grounds, and she is impressed by its largesse. When Elphaba arrives, she is reunited with her father for the first time in years. Frex is happy to see her but disappointed that she is a witch. He shares his concerns about Munchkinland: that Nessa is too persuadable, and that Shell is too impulsive to survive long when real war starts. Elphaba attends hearings with Nessa and is angered when a townswoman offers Nessa Animals in exchange for putting a spell on a woodcutter’s axe. Nessa agrees, and Elphaba is surprised that she has the powers of a witch. She is even more shocked by poorly Animals are now treated. The townswoman delivers the Animals, a Cow and a Sheep. Elphaba goes to visit them and set them free, but the Cow laughs her off, pointing out that there is nowhere for them to go. Elphaba refuses to take over Nessa’s role, but Frex wants her to consider working as Nessa’s primary advisor. Elphaba brings up Turtle Heart, and Frex admits that both he and Melena were in love with him. If Nessa is Turtle Heart’s child, Frex loves her even more because she is a piece of Turtle Heart still in his life. Elphaba warns Nessa not to be a martyr for someone else’s cause, then bids her goodbye. On her flight back to Sarima’s house, Elphaba thinks deeply about the world and the cause and effect of life and politics. She wonders if Yackle and Morrible could be the same person. When Elphaba returns, she finds Nanny distraught. After Elphaba left, the soldiers took Sarima and her children away, along with other villagers who were chained up. Though the soldiers left Liir behind, he too is gone. Only Nanny and Chistery are left.
PART FIVE: THE MURDER AND ITS AFTERLIFE
A tornado hits Oz. Munchkinland suffers the most destruction, and Nessarose is crushed to death by a house carried by the tornado. The tornado also brings an alien girl named Dorothy and her dog Toto.
Elphaba is now known as both Eminent Thropp and the Witch of the West. Her scientific and magical experiments on Animals have proven mostly successful; her winged monkeys are sentient and active allies. Nanny, now elderly and ailing, lives with Elphaba. Liir was recovered after surviving the annihilation of Fiyero’s family because no one knows he is also Fiyero’s descendent.
When Elphaba returns to Colwen Grounds, the prime minister informs her that the role of Eminence has been abolished. Elphaba doesn’t care, as she tries to stay away from politics. She simply needs a place to stay to visit family and take care of her sister’s remains. When she next meets with her father, she asks where she learned hatred. Frex tells her that she is his curse and his blessing, that hatred was how she was born into the world. Elphaba posits that he loved Nessarose more because Nessa was a product of Melena’s moral failings, not Frex’s.
All of Oz has fundamentally changed. Elphaba had not realized the extend of this change until she witnesses the destruction of the Colwen Grounds estate by angry townspeople who considered Nessa a tyrant. She is happily surprised by Glinda, who arrives to pay her respects. Glinda has developed her marriage and career and is now a well-respected sorceress. When the Munchkins meet Dorothy, they defer to Glinda. Glinda assures Elphaba that Nessa’s death was not Dorothy’s fault; as far as Glinda can tell, Dorothy is a little lost girl in a foreign land. Glinda is secretly cowed by Elphaba’s presence; she had forgotten how intimidating she had found Elphaba’s looks and strength.
Elphaba wonders if they’ve all been living under a spell from that day when Morrible proposed to train them as agents. Glinda believes that Madame Morrible was a messy lady who foretold the future incorrectly and that life is determined by their own decisions. Glinda sent Dorothy to the Emerald City with Nessa’s sparkly slippers, which angers Elphaba; she had always coveted the shoes, which are part Frex, part Turtle Heart. Glinda admonishes her, saying that they are only shoes. Elphaba declares that she will find Dorothy and retrieve the shoes. She claims that if the Wizard gets a hold of the shoes, he’ll have powerful and dangerous access to Munchkinland.
At Nessarose’s funeral, an emissary of the Wizard approaches Elphaba to set up a meeting between them. An audience with the Wizard might provide answers about Samira and Fiyero, so she agrees to the meeting, to be held at Colwen Grounds.
