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10. Boq
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Wicked, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Nature of Evil
Power and Oppression
Identity and Otherness
Destiny vs. Free Will
Guilt, Blame, and Forgiveness
Summary
Analysis
Though Doctor Dillamond’s death is officially ruled an accident, everyone knows he was murdered. In the days that follow, Galinda starts calling herself “Glinda,” the name Dillamond had mistakenly used when they first met on the train. Boq notices other changes in her as well. With Ama Clutch still in the hospital, Elphaba arranges for Nanny to come to Shiz as her and Glinda’s new minder. Nanny brings along Nessarose, who was born without arms and has always been in her care, and Boq retrieves them from the train station. He’s looking forward to his first class with Glinda—due to new Animal restrictions, several Shiz colleges have been combined, allowing boys and girls to attend lectures together for the first time.
Galinda’s transformation into “Glinda” following Dillamond’s murder is the symbolic death of her formerly vain, naïve persona, as she tries to become more aware of the world beyond herself. Nanny and Nessarose’s arrival introduces a new dynamic to Glinda’s cohabitation with Elphaba. With Ama Clutch gone and Elphaba’s former caretaker, Nanny, now supervising their activities, Elphaba gains additional support, subtly shifting the balance of power in her favor over Glinda.
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Glinda, meanwhile, reflects on how different she feels from this time last year. She no longer trusts Madame Morrible—she even suspects the Head might be responsible for Ama Clutch’s condition—and she’s distanced herself from Pfannee, Shenshen, and Milla. Now, she’s focused on building a friendship with Elphaba. After learning that Nanny and Nessarose would soon be living in the room next door, Glinda asked Elphaba about her past. Elphaba explained that their mother, Melena, died giving birth to her and Nessa’s younger brother, Shell, who’s now about 10 years old.
Glinda’s mistrust of Madame Morrible demonstrates the profound influence Elphaba has had, as she now sees clearly what Elphaba has long recognized: Morrible is not on the students’ side. Glinda turning her focus to Elphaba indicates that she now seeks genuine, meaningful connections. Learning about Elphaba’s family history further humanizes Elphaba in Glinda’s eyes and lays the groundwork for a more empathetic, honest relationship between them.
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After Nessa’s birth, Elphaba’s family moved to Quadling Country, just as a long drought ended (temporarily) in Munchkinland. Nessa’s birth coincided with a human sacrifice: Turtle Heart was killed by villagers incited by the Clock of the Time Dragon. Feeling it was their duty, Melena and Frex moved to Turtle Heart’s homeland to work as missionaries. Elphaba adds that Nessarose—a devout unionist and a true beauty, even without her arms—is their father’s favorite, while Shell, being “male, and white, and whole,” would have likely been their mother’s favorite had she lived.
One afternoon, Glinda, Elphaba, Nessarose, and Nanny debate whether sorcery—Glinda’s chosen major—is actually practical or merely entertainment. Glinda argues that just because magic can be used for entertainment doesn’t mean that’s all it’s good for, Nessarose calls it as dangerous as the pleasure faith, and Elphaba dismisses it as “trivial.” To prove her point, Glinda tries to levitate Elphaba’s sandwich. Instead, it explodes all over Elphaba. But Elphaba isn’t angry—rather, she’s impressed.
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Elphaba and Boq sit next to each other in Doctor Nikidik’s class, Dillamond’s replacement. Boq wonders if Dillamond left behind important notes before his death, and Elphaba reveals she snuck into the lab and took his belongings before it was sealed off. She’s making slow progress trying to understand them but refuses to share, not wanting Boq involved in anything dangerous. Doctor Nikidik, meanwhile, performs a demonstration using an Extract of Biological Intention. A puff of smoke drifts through the auditorium and brings a mounted pair of antlers to life. The antlers attack a new student, a Winkie prince named Fiyero, until Crope and Tibbett subdue them.
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Afterward, Glinda wonders why such magic was used in a natural sciences class. Elphaba decides to ask Nikidik about the line between science and sorcery next time. But in the next class, before Elphaba can ask, Nikidik wheels in a young lion cub for another demonstration. He asks the class if the cub is an animal or an Animal. Elphaba replies that only its mother would know—and where is its mother, anyway? When Nikidik raises a hammer and syringe, about to test the cub’s reaction to pain, the scared cub escapes with help from two girls as the class erupts in chaos. Seeing Elphaba shaken afterward, Boq invites her to tea “for old times’ sake.”
