For other versions, see Dorothy Gale.
- "She was up and running in an ungainly way, and her three goofy companions followed in a mounting panic. As the first few drops of rain fell, the Witch caught sight, not of the girl's face, but the shoes. Her sister's shoes! They sparkled, even in the darkening afternoon. They sparkled like yellow diamonds in the sun, embers of blood, and thorny stars..."
- ―introduction to Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (1995)
In The Wicked Years series, author Gregory Maguire combined both L. Frank Baum's literary character of Dorothy Gale and the 1939 version of Dorothy portrayed by the late Judy Garland while adding his own traits into the character making it work for the story of Wicked. In Maguire's story she is portrayed as a good-natured child. She is practical, single-minded and even slightly boring. She also has a tendency to burst into song, which the Ozians find irritating to the point she is able to use it as a threat later in the book series.
Baum's Dorothy was around ten to twelve years old. Maguire also keeps her a mere child like in the original book, while also adding some of the personality traits and mannerisms of Judy's iconic portrayal of her who was sixteen when she played the role. And much like in the original story by Baum, Maguire confirms that her experience in Oz was indeed a real place and not a dream like it appeared to be in the 1939 film version.
In Wicked, Dorothy is not the focal point of the plot even though she does play a rather small but very important role, but only because the story could not exist without her. Dorothy is mentioned several times but is only involved in the chaos and drama towards the end of Maguire's tale. Dorothy is seen as a mere outsider who cannot read Oz's unique writing system, knows nothing about Oz's complex politics and overall system, laws or history.
Dorothy is oblivious to the world around her, as everything seems so magical and alien to her. Although she is well-meaning, mature for her age and very compassionate beyond her years, her innocence and unyielding desire to return to Kansas, causes a domino effect in the result of negative outcomes. And much-unwanted trouble and heartache for the main character of the book, Elphaba Thropp.
It is Elphaba's bad reputation as Dorothy does not know any better to think of Elphaba for anything other than what everyone else in Oz views her as, which is "Wicked". Even though Elphaba is not actually so, just misunderstood. But Dorothy, however, is not aware of this until she meets Elphaba in the Vinkus aka the "Winkie Country" at the Kiamo Ko castle when the Wizard sends Dorothy to kill her. In the 1939 film, the Wicked Witch of the West is a counterpart for the Kansas aristocrat named Almira Gulch who Dorothy calls a "Wicked Old Witch". However, in Wicked there is no character analogous to Almira Gulch, due to copyright restrictions on the movie.
In both Baum's original children's book of 1900 and Maguire's 1995 mature revision, Dorothy attends a banquet party in Oz and spends her first night on the Yellow Brick Road at the house of a wealthy Munchkin named Boq who is the richest one in Oz. He held this celebration in honor of her for killing the Wicked Witch of the East and setting the Munchkins free from her bondage.
This was not portrayed accurately in the 1939 film but in Wicked it is revealed that the two characters discussed the etymology of Dorothy's name. Boq finds it interesting that it is the reverse of her land's "King" Theodore — which means "Gift of the Gods" — and that it means "Goddess of Gifts". This fact causes many of the superstitious Ozians to look at her as a saint in the flesh. And much like a disciple sent to Oz to fulfill a prophecy by the "Unnamed God". The fact that she wears Nessarose's magic shoes make the Ozians even more superstitious of her. And the coincidence her last name is the same of the Wizard's Army aka the "Gale Force" makes her nearly untouchable. Her disposition was so incredible to the Ozians, they imagined at one point that she must be an assassin, disguised as a "Gullible Sweetheart".
Wicked[]
- "Grimmerie? I don't know what you're talking about. I am all alone in this strange land, don't make me do this!" Cried the girl. "I would give you the shoes, if I could. But they won't come off! I think Glinda put a spell on them, I've been trying to get them off for days and days. My socks are so sweaty it's not to be believed!"