Elphaba is searched ahead of the meeting, and she angrily holds on to a page from the Grimmerie that she has been studying without success. Finally, she comes face-to-face with the Wizard, who appears without his disguise of lights and smoke. In reality, he is a diminutive-looking man. He worries that if she gets the sparkling shoes, she will retake Munchkinland. But Elphaba doesn’t care for the Munchkins and only wants to ensure her father’s safety. She asks about Samira, and he shows her a young woman chained up, inhuman in her lack of dignity. It’s Nor, who was chained and spared the fate of her family, who were all executed.
The Wizard looks at the Grimmerie page that Elphaba has been unable to decipher; he says it’s a spell for the Administration of Dragons, which he can read because it comes from his world. He tells Elphaba that he came to Oz for this book, but now that he has it, he has no intention of leaving. When Elphaba accuses him of murder, he dismisses the word and shrugs off the idea that he could be held responsible for the deaths of people in an uncivilized country. Elphaba proposes giving him the Grimmerie in exchange for Nor. The Wizard refuses because Nor is his only protection against Elphaba’s violence. Instead, he proposes taking control of Munchkinland and, if Elphaba does not interfere, he may revisit her demands. Elphaba asks about Madame Morrible, and he says it was Morrible who warned him about Elphaba and inspired him to have her watched, which led to Fiyero’s murder.
As Elphaba storms out, she passes by Glinda, Glinda tries to catch her eye, but Elphaba ignores her. It’s the last time they ever see each other.
Elphaba begins her search for Dorothy. The people she stops on the Yellow Brick Road are wary of revealing too much about Dorothy; they are easily charmed by the girl and worry what Elphaba will do to her. Elphaba learns that Dorothy has recently stayed at a nearby house. She visits the house and discovers that it belongs to her old friend Boq and his wife Milla. They are pleased to see each other, but Elphaba says she can’t dally. Boq confirms that Dorothy stayed with them briefly. Elphaba says she needs her sister’s shoes, and Milla accuses Elphaba of wanting to assassinate Dorothy.
The old friends muse on how far they’ve come since school. Boq tells Elphaba that Madame Morrible is still alive but unwell. He also reveals that Dorothy’s name means “Goddess of Gifts.” Elphaba scoffs at the sanctifying of children and stalks off. Boq has at least provided her with a new mission: killing Madame Morrible.
Elphaba returns to Shiz and finds Madame Morrible in bed. Elphaba bashes Morrible’s skull in with a trophy from the mantlepiece. Elphaba tracks down Avaric, hoping he’ll tell everyone that she killed Morrible. He is surprised to see her and tells her an odd story about a dwarf in the park whom he recognized from a night many years ago, when he went with Boq to the Philosophy Club to watch Yackle’s show. This mention of Yackle flummoxes Elphaba. She tells Avaric that she killed Madame Morrible, but he doesn’t seem to care. He invites her to dinner at his house, where they chat with his friends about the nature of evil. Avaric posits that there is no value to behavior, that evil comes in the thoughts that follow a bad deed.
Elphaba tracks down the dwarf, who has the Clock of the Time Dragon, hoping to learn more about Yackle. When Elphaba demands to know why her life out of all other lives was cursed by Yackle, the dwarf says that she’s not a curse. Rather, Elphaba is a gift because she is of two worlds. He operates the Clock of the Time Dragon to show Elphaba this history, the story of her genesis: While Frex was away, Melena had sex with none other than the Wizard. Elphaba’s biological father is the Wizard.
Elphaba returns to Munchkinland and visits Boq to tell him about Morrible’s murder. Boq is shocked that Elphaba, who fought so hard for Animal life, would practice the same type of violence that people like Morrible enacted against Animals. Elphaba accuses Boq of abandoning his principles, and he begs her not to harm Dorothy.
Elphaba leaves Boq in search of Dorothy. An umbrella peddler reveals that he met Dorothy, who is being accompanied to the Emerald City by a lion, a tin man, and a scarecrow. People speculate that Dorothy is the Ozma Regent reincarnated.