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Over time, Boq realizes that while he was once hopelessly infatuated with Galinda, what he truly wants from Glinda is friendship. He, Elphaba, Glinda, Nessarose, Nanny, and occasionally Crope, Tibbett, Pfannee, Shenshen, Milla, and Fiyero form a group Boq calls “the charmed circle.” During one of their gatherings, Fiyero casually mentions that he’s been married since the age of seven—a common practice in the Vinkus’s Arjiki tribe—but has only seen his wife once and won’t live with her until they’re both 20.
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Madame Morrible summons Elphaba and Nessarose to her office with a letter and package from Frex addressed only to Nessarose. Inside the package is a pair of sparkling shoes, decorated with silver glass beads Frex learned to make from Turtle Heart. He sends nothing for Elphaba. That evening, the charmed circle goes out for wine. Nessarose urges Elphaba to sing—Frex had always loved Elphaba’s singing voice—and she surprises everyone with a beautiful, improvised song about “longing and otherness.”
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One day, Glinda receives word that Ama Clutch is dying. She visits the infirmary with Elphaba, Nessarose, and Nanny, where they find Madame Morrible at Ama Clutch’s bedside. Nanny and Elphaba usher Morrible out to give Glinda privacy. Glinda casts a spell that briefly brings Ama Clutch back to reality, and Ama Clutch reveals she saw Grommetik slit Dillamond’s throat that night—this is what she glimpsed from the window. She asks Glinda to hold her hand as she accepts her fate and quietly dies.
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After Ama Clutch’s funeral, Morrible summons Glinda, Elphaba, and Nessarose to her office. She sends Nanny and Grommetik away, then asks the girls if Ama Clutch said anything about Dillamond’s death in her final moments. Morrible claims she sent Grommetik to Dillamond’s lab that night with tea and that it discovered the body and tried to check the pulse—heavily implying that Ama Clutch’s suspicion was a misunderstanding. None of the girls admit knowing anything. However, Glinda confesses that she fabricated Ama Clutch’s supposed ailment, prompting Morrible to praise the strength of Glinda’s powers.
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Morrible then casts a binding spell on the three girls, clouding their minds and ensuring they can’t remember or discuss any of what follows. She explains that powerful figures in Oz have tasked her with assembling a team of “Adepts” for the Wizard. These Adepts would one day monitor different regions of the country to suppress potential uprisings. Morrible has chosen Glinda, Elphaba, and Nessarose for their strength and influence. She expects their decisions later in the semester, though the spell prevents them from planning or confiding in one another.
Leaving Morrible’s office, Glinda struggles to recall what was only just discussed. The three meet Nanny and then join their friends at a bar, the Peach and Kidneys, where they drink and grieve Ama Clutch in community. Afterward, Boq, Avaric, and others try convincing the girls to visit the Philosophy Club, a local sex club. A drunken Glinda wants to go, but Elphaba pulls her back and whispers her own plan: they’re going to pack their things tonight and travel to the Emerald City to meet the Wizard themselves.
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At the Philosophy Club, Boq, Avaric, and their friends are ushered in by an old crone named Yackle, who informs them that participation is mandatory. As they explore the club, Pfannee admits she feels overwhelmed, and Boq—who had hoped for a fun, new experience—is already ready to leave. Before they can go, the group is led into a theater packed with other patrons. A dwarf pulls a Tiger, Tibbett, and a woman from the audience and arranges them in graphic sexual positions, forcing them to perform for the crowd.
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It takes Elphaba and Glinda over a week to reach the Emerald City. By the time it appears on the horizon, Glinda already hates it, finding it “pompous” and “pretentious.” Elphaba notes the lack of Animals and the heavy military presence. After several days, they secure a meeting with the Wizard, who appears as a mechanical skeleton on a throne amid a stormy backdrop of rain and thunder. At first, Elphaba is silent, wary of the rain, but she soon boldly challenges the Wizard over his “immoral” Animal restrictions.
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Elphaba presents Doctor Dillamond’s breakthrough research, but the Wizard mocks it as “derivative, specious garbage.” When she begs him to listen, he dismisses and belittles her, saying a supreme ruler owes nothing to his subjects. After their meeting, Glinda waits in a carriage for Elphaba, expecting to return to Shiz. Instead, Elphaba announces she’s not going back—she refuses to take part in whatever Madame Morrible has planned for them and says she’ll find her own path. To protect Glinda’s reputation, she insists Glinda tell everyone Elphaba kidnapped her and dragged her to the Emerald City.
