Content warning: discussion of castration, sexual violence, and torture.

I thought I knew the story. I’d watched the film, listened to Idina Menzel, and watched Judy Garland throw a bucket of water over the witch. The book, the musical, and the film even share the same title.

And that’s almost where the similarities end. There are the same character names. Elphaba is green. Glinda is ditzy, but much less so than in the musical/film. And the wizard is much less present.

The film is for the family. The book is decidedly grown up!

There’s something almost Pratchett-like in the writing (Terry Pratchett was a British author of spectacular wit, insight, and creativity). Gregory Maguire often comes up with clever observations on society. Elphaba can be seen as any “other” in society: queer or a foreigner.

‘When the times are a crucible, when the air is full of crisis,” she said, “those who are most themselves are the victims. “

Page 290. The speaker is the Princess Nastoya, an elephant changeling.

And there’s the Pratchett-esque humour throughout:

“She’s BLINDING THE GUESTS COMING FOR DINNER!”

“Well, that’s one way to avoid having to dust, I suppose.”

Page 476

And then, suddenly, on page 390, Elphaba’s sister turns out to be the child of the polyamorous union between her father, her mother, and somebody else they’d both loved.

The real surprise about the book came very early on. Page 2 to be exact. A reference to people like me in Oz:

“She was castrated at birth,” replied the Tin Woodman calmly. “She was a hermaphodite, or maybe entirely male.”

“Oh you, you see castration everywhere you look,” says the Lion.

Page 2

Towards the end of the book, there was another reference:

The soldier had been stripped and castrated, and nailed to the windmill. His body rotated in circles until vultures came and tried to peck out his entrails. He still wasn’t even dead.

Page 473

To find one reference to castration in a novel may seem a coincidence, to find two is beginning to feel intentional.

The lion was a perversion of it’s own natural instincts. She could deal with tiktok clockworks, she could handle Animals. It was the scarecrow she feared. Was it a spell? Was it a mask? Was there merely some clever dancer inside? All three of them were emasculated in some way or other, deluded under the work of the girl’s innocence.

Page 474

“Emasculation” it’s the essence of the making of a eunuch. Castration mentioned twice. Is there something more to Gregory Maguire’s personal history that has escaped public attention?

Or is there something in Frank Baum’s original books that Gregory is taking inspiration from?

I feel further investigation is required!