Wicked Witch of the East
| Wicked Witch of the East | |
|---|---|
| Oz character | |
 The Witch of the East as pictured in The Tin Woodman of Oz. |
|
| First appearance | The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) |
| Last appearance | Wicked (musical) (2003) |
| Created by | L. Frank Baum |
| Information | |
| Species | Human (Witch) |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Ruler of the Munchkin Country |
| Title | Wicked Witch of the East |
| Spouse(s) | None |
| Children | None |
The Wicked Witch of the East is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum in his Oz series of books.[1]
The cruel old witch conquered and tyrannically ruled the Munchkin Country in the East, making the Munchkins slave for her night and day. The magical silver shoes were one of her most prized possessions, and she met her demise when Dorothy Gale's house landed on her. Her dry, withered body quickly turned to dust, leaving only the magic shoes.
[edit] The classic books by L. Frank Baum
The Wicked Witch of the East was more powerful than the Good Witch of the North, but not as powerful as Glinda the Good Witch of the South.
She was not related to the Wicked Witch of the West, but leagued with her, and also with Mombi (Good Witch of the North) and the Good Witch of the South, to conquer and divide Oz among themselves. After the fall of Pastoria, the last King of Oz, the old witch conquered the Eastern part of the Land of Oz and held the Munchkins in bondage for a number of decades.
Among her exceedingly cruel actions were the enchantments of Nick Chopper's axe and Captain Fyter's sword, which caused the two men to cut up their own bodies and eventually turn into the Tin Woodman and the Tin Soldier.
She had lived in a hut with her maid Nimmie Amee, who was Nick Chopper's sweetheart. Determined to prevent Nimee Amee from getting married, the Wicked Witch of the East resolved to turn her into an old crone. It was while the Witch was out looking for herbs that would effect such a transformation that Dorothy's house landed on her.
Interestingly, she had helped certain Munchkins (such as Nimmie Amee's original mistress and the tinsmith Ku-Klip) with her witchcraft, under certain circumstances (usually at a reasonable cost). This demonstrates that she was a ruler who could be approached and propitiated, at least by some of her subjects.
[edit] Recent works
In Alexander Melentyevich Volkov's The Wizard of the Emerald City, The Witch's name is Gingema. Like in the 1939 movie, the two Wicked Witches are sisters. In Magic Land, she is summoning a magical hurricane to destroy all humanity. However, the Good Witch of the North learns of her schemes, and changes the spell to only affect one house and drop it on Gingema's head. Unlike in Baum's books, while being the formal ruler of the Munchkins, she interfered little in their lives, and only demanded that people collect food for her. Since her food was snakes, leeches, spiders, and other similarly disgusting creatures which the Munchkins were afraid of, that was nevertheless a heavy burden for them.
In the Broadway musical, The Wiz, the Wicked Witch of the East is named Evvamene ("Ever mean") and terrorizes the Munchkins.
In the more recent novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by author Gregory Maguire, and in the Broadway musical version, the Wicked Witch of the East is portrayed as a beautiful but physically disabled young woman called Nessarose. For more information on this incarnation of the character, refer to the Nessarose article.
In Roger S. Baum's Lion of Oz and the Badge of Courage, the Wicked Witch of the East is the main antagonist. The book was adapted into the 2000 animated film Lion of Oz. In the movie Lion of Oz she was voiced by Lynn Redgrave.
In 2007, Turner Entertainment collaborated with Madame Alexander to create a series of McDonald's Happy Meal toys centered on the main characters from the 1939 movie, one of which was the Wicked Witch of the East. She is depicted as having blonde hair, a red shirt with a green belt and a burgundy dress over her distinguishable striped stockings and ruby slippers. She also is wearing a hat similar to the Witch of the West's, although it is colored red.
In The Muppet's Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the East is played by Miss Piggy (as are all of the other witches/fairies). She manages to lift the house long enough to threaten the Munchkins before it falls back on top of her, killing her this time.