- ―
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (1995)
Towards the end of the novel, Elphaba finally orders her Winged Monkeys to capture and bring Dorothy and Brrr the Cowardly Lion to the Kiamo Ko castle. And just like in Baum's original book the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman are left behind in the dark, unforgiving night.
After an uncomfortable and disastrous meal, Elphaba pulls Dorothy into one of the castle's towers in an attempt to straighten things out. While also assuming she had to be tied into the tapestry of conspiracies in Oz, she confesses that the Wizard sent her to kill Elphaba, but Dorothy, being a mere child, simply cannot bring herself to do such a terrible task. Elphaba commands her to hand over the slippers, but they are enchanted under the protection of Glinda and will not come off. Dorothy explains that the Wizard himself even tried to pry them off before sending her to the Vinkus in exchange to be sent back home. Despite her efforts, they will not come off, Dorothy is magically locked tight inside of them, for better or worse.
As it became apparent, Elphaba briefly realizes that Dorothy reminds her much of herself, as both Dorothy and Elphaba are misunderstood, outsiders. Elphaba finally sees that Dorothy is just an innocent human girl from a different place who had been thrown into a world that she knew nothing about. But then Elphaba becomes physiologically and emotionally crippled by Dorothy's honest pleas for forgiveness for killing her sister.
Elphaba Thropp confronts a frightened Dorothy in Wicked.
This pushes Elphaba to her psychological breaking point. She finally snaps and goes insane and this is when Elphaba accidentally sets herself on fire due to not paying attention to her surroundings. The hot sparks from a nearby candle caught on her long robes and black cape, setting her ablaze. Dorothy, seeing her in trouble, tries to save the woman and put out the fire by grabbing a nearby bucket of water that was collecting rainwater from a leak. Dorothy, not knowing water is fatal to Elphaba, tosses the bucket at her without a second thought. To her horror, it tragically melts her away, killing her by accident instead of helping her as Dorothy thought it would.
Son Of A Witch[]
In the sequel Son of a Witch, the story picks up right after Elphaba's tragic death. Liir, (Elphaba's oddball son), accompanies Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and Brrr the Cowardly Lion back to the Emerald City to see the Wizard again after successfully completing their task.
While traveling through the Vinkus, Dorothy and the group all meet a shapeshifting Princess who is also the head leader of her native tribe. The Princesses name is Nastoya who appeared to the group as a human girl but was originally an elephant at birth. Nastoya explains to them all that because of the Wizard and his prejudice veiws against Animals, she disguised herself and vailed her true form as a clever shield of protection. Yet Nastoya confesses she is finding it increasingly difficult to switch forms which leads her to believe she is dying.
As so, Nastoya shockingly morphs herself and transforms right infront of Dorothy and her companions which is described to be revolting to watch as Nastoya's skin stretches and her bones shift and body mutates. Seeing this, Dorothy nearly vomits in her apron and Toto passes out in a nervous fit. In the third and final book of the Wicked series Out of Oz, it is revealed that an old Witch called "La Mombey" was the sorceress who placed the spell on her.
When Dorothy reaches the Emerald City Liir is told to wait outside the Wizard's palace while Dorothy and her friends step inside to speak with Oz. Despite her promise to come back to say goodbye before returning to Kansas, Dorothy forgets about Liir and leaves without a proper farewell, leaving Liir heartbroken. Despite this, Liir does not hold it against her because he understands how eager she was to get back home.
It is rumored by the Ozians that when Dorothy was sent home, she was seen descending up into the sky waving her apron and carrying that "damn fool dog".
A Lion Among Men[]
In the third book in the Wicked series A Lion Among Men, Brrr the Cowardly Lion meets Dorothy when he abandons city life to live in the wilderness of Oz. He meets her on the yellow brick road when she is already accompanied by the Scarecrow and Nick Chopper the Tin Woodman. Brrr then goes with them to the Emerald City and to Kiamo Ko to kill Elphaba.
