Understanding the Wicked Witch: Exploring how “difference” makes Elphaba an inspiration to her audience

Abstract

The Wicked Witch of the West has changed her reputation in recent pop-culture, from the embodiment of evil in The Wizard of Oz, to the quirky and confident Elphaba in Wicked. This thesis aims to explore and explain why Elphaba’s different and unique personality is an important inspiration for young women and queer people today while looking through the lens of theatre and queer history. Elphaba is one of the main characters in Wicked, but to get the complete understanding of Elphaba, this thesis will look at key moments in act one where Elphaba is both alone and interacts with other key characters, such as Glinda, and explain how the interactions, both story-wise and through theatre concepts, amplify and describe Elphaba’s “difference”. By looking closer at the script, as well as study the works of the scholars Boyd, Schrader and Wolf, the thesis will show light on how Elphaba’s character represents “difference” in the musical. This will shed light on how difference comes in many different forms and will show that having a character behave different is a key element of Wicked’s success, particularly as a musical. Ultimately Elphaba inspires the audience to defy social norms and embrace their uniqueness.

The Wicked Witch of the West has changed her reputation in recent pop-culture, from the embodiment of evil in The Wizard of Oz, to the quirky and confident Elphaba in Wicked. This thesis aims to explore and explain why Elphaba’s different and unique personality is an important inspiration for young women and queer people today while looking through the lens of theatre and queer history. Elphaba is one of the main characters in Wicked, but to get the complete understanding of Elphaba, this thesis will look at key moments in act one where Elphaba is both alone and interacts with other key characters, such as Glinda, and explain how the interactions, both story-wise and through theatre concepts, amplify and describe Elphaba’s “difference”. By looking closer at the script, as well as study the works of the scholars Boyd, Schrader and Wolf, the thesis will show light on how Elphaba’s character represents “difference” in the musical. This will shed light on how difference comes in many different forms and will show that having a character behave different is a key element of Wicked’s success, particularly as a musical. Ultimately Elphaba inspires the audience to defy social norms and embrace their uniqueness.