Line #125 Literature/Wicked


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wickedbook.jpg]]
2	->'''Rick:''' What are you reading?\
3	'''Kirsten:''' It's a queer-revisionist telling of ''The Wizard of Oz''.\
4	'''Rick:''' There already was a queer revision of ''The Wizard of Oz.'' It was called ''Wicked'', and it was even gayer than the original!
5	-->-- ''WesternAnimation/RickAndSteveTheHappiestGayCoupleInAllTheWorld''
6
7	''Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'', a 1995 novel by Creator/GregoryMaguire, is the story of Elphaba, who will one day become ''[[Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz that]]'' Wicked Witch of the West. The original novel was expanded into a four book series entitled ''Literature/TheWickedYears''. ''Son of a Witch'' revolves around Elphaba's possible son Liir, ''A Lion Among Men'' around the Cowardly Lion, and the fourth and final book ''Out of Oz'' around Liir's daughter Rain.
8
9	''Wicked'' describes how Elphaba is born with green skin after her mother had an encounter with a travelling businessman. Her mother gives birth to an armless child, Nessarose, and then later [[DeathByChildbirth dies giving birth]] to Elphaba's third sibling, her brother, Shell. When Elphaba is older, she goes to school at Shiz, and is roomed with the pretty, popular Galinda. At first, Galinda is ''not'' happy about this.
10
11	Things change, however, when Professor Dillamond, their TalkingAnimal teacher, is found dead, soon after Animal hate speech started being promoted by faculty members, prompting Galinda to change her name to Glinda in honour of him. Elphaba and Glinda become close compatriots and the former rescues a Lion cub brought in by his replacement, and gains a passion for fighting for Animal rights. Elphaba goes to the Emerald City to speak to the wizard of this, and her life changes forever. Events push the two friends along their paths towards becoming the Good Witch of the North and the Wicked Witch of the West.
12
13	The book inspired a LighterAndSofter [[Theatre/{{Wicked}} musical adaptation]] in 2003, which became one of Broadway's biggest hits. The musical version will receive a [[Film/WickedPartOne film adaptation]] from Creator/{{Universal}} in 2024.
14	----
15	!!''Wicked'' contain examples of the following tropes:
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17	* AdaptationalVillainy: The Wizard. Rather than a mere conman a la the original stories, here he's the main antagonist.
18	* AmbiguouslyGay: Several, including Glinda to some extent (see HomoeroticSubtext).
19	* AnIcePerson: Elphaba subconsciously freezes a river in order to rescue Chistery.
20	* ArbitrarySkepticism: Elphaba's skepticism towards [[CrystalDragonJesus her father's religious beliefs]] isn't arbitrary because Maguire deliberately wrote it with a cynical eye on Christianity, but insisting that the Kumbric witch couldn't be possible when she herself was born unable to touch pure water without it feeling like acid? Why does Nor need to demonstrate that the broom can fly when Elphaba has already seen magic at work...and [[spoiler: magically killed a couple of people]]? Why isn't it possible that Dorothy and the Wizard are from another world?
21	* ArrangedMarriage: Fiyero was married this way before entering Shiz. Not that this mattered too much.
22	* BeeBeeGun: Elphaba keeps bees, and like in the original story she ends up sending them after Dorothy.
23	* BestialityIsDepraved: Played straight. Tibbet has sex with a male Tiger at the Philosopher's Club and is described as having 'never been the same.' [[spoiler: He dies later of an unspecified illness.]]
24	** In the fourth book, Brrr (The Cowardly Lion) and Nor refer to themselves as a married couple, although their relationship is obviously a celibate one for several reasons.
25	* BigBad: The Wizard.
26	* BodyHorror: Nor has her vagina ''sewn shut.'' Dear god.
27	* CantGetInTroubleForNuthin: Elphaba [[spoiler:murders Madame Morrible]] and then goes to a dinner party and talks about it. The guests refuse to judge or call the police--they're too entertained by the novelty of the situation and the opportunity to debate the meaning of good and evil. Slightly subverted; the reason nobody calls the authorities is because they think it ''is'' a novelty; none of them believe she really killed her.
28	* CapitalLettersAreMagic: There is an important distinction between common animals and sentient Animals, and you must pronounce the difference. Towards the beginning of the first book, Madam Morrible shares a poem which ends with the line "Animals should be seen and not heard", which causes a stir because people can't tell if she means "animals" or "Animals", and it might be a strong political statement.
29	* AChildShallLeadThem: Munchkinlanders try to invoke this with Dorothy. Glinda sent her to the Wizard to prevent the whole mess this would create. Some Oz citizens believe this will happen with their previous ruler - Ozma and Elphaba show her hatred to this trope a few times.
