The Characters
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
* Elphaba is the protagonist of the story, who eventually becomes known as the Wicked Witch of the West. She acquires this nickname more because of her sister's nickname (the Wicked Witch of the East, who was so named by her political opponents) than for any wicked deeds. Wicked adds details regarding the social and political climate of Oz which make Elphaba a more sympathetic character. She is driven into conflict with The Wizard out of concern for the welfare of sentient and linguistically adept Animals who are suffering under the discriminatory and increasingly genocidal policies of The Wizard. Dorothy unwittingly becomes embroiled in the conflict after her house kills Elphaba's sister Nessarose; Glinda gives Dorothy Nessarose's famously magical shoes, which Elphaba fears may cause immense harm if they fall into the hands of the Wizard. Elphaba's name comes from sounding out Oz author L. Frank Baum's initials, "LFB". She is allergic to water, which causes her to clean herself with oil instead.* Nessarose is Elphaba's sister. She eventually inherits the position of Eminent Thropp, leader of the state of Munchkinland. Through this position, she coerces Munchkinland into seceding from Oz. As a political leader of Munchkinland, she has both supporters and detractors. Her unhappy subjects nickname her "the Wicked Witch of the East." Nessarose is also the apple of her father Frexspar's (Frex) eye, and his most favored child out of three. She was born without arms, possibly as a result of her mother's attempts to prevent another green child, and the multi-hued glass shoes are charmed by Glinda to help her to become more independent.
* Galinda, later Glinda, is Elphaba's roommate at Shiz University. She at first hates Elphaba as she sees her as a hindrance to her social climbing agenda. As she matures, she and Elphaba become close friends. It is implied as well that perhaps Galinda has feelings for Elphaba; indeed, she cares for her deeply, and Elphaba for her in return. However, the two are separated for fifteen years when Elphaba goes into hiding. Glinda is part of the high society in Gillikin, Oz's northern state. The Glinda in Wicked is parallel to The Glinda in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as she is seen as being snobby and inconsiderate but in The Wizard of Oz she is kind and gentle.
* Fiyero is a prince of the Winkies. He meets Elphaba at Shiz, and later has an affair with her while she is involved in a resistance movement against the Wizard of Oz. This leads to his murder by the Gale Force, the Wizard's secret police. Elphaba and Liir later take residence in Fiyero's widow's home, Kiamo Ko.
* The Wizard is the dictator of Oz and primary villain of the story. He originally came to Oz from Earth in a hot air balloon seeking the Grimmerie, but became sidetracked when he discovered he could orchestrate a coup in Oz. It is heavily implied that he fathered Elphaba while her mother was under the influence of the Magical Elixir, which may explain Elphaba's green skin, aversion to water, and ability to occasionally read parts of the Grimmerie, which originated in the Wizard's world. After Elphaba's death and Dorothy's return to the Emerald City, the Wizard hastily leaves Oz for America in another (or the same) hot air balloon, and plans his suicide. After taking the Magical Elixir herself, Elphaba sees visions of the future, in which the Wizard fails to drown himself in the ocean. This is consistent with Baum's books, in which the Wizard later returns to Oz, alive. She also sees a sign in a shop window that says, "Irish need not apply", hinting, that much like Elphaba, The Wizard faced prejudice.
* Madame Morrible is the headmistress of Elphaba and Galinda's college (Crage Hall) in Shiz. Elphaba and her friends suspect her to be responsible for the murder of Dr. Dillamond. At one point, she proposes that Elphaba, Galinda, and Nessarose become future behind-the-scenes rulers in Oz, a proposal that they never willingly follow. Elphaba suspects that Madame Morrible has at least some magical powers and may have indeed controlled the fates of the three women. It is possible that she spies on Elphaba and sends messages to Liir through the Carp in the well at Elphaba's home in the Vinkus; the Carp dies at about the same time as Morrible. Morrible dies of natural causes minutes before Elphaba attempts to murder her.
* Doctor Dillamond is a talking Goat and professor at Crage Hall in Shiz. Assisted by Elphaba, Dr. Dillamond performs research on the differences between animals and Animals (sentient animals). He suspiciously dies from a slit throat; Madame Morrible claims that this is an accident, but her account is contradicted by Galinda’s Ama (chaperon), Ama Clutch, who claims she witnessed the event.
* Boq is a Munchkin who grew up with Elphaba and reunites with her at Shiz University. At first, he is only interested in talking to Elphaba in the hope that it will help his crush, Galinda, notice him. However, over time Boq and Elphaba become close friends and help Dr. Dillamond with his research, along with his college mates Crope and Tibbett. Later in life, Elphaba meets Boq while she is on the hunt for Dorothy along the Yellow Brick Road. He is now married to Milla, one of Glinda's friends from the University and has many children.
* Dorothy Gale is a 12 year-old girl who lands in Oz in her house, which crushes Nessarose. She takes Nessarose's shoes under the advice of Glinda. Many see these shoes as a symbol of power over Munchkinland. During her travels, many citizens of Oz are superstitious about her because of these shoes and her name. Her first name sounds like a reversal of the name of the "king" of her land (Theodore Roosevelt). Because her name means "Goddess of Gifts" (the opposite of Theodore, "Gift of God"), it is implied that Dorothy may be the second coming of Lurline, who was also known by that title. The Gale Force fear her for her last name. The Wizard sends Dorothy to kill Elphaba, but Dorothy's intention is to ask her for forgiveness for killing Nessarose. Elphaba does not know whether to treat Dorothy with kindness or to fear her. When Elphaba demands the slippers, Dorothy pleads that, despite her best efforts, they will not come off. Dorothy accidentally kills Elphaba by pouring water on her in an attempt to put out a fire on Elphaba's dress.