Elphaba returns to Nanny and Liir. Everything is fine at home, so Elphaba sets off to study her looking glass, through which she analyzes Dorothy. Elphaba realizes that Dorothy reminds her of herself at that age: wide-eyed, scared of a new world, and living through other people’s projections. Elphaba finds a disturbing sympathy for Dorothy. Elphaba experiments with elixirs to dream images that may help her understand her history and how to navigate her present. She sees images of the Wizard’s world, but the store fronts and “No Irish Need Apply” signs are beyond her interpretation. Upon waking, she resolves to find the green potion Nanny bought from Yackle.
A few weeks later, Liir comes home with a rumor about the Wizard. People are saying that a girl named Dorothy received an audience with the Wizard. Her travel companions all requested something from the Wizard: The Scarecrow wanted a brain, the Tin Man wanted a heart, and the Lion wanted courage. Dorothy asked to go home. The Wizard said he would grant their wishes if they kill Elphaba. Elphaba advises Liir to stay away, but he wants to meet Dorothy. Elphaba asks Liir what he would request of the Wizard. What Liir wants most is a father.
Liir is upset because his soldier friends joked about killing Dorothy’s friends and tying her up for their sexual amusement. When a higher-up heard about this, Liir’s young friend was castrated and hung out to die a slow and terrible death. Elphaba is impressed that Dorothy is so protected by the military. She sneaks out later that night to kill the young soldier and free him from his pain.
Elphaba tries to understand Dorothy’s friends. She figures that the Lion is an Animal and that the Tin Man is some sort of tiktok who wants to be human. The Scarecrow frightens her until she comes up with the theory that the Scarecrow is Fiyero come back to life, reincarnated as a straw man to come home to Elphaba.
One day, Elphaba sees banners raised for some procession. Suspecting it’s Dorothy and her friends, Elphaba sets up her defenses. She send crows out to pluck the eyes of her invaders. She summons her bees to push them away—but she tells all her familiars to leave the Scarecrow alone. She tells Liir his deepest wish may just come true. Every animal she sends to Dorothy gets killed. Finally, she sees that the Scarecrow is not Fiyero. She sends Chistery to fetch Dorothy and the Lion; she wants to either kill or reason with Dorothy, and she hopes that the Lion is the same one who, as a cub, was rescued from Doctor Nikidik’s lecture hall.
Chistery delivers Dorothy, Toto, and the Lion to their doorstep. Elphaba reveals herself and accuses Dorothy of killing her sister. Dorothy begs for her forgiveness, but Elphaba tells her to leave it alone. At dinner, Dorothy cries for her aunt and uncle, who she knows are worried about her. Elphaba tells Chistery to bring Toto to the well, and she attempts to drag Dorothy away from the Lion. But Liir interferes, grabbing Dorothy and kissing her.
Elphaba drags Dorothy to her room and shuts the door. She demands that Dorothy return her sister’s shoes. Dorothy, scared, thinks that Glinda put a spell on the shoes because they won’t come off. Nanny, the Lion, and Liir try to help Dorothy, but Elphaba pushes them away. Elphaba dips her broom into the fire and shuts the door again. She demands to know why Dorothy intends to kill her. Dorothy begs Elphaba to hear her out: She has no intention of killing Elphaba and only wants to apologize for accidentally killing her sister. Elphaba, tortured by her own lost apology to Samira, accidentally ignites her clothes with the fire from her broom. Dorothy douses the flames with water from a nearby bucket, unaware of Elphaba’s allergy. The incident proves fatal, and Elphaba dies in Dorothy’s arms.
As Oz celebrates the death of the Wicked Witch of the West, Dorothy returns to the Emerald City. Instead of giving the Wizard her shoes, she gives him a random bottle of magical elixir she found in Elphaba’s room. The Wizard gave that same bottle to a woman many years ago in Munchkinland, thus revealing that Elphaba was his daughter. The story of Dorothy’s arrival and departure becomes the stuff of legends, and the Wicked Witch of the West becomes a fabled horror story