30	* ChurchMilitant: Nessarose, in the book; in the musical she's just an ObstructiveBureaucrat.
31	* CliffhangerCopout: The first book ends with a quote from a fairy tale told by Sarima earlier in the book: “And there the wicked old Witch stayed for a good long time.” “And did she ever come out?” “Not yet.” This seems to imply that Elphaba will, somehow, return in a future installment. But ultimately, three sequels later and even a seemingly foreshadowing remark from WordOfGod that "a witch will always come back," Elphaba is apparently gone for good, [[spoiler: unless it is, in fact, her who rescues Glinda at the end of the third book]].
32	* ClingyMacGuffin: As much as Dorothy might like to hand Nessarose's ruby slippers over to Elphaba, they won't come off, thinking that Galinda might have put a spell on them so they'd stay stuck to her feet.
33	* ConvenientComa: It is implied that Elphaba carried Liir to term through this.
34	* TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch: [[spoiler: Dillamond's death.]]
35	* CrapsackWorld: This book takes every political interpretation of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and makes them canon, with a spin and adds one hundred pounds of misery on everyone that means anything.
36	* CrystalDragonJesus: Unionism seems to be Christianity. They even practice baptism.
37	* DarkerAndEdgier: Than the original story, and especially the musical.
38	* DarkFantasy
39	* DeathByCameo: Jack Pumpkinhead with his head rotted due mice nesting in his brain and a broken Tik-Tok appear in a junk shop.
40	* DownerEnding: Just for starters, Elphaba and [[spoiler:Fiyero]] die.
41	* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Again, mostly certainly subverted.
42	* DeconstructionFic. Of ''The Wizard of Oz''.
43	* DefrostingIceQueen: Glinda. Elphaba even refers to her as "Miss Galinda the Ice Queen" at one point.
44	* DoingInTheWizard: Aside from people literally wanting to assassinate The Wizard, the books retcon a lot of the fantasy elements into religious beliefs or legends that are implied not to be true.
45	* DudeShesLikeInAComa: Gender-flipped with [[spoiler: Liir, who was raped by Candle while comatose.]]
46	* EskimosArentReal: It's mentioned that oceans are just a mythology idea. This is because Oz is surrounded by desert.
47	* EveryoneIsBi: In the book Oz seems to be a pretty sexually liberated world, and it's usually safe to assume any character is bisexual until proven otherwise.
48	* EveryoneWentToSchoolTogether: Both Wicked Witches, Glinda, and Boq all went to university together.
49	* EvilutionaryBiologist: Elphaba, sort of. Teaching monkeys to speak was probably good for them, but sewing on wings ForScience? That's rather morally gray.
50	* FantasticRacism:
51	** Both against Elphaba and the sapient Animals.
52	** The area Elphaba comes to preside over in the West as the "Wicked Witch" is properly known as "The Vinkus". "Winkies" and "Winkie Country" are rather insensitive slurs for the yellow-loving folk.
53	** "But the Quadlings, oh the Quadlings, / Slimy, stupid, curse-at-godlings, / Eat their young, and bury their old, / A day before their bodies get cold."
54	** Fiyero, and the people of the Vinkus, seem to be victims of racism as well. One of the first things one of the characters mention about Fiyero is that he has skin "the color of shit." Furthermore, upon hearing the suggestion that she once conducted an affair with Fiyero, Glinda states one of the reasons the rumor is nonsense is because he was "dark skinned," implying that she would never sleep with a man of color. Fiyero's ethnicity is never actually mentioned, he is simply referred to being dark, or ochre in colour, which could mean yellow-brown (olive) skin, right through to reddish-brown skin - like Nor who was turned into a sex slave and was abused so much that she sewed her vagina shut.
55	* FantasyCounterpartCulture: The culture surrounding the inhabitants of the Vinkus is a mix-and-match of Romani, Middle Eastern, Indian and possibly African influences. The Arjiki tribe are mentioned as have [[https://i.pinimg.com/736x/0c/a6/9f/0ca69fc22d75f3aa4580a3fd9596d906--sexy-men-hot-men.jpg ochre]] [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/42/34/53/423453c2d703f91a503370fe1b34f9a6.jpg skin]] and wear blue tattoos, possibly henna, on [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/33/b8/a6/33b8a6bb6165875bde883a5afcea7f0d.jpg their faces]] [[https://www.instagram.com/p/BFO891hqf9F/ and bodies]] (Middle Eastern). The Vinkuns, more notably the Scrow are mentioned to worship animals, in fact the Scrow Princess Nastotya is mentioned to be an Elephant Goddess (Indian). The nomadic lifestyles of the Vinkuns link to Indian/Romani (Gypsy) and Middle Eastern influences, as well as the prejudice that comes with it.