* Liir is a boy who leaves the mauntery with Elphaba for the Vinkus. It is strongly implied that Liir is the son of Elphaba and Fiyero. She does indeed admit that there is a year of her life she does not remember, during which she could have given birth to Liir. Extremely chubby, Liir played with his supposed half-siblings while he and his mother stayed with Fiyero's widow. At the end of Wicked it states that he intends to find a way of rescuing his half-sister Nor from her slavery. He is also the protagonist of Maguire's sequel to Wicked, Son of a Witch In Son of a Witch, Liir gets Candle pregnant and she has a green baby. This finally proves that Liir is Elphaba's son. Gregory Maguire has described Liir as "Elphaba's son" in interviews.[1]
* Yackle is a mysterious crone who appears frequently in Elphaba's life and who Elphaba suspects may be exerting control over her fate, and may be Kumbrica, the ambivalent goddess of Ozian myth. Nanny first mentions her as an old gypsy woman from whom she bought the medicine, which would stop Melena’s second child being born green. Later, she appears as an old woman guarding the door to the Philosophy Club and later still, she appears as Mother Yackle, a maunt (a sort of Ozian nun) at the mauntery (a unionist nunnery) who takes care of the homeless Elphaba. She is also believed to be one of the reincarnations of the Kumbric Witch who protects Elphaba, as she is the second incarnation.
* The dwarf claims to be an immortal sent to Oz to prevent the Grimmerie from returning to Earth. With his Clock of the Time Dragon, he seems to Elphaba to either be able to control fate or predict it.
* Grommetik is a tik-tok creature, servant to Madame Morrible. It is strongly implied he is involved in a sinister plot orchestrated at least in part by her. From what is described in the novel, it is similar to Tik-Tok from Baum's original Oz series.
* Nanny is a member of the Thropp family, though whether by blood or employment is never explicitly revealed. By the conclusion of the book, she has raised three generations of the Thropps, most notably having acted as chaperone to Nessarose, Elphaba and Glinda during their years at Shiz. She is still vital well into her eighties. Her attitude reflects this, as she is stoic, speaks her mind, and holds to somewhat inflammatory 'Lurlinistic' pagan beliefs.
* Frexspar is Elphaba, Nessarose, and Shell's father (at least in the emotional and physical sense; there are questions of whether he shares biology with some of the children). Frex is a devout Unionist priest. Nessarose was his favorite child, and to her he gave the famous jeweled slippers. It is implied that he is at ;least the father of shell, as the Wizard of Oz is Elphaba's father, and it is heavily implied that Turtle HEart is Nessarose's father. He, along with Melena, was in a threesome relationship with Turtle Heart.
* Chistery, Killyjoy, the Bees, and the Crows are the Animals which accompany Elphaba on the way to Kiamo Ko by coach which also become her familiars. The Bees are taken along as a source of honey for the travelers, and it is suggested that through dormant magical talent, Elphaba unconsciously sets them upon the coach cook, whom she dislikes and is later found stung to death at the edge of a cliff. Killyjoy, the cook's dog, takes an instant liking to Liir, who decides to keep him. Princess Nastoya gives the Crows to Elphaba, who then specifically states that Elphaba is to send them to her if she needs help with anything. Princess Nastoya also tells Elphaba directly that they are to be her familiars. On the way to Kiamo Ko, they run across Chistery, an abandoned infant snow monkey, whom Elphaba rescues through another unconscious act of magic (creating ice under her feet as she runs across a pond to save him from Killyjoy). Later in the book, he is taught by Elphaba to speak in hopes of completing Dr. Dillamond's study of how all life is connected. However, he only manages to mimic what others say, although he gains the ability to speak in full, comprehensible sentences in Son of a Witch. Elphaba sews wings onto the backs of him and the other monkeys, in a combination of Doctor Dillamond's studies and her practice of magic.
* Melena is Elphaba, Nessarose, and Shell's mother, and comes from a high-class family. She has mostly pagan traditions, which contradicts Frex's statements. She has very loose morals, and dreams of her days as a pampered girl, despite her rebelling against it at the time. She has a taste for alcohol and pinlobble leaves.
* Avaric is a friend of Boq's, and Galinda's. He is described as being the "perfect asshole". Late in the novel, Elphaba visits him, and they discuss evil with some of his friends.
* Crope and Tibbett are boys who attend Shiz University along with Boq. They later become members of the main group of friends that features in the first part of the book. It is heavily suggested that the two are homosexual; however, it is never explicitly proven, only through sexual comments passed by the two about each other or other boys. While Crope eventually becomes a sort of valet for 'Lady Glinda', Tibbet goes mad from his experiences at the Philosophy Club (being publicly raped by a Tiger) and later dies under Elphaba's care while she is at the mauntery.
* Turtle Heart is a wandering glassblower from Quadling country. He comes upon Melena's home while Frex is out preaching. Melena and Turtle Heart have an extended affair, and it is implied that Frex had intimate relations with him, as well, sharing him equally. It is also strongly suggested that he is the father of Nessarose.
* Ama Clutch is Galinda’s caretaker at Shiz. She is present throughout Galinda and Elphaba's time at Shiz. Ama Clutch "loses" her sanity in a suspicious way when she witnesses the murder of Doctor Dillamond. It is strongly suggested that Madame Morrible hexed Ama Clutch in the specific way that Galinda initially lied about upon her arrival to Shiz (in an effort to get a private room), talking to inanimate objects as if they were people.
* Shell is Elphaba and Nessarose's younger brother. It is giving birth to him that causes the death of their mother. Although he is never really seen in the book, Elphaba says that he would have been their mother's favorite, because he was a boy. He plays a big part in the sequel, Son of a Witch.
back