Gregory Maguire - Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

A NOVEL

ILLUSTRATIONS BY DOUGLAS SMITH

This book is for Betty Levin and for all those who
taught me to love and fear goodness.

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Tis very strange Men should be so fond of being thought wickeder than they are.

DANIEL DEFOE, A SYSTEM OF MAGICK

In historical events great menso calledare but the labels that serve to give a name to an event, and like labels, they have the last possible connection with the event itself. Every action of theirs, that seems to them an act of their own free will, is in an historical sense not free at all, but in bondage to the whole course of previous history, and predestined from all eternity.

LEO NIKOLAEVICH TOLSTOI, WAR AND PEACE

Well, said the Head, I will give you my answer. You have no right to expect me to send you back to Kansas unless you do something for me in return. In this country everyone must pay for everything he gets. If you wish me to use my magic power to send you home again you must do something for me first. Help me and I will help you. What must I do? asked the girl. Kill the wicked Witch of the West, answered Oz.

L. FRANK BAUM, THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ

A mile above Oz, the Witch balanced on the winds forward edge, as if she were a green fleck of the land itself, flung up and sent wheeling away by the turbulent air. White and purple summer thunderheads mounded around her. Below, the Yellow Brick Road looped back on itself, like a relaxed noose. Though winter storms and the crowbars of agitators had torn up the road, still it led, relentlessly, to the Emerald City. The Witch could see the companions trudging along, maneuvering around the buckled sections, skirting trenches, skipping when the way was clear. They seemed oblivious of their fate. But it was not up to the Witch to enlighten them.

She used the broom as a sort of balustrade, stepping down from the sky like one of her flying monkeys. She finished up on the topmost bough of a black willow tree. Beneath, hidden by the fronds, her prey had paused to take their rest. The Witch tucked her broom under her arm. Crablike and quiet, she scuttled down a little at a time, until she was a mere twenty feet above them. Wind moved the dangling tendrils of the tree. The Witch stared and listened.

There were four of them. She could see a huge Cat of some sorta Lion, was it?and a shiny woodman. The Tin Woodman was picking nits out of the Lions mane, and the Lion was muttering and squirming from the aggravation. An animated Scarecrow lolled nearby, blowing dandelion heads into the wind. The girl was out of sight behind shifting curtains of the willow.

Of course, to hear them tell it, it is the surviving sister who is the crazy one, said the Lion. What a Witch. Psychologically warped; possessed by demons. Insane. Not a pretty picture.

She was castrated at birth, replied the Tin Woodman calmly. She was born hermaphroditic, or maybe entirely male.

Oh you, you see castration everywhere you look, said the Lion.

Im only repeating what folks say, said the Tin Woodman.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, said the Lion airily. She was deprived of a mothers love, is how Ive heard it. She was an abused child. She was addicted to medicine for her skin condition.

She has been unlucky in love, said the Tin Woodman, like the rest of us. The Tin Woodman paused and placed his hand on the center of his chest, as if in grief.

Shes a woman who prefers the company of other women, said the Scarecrow, sitting up.

Shes the spurned lover of a married man.

She is a married man.

The Witch was so stunned that she nearly lost her grip on the branch. The last thing she ever cared for was gossip. Yet she had been out of touch for so long that she was astonished at the vigorous opinions of these random nobodies.

Shes a despot. A dangerous tyrant, said the Lion with conviction.

The Tin Woodman pulled harder than was necessary on a lock of mane. Everythings dangerous to you, you craven thing. I hear shes a champion of home rule for the so-called Winkies.

Whoever she is, she must surely be grieving the death of her sister, said the child, in a somber voice too rich, too sincere for one so young. The Witchs skin crawled.

Dont go feeling sympathetic now. I certainly cant. The Tin Woodman sniffed, a bit cynically.

But Dorothys right, said the Scarecrow. No one is exempt from grief.

The Witch was deeply irked by their patronizing speculations. She moved around the trunk of the tree, stretching to catch a glimpse of the child. The wind was picking up, and the Scarecrow shivered. While the Tin Woodman continued fussing over the Lions tresses, he leaned against the Lion, who held him tenderly. Storm on the horizon, said the Scarecrow.

Miles off, thunder echoed. ThereisaWitch on the horizon, said the Tin Woodman, tickling the Lion. The Lion got spooked and rolled on top of the Scarecrow, whimpering, and the Tin Woodman collapsed on top of them both.

Good friends, should we be wary of that storm? said the girl.

The rising winds moved the curtain of greenery at last, and the Witch caught sight of the girl. She was sitting with her feet tucked underneath her and her arms wrapped around her knees. She was not a dainty thing but a good-size farm girl, dressed in blue-and-white checks and a pinafore. In her lap, a vile little dog cowered and whined.

The storm makes you skittish. Its natural after what youve been through, said the Tin Woodman. Relax.

The Witchs fingers dug into the bark of the tree. She still could not see the girls face, just her strong forearms and the crown of her head where her dark hair was pulled back into pigtails. Was she to be taken seriously, or was she merely a blow-away dandelion seed, caught on the wrong side of the wind? If she could see the girls face, the Witch felt she might know.

But as the Witch craned outward from the trunk, the girl at the same time twisted her face, turning away. That storm is coming closer, and in a hurry. The feeling in her voice rose as the wind rose. She had a throaty vehemence, like someone arguing through the threat of impending tears. I know storms, I know how they come upon you!