56	* ForegoneConclusion: Elphaba will become the Wicked Witch of the West, her sister will become the Wicked Witch of the East and get squashed by a house, Elphaba will melt, the Wizard will leave,...
57	* FreudianSlip: At the end of the book, Elphaba is talking with Liir about wishes. She doesn't want to say her true wish aloud, so instead she goes for "a soldier", but it just comes out as "a soul--". This surprises both of them.
58	* FurryConfusion: Only the Animals (note the capital "A") are fully sapient, while the regular animals are just...well, animals. Further confused when Elphaba starts experimenting on animals to see if she can teach them to become Animals. Her monkeys seem to become nothing more than talking parrots, but the second book shows that Chistory became genuinely intelligent.
59	* HeelRealization: The death of [[spoiler: Doctor Dillamond]] in the book was a wake up call for Galinda to re-evaluate what's important in life and stop being obsessed with popularity and being such a dumb blond.
60	* JustJokingJustification: Madame Morrible attemps to defend the egregiously anti-Animal quell she recited (without any criticism) by proclaiming it to be "satire". (after the Animals on staff, as well as Elphaba, have complained) Elphaba is not amused.
61	* KingInTheMountain: Sarima heard rumors that The Wizard couldn't bring himself to kill Ozma and sealed her in stasis in a cave somewhere, implying that she could come back and rule Oz again someday.
62	* LanguageOfMagic: The Grimmerie is full of this. Elphaba can somehow [[PossessionImpliesMastery read it without trying]], but others find it trickier. She does have to look hard to understand, as the words seem to move about the pages. It is implied that the book is simply a standard (though magical) book to [[spoiler: people from Earth]]. To Ozians, it is not just reading in a different language, but in a different dimension, which Elphaba's [[spoiler:real father aided her in.]]
63	* LawOfConservationOfDetail: Obviously, Liir is [[spoiler:Elphaba's son]], otherwise why would he be in the book at all?
64	* LittlePeopleAreSurreal;
65	** Mr Boss, the dwarf guardian of The Grimmerie.
66	** Dorothy strongly suspects that the short people working in the Chinese restaurant in San Francisco are munchkins in disguise.
67	* {{The Lost Lenore}}: Undoubtedly [[spoiler:Fiyero]], for [[spoiler:Elphaba]], for a good chunk of the first book.
68	* LukeIAmYourFather:
69	** [[spoiler:Elphaba and the Wizard.]]
70	** [[spoiler: Liir to Elphaba]], but much less of a surprise, since it's a main theme of the second book.
71	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane;
72	** Some magical elements from the original ''Oz'' books are now legends which may or may not be true.
73	** Nanny can't work out if Grommetik is technology, magical or a combination of both.
74	** Despite Uncle Henry's protests, Dorothy suspects the staff in the Chinese restaurant are munchkins and the fortune cookie they give her seems to predict her return to Oz.
75	** The Ozites handwave the NarniaTime as themselves measuring time differently and keeping shorter years than Kansas residents.
76	** Tip isn't sure if [[spoiler:he didn't notice that his childhood lasted over a century because he was stupid or Mombey charmed him]].
77	* MeaningfulName:
78	** Elphaba's name is a tribute to '''L'''. '''F'''rank '''B'''aum.
79	** Similarly, the Cowardly Lion's name, Brr, seems to a tribute to the actor who portrayed the character in the 1939 film: Bert Lahr. It also references (being the sound one makes while shivering) how he shivered as a cub, and became a coward as an adult.
80	* MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds: Dorothy has no idea about the problem with water. Elphaba accidentally gets her dress caught on fire, and the last words she hears are Dorothy saying "I'll save you!"
81	* MirrorCharacter: In the final section of the book, Elphaba realizes that Dorothy reminds her of her younger self.
82	* MobileSuitHuman: When Nanny asks how the clockwork robot Grommetik works, Elphaba says she likes to pretend he has a dwarf inside him or a family of elves with each working a limb.
83	* MyLifeFlashedBeforeMyEyes: As Elphaba dies after being splashed by Dorothy, she sees visions of all the major people from her life.
84	* MythologyGag:
85	** Elphaba sings a song about [[Film/TheWizardOfOz an imaginary land where there are no hardships]], reducing her college friends nearly to tears.
