Wicked Themes

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West reimagines The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’s infamous villain, the green Witch, as a smart, passionate girl named Elphaba Thropp. But for a story about a so-called “Wicked” Witch, the novel offers no clear definition for evil, instead presenting it as a manmade concept largely influenced by perspective and used to sway public opinion. Wicked challenges the idea that evil is either…

Gregory Maguire’s Wicked tells the story of Oz’s Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba Thropp, from her birth until her final, fatal moments with Dorothy Gale. The events of the novel illustrate that power—and perhaps the pursuit of it—is capable of turning one’s ideals and vulnerabilities alike into tools of domination. The novel suggests that the corrupting influence of power sustains itself through cycles of fear and exploitation; in the end, the oppressed…

Wicked tells the story of Elphaba Thropp, the so-called Wicked Witch of the West, one of Western culture’s most enduring villains. At the story’s core lies one of humankind’s oldest philosophical questions: how much of what we do is really within our control? Ironically, readers likely know the Witch’s fate before the novel begins, which makes her path already feel somewhat preordained—at least on a narrative level. But Elphaba has good reason to believe…

In Wicked, forgiveness is inseparable from blame, and neither is depicted as especially straightforward, fair, or selfless. The novel suggests that forgiveness is less about consideration for the wronged and more about easing the conscience of the guilty, which is why it is often withheld. Elphaba’s struggle for forgiveness after Fiyero’s death reflects this tension. Though his murder is carried out by the Wizard’s men at Madame Morrible’s request, Elphaba…