Out Of Oz[]
- "It would take Dorothy Gale and her relatives three days to reach the mountains by train from Kansas, the conductor told them. No matter what the schoolteacher had said about Galileo, Copernicus and those other spoilsports, any cockamamie theory that the world was round remained refuted by the geometrical instrument of a rattling train applied to the spare facts of a prairie. Dorothy watched eagles and hawks careering too high to cast shadows, she watched the returning larks and bluebirds, and she wondered what they knew about the shape of the world and if they would ever tell her. "
- ―
Out of Oz (2011)
In the fourth and final book of the Wicked series Out of Oz, it is explained that Dorothy is teleported home, flying over the magical Land of Oz and back to Kansas thanks to the power of Nessa's beautiful slippers. Unfortunately, she loses them when they fell off her feet on the flight back somewhere in between the universe that separates Oz from the civilized world. And just like in the original book by Baum, they are never recovered. Nevertheless, Dorothy reappears on the horizon, shoeless but still in one piece on the prairie, and of course, holding Toto in her arms.
Due to her extended disappearance and unexplainable survival from the cyclone, the other local children at the schoolhouse Dorothy attends, completely shun her and label her a freak of nature for riding the winds of a twister and living to tell about it, nonetheless suddenly reappearing out of nowhere months later.
To keep herself from feeling lonely, Dorothy takes up singing to hide the fact that no one at school would talk to her. And her tales of Oz only make her seem completely crazy, thus making her unmarriageable and "ungodly".
Six years later, Dorothy and Toto are unexpectedly sent to Oz by fate once again. But now she is approximately sixteen years old. Even though it has been less than a decade since her first visit in her world, it has been around twenty to thirty years in Oz's time.
Back in Kansas, Dorothy's relatives never believe her stories about Oz and criticize her for having her head in the clouds and sabotaging her future. To help her forget about Oz, Aunt Em and Uncle Henry decide to take a trip to San Francisco on vacation. However, after sightseeing, Dorothy ends up being trapped with Toto in a motel elevator when an earthquake hits (believed to be the same California earthquake from 1906).
When the building collapses the elevator falls into the bowels of the Earth and into another dimension. It falls from the sky, accidentally lands on a cow, and kills it. Toto is lost in the process when he falls out of the elevator doors, which are cracked just enough for him to slip through.
Dorothy is buried alive under all the rocks and pieces of the Earth that the earthquake brought down along with the elevator. Luckily, it is found by nearby locals who dig up and save her. She suffers from a temporary state of amnesia and a bump on her head which gives her a near concussion. She is taken in by strangers and nursed back to health. She spends many months recuperating from the traumatic event and slowly gains her memory back.
When Dorothy's health strengthens she realizes she is back in the Land of Oz again, specifically in the country of the Glikkus tribe. She learns that Oz has fallen into war and the Glikkun trolls extradite her to Munchkinland's new capital, Bright Lennins, where the new Eminence has her stand trial for the murders of saint Nessarose and saint Elphaba Thropp, calling it "regicide." She is imprisoned against her will and is used as a mere scapegoat who was left accountable for the deaths of the two Thropp sisters who died decades prior. And sure enough, the overall court case finds her guilty and she is sentenced. But to her surprise her old friend, Brrr aka the Cowardly Lion, came to her aid. He is also accompanied by Mr. Boss and Little Daffy who helped rescue her from her harsh sentence. They then immediately high tail it out of Munchkinland before "things get ugly". Eventually Brrr is made the governor of Oz until the long lost Princess Ozma comes of age to take the throne.
Dorothy is finally reunited with Toto whom she thought was dead and the Grimmerie book is used to send them back to San Francisco to see if Aunt Em and Uncle Henry survived the earthquake or not.
Wicked (musical)[]
In the Broadway musical version, Dorothy is never seen despite being referred to and talked to on stage. Only a silhouette is seen of a girl behind a screen who's presumed to be her, tossing a bucket of water on Elphaba aka The Wicked Witch of the West.