86	** Another reference to both the [[Film/TheWizardOfOz film]] AND the [[Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz book]] is that when Elphaba dreams of the 'other world', which is suggested to be our United States, it is described as "Grey". It is described the same in the original book, and even visualized in the movie in that all the scenes in Kansas are in black and white, while the scenes taking place in Oz are all in glorious technicolor.
87	** When Elphaba meets the Wizard after [[spoiler: Nessa's funeral]], she, horrified, calls him "a very bad wizard", to which he dismisses her as only "a caricature of a witch". In [[Film/TheWizardOfOz the film The Wizard of Oz]], Dorothy calls the Wizard "a very bad man" to which he shamefacedly defends "I'm a very good man, just a very bad wizard."
88	* NarniaTime: Six years passed for Dorothy between her visits to Oz but 18 years passed in Oz.
89	* NonIndicativeName: Elphaba, "The Wicked Witch of the West", actually isn't any of those things. She isn't evil (she's a WellIntentionedExtremist), she isn't a witch (she's a political activist with no interest in sorcery and no formal magic training), and she isn't from the West (she's a native of Munchkinland, the Easternmost region of Oz).
90	* PatchworkFic: For copyright reasons, ''Wicked'' is supposed to be based on the original Oz books, but both the book and musical draw heavily from the MGM ''Wizard of Oz'' film. Most glaring example? In the original book, the Wicked Witch of the West is ''not green''.
91	* PerspectiveFlip: Of ''The Wizard Of Oz'' and ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''.
92	* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: The terrorists/resistance group never seem to do anything. [[spoiler:Elphaba is foiled by her humanitarian instincts when a bunch of children unexpectedly surround her target, but we never find out about anyone else in the group ever doing anything either.]] It may be justified in-universe if [[spoiler: Fiyero's fears were right and their campaign was actually ResistanceAsPlanned by the Wizard]].
93	* ProgressivelyPrettier: In the book, Elphaba's described as having a long nose, gangly limbs, a mannishly strong jaw, and if it weren't for her being green, she wouldn't be much to look at. But in the musical, along with most book illustrations, and fan art, she's a generically cute girl whose only flaw is being green. Though to be fair, Elphaba is also compared to her mother a few times, as far as appearance; and Glinda at least at one point does describe her as beautiful (hat, dormitory). That's probably in part because [[spoiler: Fiyero]] says she's [[BeautifulAllAlong beautiful in her own way]], both in the musical and the book. But still, she's not written as conventionally beautiful...
94	* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: The Gale Force has no issue killing innocents when ordered to do so, but apparently when one suggests they rape Dorothy when she arrives, the other guards castrate him, and hang him on post so that crows can pick at what remains of the area. Elphaba bestows mercy upon though....by ordering the guards to put him out of his misery.
95	* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain: Elphaba starts out sympathetic, but turns ''batshit insane''.
96	* ReadingTeaLeaves: Nanny goes to Old Yackle to get medicine that will supposedly stop Melena's unborn baby from being born green like her sister (the pills actually lead Nessarose to be born armless). When there, Yackle reads Nanny using leaves and herbs, but it's noted her vision is poor and Nanny doesn't buy her fortune-telling.
97	* ResistanceAsPlanned: Possibly. [[spoiler: Upon learning that Elphaba doesn't even know the identities of her resistance group's leaders, Fiyero cites this very trope in-story. There's a good chance the Wizard's actually running the resistance against himself as a means of keeping his enemies under observation and as an excuse to consolidate more power. Elphaba stubbornly insists she'd know if she was being manipulated, but whether or not the Wizard ''was'' running the resistance at this point in his reign is never definitively settled.]]
98	* SantaClausmas: Lurlinemas comes from an old pagan religion. The Unionist government of the Emerald City only celebrates it because it brings in money.
99	* SevenLeagueBoots: Mr Boss asks Little Daffy if she can make him a pair to get them into the quadling jungle more quickly. Brrr says he'd need two pairs but would settle for a seven league settee.
100	* TheScrappy: In-universe, nobody besides Dorothy can stand Toto. Not even the narrator.
101	* ShootTheShaggyDog: The book ending. Every single sympathetic character is [[spoiler:dead or no longer sympathetic]], and the Wizard leaves for reasons mostly unrelated to their struggle. [[spoiler:Elphaba]] fails at every single major initiative she attempts during her lifetime.
102	* ShoutOut: There are plenty of shout outs to the movie and the original book, as well - like when Nessa gets the slippers.
103	--->'First they were silver -- now blue -- now red.'
104	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: The much more cynical version.
