WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST

'The Wicked Witch of the West' (or simply 'The Wicked Witch') is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum in his children's books. The character also figures prominently in the classic 1939 movie based on Baum's ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''. In these works, The Wicked Witch poses the biggest threat to Dorothy Gale, because she covets the magical pair of silver shoes (ruby slippers in the movie) which previously belonged to the Wicked Witch of the East and are now worn by Dorothy. The Witch has often been used by editorial cartoonists to represent an evil force; for more details see Political interpretations of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''.

Contents

The classic books

The 1939 movie

Modern works

References

The classic books

In The Oz Books, the Wicked Witch is the one witch in Oz of whom the Wizard of Oz is afraid. She rules the Winkie Country in the western part of Oz. When young Dorothy is dropped in Oz by a cyclone, The Wizard promises to help her return to her home in Kansas if she and her ragtag group of friends kill the Wicked Witch. Dorothy, the brainless Scarecrow, the heartless Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion journey toward her castle and are attacked by wolves, crows, bees, and her Winkie slaves. Dorothy and her companions defeat each threat, but are eventually subdued by the Winged Monkeys that the Wicked Witch commands through the power of the "Golden Cap." Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion are carried to the Wicked Witch's castle. However, The Wicked Witch can't kill Dorothy because the girl is protected by the Good Witch of the North. She enslaves her and tries to force the Cowardly Lion into submission by starving him. When she succeeds in stealing one silver shoe, by making Dorothy trip, Dorothy angrily throws a bucket of water onto the Wicked Witch. This causes the witch to melt.
The Wicked Witch's dryness was enumerated in some clues before this. She carries not the traditional broom but an umbrella.^[1] Furthermore, when Toto had bitten her, she had not bled; her wickedness had dried her up long ago.^[2]
W.W. Denslow's illustrations for ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' depict the Wicked Witch as a paunched old woman wearing an eyepatch; her good eye gave her the visual powers of a telescope.

The 1939 movie

In the classic movie ''The Wizard of Oz'', the Wicked Witch, played by actress Margaret Hamilton, was stooped, green-skinned, and dressed entirely in black. In many people's minds, this representation of The Wicked Witch has become an archetype for human wickedness.
While this relationship is not mentioned in Baum's books,
★ in the movie, the Witch is the sister of the Wicked Witch of the East, who is killed when Dorothy arrives in Oz. The Witch asks aloud, "Who killed my sister?" (albeit with more calculation than sorrow). As a result, The Wicked Witch of the West's role is made more prominent as she seeks revenge against Dorothy for killing her sister. When Dorothy claims the death was an accident, the Witch of the West replies, "Well, my little pretty, I can cause accidents too." It is from this movie that popular culture gets the oft-quoted phrase, "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!" Later, when she sends her flying monkeys to capture Dorothy, she stands by the window shouting, "Fly! Fly!" repeatedly. This too is a very well-remembered quotation of hers.
The Witch also has a counterpart in the Kansas world: a rich, grumpy single woman named Almira Gulch who seeks to have Dorothy's dog, Toto, put down. There is some ambiguity as to whether Gulch turns into the Wicked Witch of the East or of the West in the Tornado scene when Dorothy sees her transform in the window. However, it can be argued both ways.

Modern works

In "The Wiz" (1975), The Wicked Witch Of The West is given the name Evillene, and is the malevolent ruler of the Winkies. She is the sister of Addaperle, Glinda, and Evvamene, the other three witches of Oz.
Gregory Maguire's successful 1995 revisionist novel ''Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'' takes the familiar Oz story and turns it on its head, with the Wicked Witch (given the name Elphaba) as the novel's protagonist and Dorothy as a hapless child. Born with hydrophobic green skin and shunned because of her differences, Elphaba is a misunderstood child who grows into a brooding and very mischaracterized young woman rebelling against an oppressive dictator, the Wizard of Oz. Maguire's story was developed into a Broadway musical, ''Wicked'', in 2003. Idina Menzel won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Elphaba. 2005's ''Son of a Witch'' is the sequel to ''Wicked'', focusing upon Elphaba's purported son.
In the 1990–1991 animated series from DiC Enterprises, the Flying Monkeys resurrected the Wicked Witch of the West (voiced by Tress MacNeille) by simply putting her hat, cloak, and dress on a tree. Afterwards, she terrorized Oz once again, ruining Emerald city, stealing the items of Dorothy's friends (Scarecrow's diploma, Tin Man's clock and Cowardly Lion's medal), and even sent the Wizard himself away on his hot-air balloon. The series was canceled before an ending could be produced, so her fate remains a mystery.
In the commercials for Energizer, the Wicked Witch from the 1930's movie tried to steal the Energizer Bunny's battery by using fire on it only to set off the sprinklers and melt.
In ''The Muppets' Wizard of Oz'' (2005), Miss Piggy plays all of the witches of Oz including the Wicked Witch of the West. Her basic attire was a homage of W.W. Denslow's illustration, with a "biker" theme. The eyepatch also covered a magical glass-eye that gave her visual powers.
In ''The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles'' (2005–), a "new Witch" enters Oz and makes plans to obliterate the place. At the end of the comic, we see a figure who we are led to assume is this new witch. She wears an eyepatch and strongly resembles the Wicked Witch of the West as depicted by W. W. Denslow.

References

1. L. Frank Baum, Michael Patrick Hearn, ''The Annotated Wizard of Oz'', p 231, ISBN 0-517-500868
2. L. Frank Baum, Michael Patrick Hearn, ''The Annotated Wizard of Oz'', p 234, ISBN 0-517-500868