105	* StartOfDarkness: For the Wicked Witch of the West.
106	* TimeSkip: Multiple throughout the series. ''Wicked'' alone has ''four'', jumping from Elphaba's birth and infancy straight to Elphaba's time at university, through to the university crowd in their mid-to-late twenties, and finally to Elphaba in her mid-thirties.
107	* TooMuchInformation:
108	** Dorothy explains to Elphaba that she's been trying to remove Nessarose's slippers for days. Fair enough. But did she ''really'' have to mention how sweaty her socks had gotten from wearing the slippers for so long?
109	** At one point in time, Fiyero thinks that one of his tattoos has rubbed off on Elphaba ...down there. Which means he has tattoos there as well. Fiyero is attractive, yes, but still: TMI...
110	** In the same section, the narrator helpfully describes what Elphaba's pubes look like. Apparently they look different from [[spoiler: Fiyero's wife]].
111	* TokenMinority:
112	** The culture surrounding the inhabitants of the Vinkus is a mix-and-match of Romani, Middle Eastern, Indian and possibly African influences. However the POC are “uncivilised” in these books (even if said Savages have a society that seems more palatable than the cruelty of the Emerald City). Fiyero's ethnicity is never actually mentioned, he is simply referred to being dark, or ochre in colour, which could mean yellow-brown (Olive) skin, right through to reddish brown skin. The problem is that most of them end up dead (Fiyero, Sarima, Manek, Irji, Sarima's Sisters, Nor, Nastotya) or end up having extremely difficult lives, like Nor who was turned into a sex slave and was abused so much that she sewed her vagina shut; and while they are alive they are viewed as savages and barbarians – and prejudice against them is regarded mildly as “snobbery.” The flip side is that, in a book full of rather unpleasant characters, the POC tend to be some of the very few that are genuinely decent people.
113	** Talking about Fiyero:
114	-->'''Avaric:''' What's he wearing such silly paint for? He only draws attention to himself. And that skin. I wouldn't want to have skin the color of shit.\
115	'''Elphaba:''' What a thing to say, if you ask me, that's a shitty opinion.
116	** And later...
117	-->'''Glinda:''' My dear, I was fond of Fiyero and he was a good man and a fine statesman. But among other things, you will remember he was dark-skinned. Even if I took up dalliances-an inclination I believe rarely benefits anyone-you are once again being suspicious and cranky to suspect me and Fiyero! The idea!
118	* TwiceToldTale: The book will be difficult to understand for anyone who hasn't read or seen ''The Wizard of Oz.''
119	* UnableToCry: One of the reasons why she grew up to be such a distant, cold, and antisocial person was because of water burning her skin, causing her to be unable to cry without her tears painfully burning her face like acid.
120	* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom:
121	** [[spoiler: The unnamed sorcerer from our world who hid the Grimmerie in Oz in the past. The search for the long-missing tome is what brings the Wizard to Oz and sets off decades of political tyranny and Elphana's ascension (let alone her very birth).]]
122	** [[spoiler: Elphaba having a torn-out page from the Grimmerie on her person during her audience with the Wizard late in the book (and which he confiscates). In the larger context of the Wicked Cycle, this ends up having ''massive'' long-term repercussions for Oz, Liir, and others over the remaining three books.]]
123	* UsedToBeASweetKid: The story documents Elphaba's journey from her beginnings as a friendly, sensitive young girl, to, well, the Wicked Witch of the West.
124	* VillainWithGoodPublicity: [[spoiler:The Wizard.]]
125	* WellIntentionedExtremist: Elphaba
126	* WhatIsEvil: A major theme in the book. After Elphaba [[spoiler:bashes Madame Morrible's head in]] she attends a dinner party where all the guests sit around discussing the nature of evil, all of them having different opinions on exactly ''what'' evil is.
127	* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Underlined in heavy red crayon in the novel. It's hard out here for an IntellectualAnimal.
128	* WindowWatcher: Boq is able to see the windows of one of the girls' dormitories from his room at Shiz, but it's too far away for him to make out any details. When his roommates leave for a night on the town, Boq takes the chance to climb atop a nearby roof and get a better view. At least until Elphaba spots him.
129	* YouMeanXmas: The Ozites celebrate Lurlinemas, a winter holiday celebrating the birth of the goddess Lurline. Included are mentions of gift-giving, gingerbread, snowball fights, and even the phrase "happy holidays." Just about the only thing that differs from Christmas is that the designated holiday colors are green and gold rather than green and red. (And even that isn't too far off, as gold is often associated with Christmas as well.)

Context Literature / Wicked