| NOTE: This version of Elphaba is only about her adaptation in the Gregory Maguire's Novel |
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Elphaba Thropp, also known as the Wicked Witch of the West, is the titular main protagonist of the Wicked series within the Wizard of Oz franchise.
She is the half-sister of Nessarose Thropp and the biological daughter of the Wizard of Oz. She was originally a student of Shiz University and a friend of Galinda, who eventually became a terrorist Witch in an attempt to save the Land of Oz from the tyranic Wizard.
Quick Answers
What is the significance of Elphaba Thropp's defiance in the Wizard of Oz?
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What role does Elphaba play in the musical Wicked?
Appearance[]
Elphaba has fluorescent green skin, black hair, brown eyes, fangs, and a pointy chin. She also wears a black dress with a cloak and a black witch's hat.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Young Elphaba with baby Nessa
Elphaba was born to Melena and the Wizard of Oz, being conceived after the Wizard gave Melena a green-colored drug and took advantage of her inability to fight back his advances. Because of the drug, Elphaba was born with sharp fangs, fluorescent green skin, and a strong allergy to water. Melena and her husband, Frexspar, later had Nessarose, who was born with pink skin and without arms. Frex favored Nessarose over Elphaba; which had caused Elphaba to resent her.
Shiz University[]
As a young adult, Elphaba had attended Shiz University with Nessarose and Galinda Upland; who would become Glinda the Good. Elphaba later became best friends; with Galinda and a munchkin named Boq. She meets Fiyero, the Crown Prince of the Vinkus from the Winkie Country in the Western part of Oz, who later falls in love with her. It is also at this time that Elphaba meets Madame Morrible, a witch and the head of Crage Hall, the part of the university open to women and begins to hate her as Madame Morrible sent her Tik Tok robot to kill Docotor Dillamond, an anthrophomorphic goat teacher. After meeting the Wizard, she becomes increasingly angered with the tyrannical and anti-sentient-animal policies the Wizard's regime has enforced.
The Wicked Witch[]
Dropping out of Shiz, she moves into the Emerald City and meets up with Fiyero and they formed a relationship, despite Fiyero having married and being a family man. Fiyero is eventually killed by the Wizard's secret police after disregarding Elphaba's instructions to stay away from Corn Exchange where she is taking part in an operation for the resistance. Severely traumatized by her lover's murder, Elphaba makes her way to a nearby nunnery where she lapses into a stupor for a year.
While in this state, Elphaba gives birth to her and Fiyero's son, Liir. Later, she visits Fiyero's wife, Sarima, seeking forgiveness for her part in Fiyero's death. Sarima welcomes her and allows her to live at Fiyero's castle of Kiamo Ko in the Winkie Country. While living at Kiamo Ko, Elphaba discovers a spellbook called the Grimmerie in the attic of the castle. Using the limited amount of information that she can decipher from the cryptic book, she begins to practice witchcraft, becoming a witch in the process. The Wizard's Gale Forcers eventually capture Sarima and her family, because Sarima can no longer provide the forgiveness she wants and Elphaba is left discontented before descending into madness.
It is then Nessarose is crushed by Dorothy Gale's house; thereafter Elphaba attends her sister's funeral, where she meets with Glinda, who is now a witch and known as the Good Witch of the North. The two are initially happy to be reunited, but it soon turned sour when Elphaba learns that Glinda has given Nessarose's shoes to Dorothy. Angered, Elphaba ends their friendship for good.
Soon after returning to Kiamo Ko, Elphaba finds out that Dorothy, a lion, scarecrow, tin man, and her dog Toto are heading to Kiamo Ko. When the friends are almost at the castle, Elphaba, having convinced herself that Fiyero had survived and was now masquerading as the Scarecrow/his spirit is possessing the scarecrow she sends her dog named Killyjoy out to lead the friends to the castle. Dorothy and her friends misunderstand the group of dogs as attacking them and the Tin Woodman kills them. The Scarecrow somehow kills the crows Elphaba sends next. Elphaba then sends her bees, which are killed as well. With these failed attempts, Elphaba is forced to believe the Scarecrow is not Fiyero and is merely a sentient scarecrow.
Elphaba melting after Dorothy Gale throws water on her.
When Dorothy arrives, she tells Elphaba that she has been sent to kill her by the Wizard and bring back the Grimmerie, but she herself came to apologize for killing her sister and asks Elphaba if she can use her magic to send her home as she knows Elphaba's status as a witch. However, this only infuriated Elphaba, who waves her now-burning broom in the air and accidentally sets her skirt on fire. Dorothy then throws a bucket of water on her to save her, not knowing of Elphaba's allergy. The water ultimately kills her, in; which she melted her away, leaving behind the green drug. Dorothy then returns to the Wizard; with it, causing the latter to realize that; Elphaba is his daughter. Rumors abound through Oz about what had happened to Dorothy; with a few actually believing that; she had returned to Kansas. The Wizard then leaves Oz forever and commits suicide. The book ends; with the implication that; Elphaba will return to life someday.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Magic: Elphaba is a natural-born witch with the ability to use witchcraft, being able to perform magic even as a baby. In the book, Elphaba was named by her adoptive father after saint Ælphaba from Gillikin. Upon arriving at Kiamo Ko's Tower, Elphaba discovers that she is able to read the Grimmerie that originally belonged to the Wizard, which to ordinary people seemed indecipherable. It is suggested in the book that this Grimmerie is known on the Wizard's World as the The Lesser Key of Solomon.
- Telekinesis: Elphaba has the ability to mentally manipulate and levitate matter with the use of her magical energy, which she demonstrated since childhood. When emotional, Elphaba is able to use her powers to break glass and send/levitate objects far away. Using her anger, Elphaba was able to break an icicle and make it fall like a spear on Manek's head, piercing his skull and killing him.
- Spellcasting: With her witchcraft, Elphaba is able to cast spells with her hand gestures or through spoken incantations. She also possesses the ability to enchant objects, like her broom.
- Divination: Elphaba has visions when looking into a mirror made by Turtle Heart in her childhood.
- Zoopathy: In the book, Elphaba feels more connected to animal life than to the humans of Oz. She unwittingly had her bees kill the animal-torturer chef in the Vinkus and adopted his wolf-dog Killyjoy. During her journey, she was also granted three ravens as her familiars by the elephant princess. Eventually, she was able to teach these animals to speak and granted wings to the monkeys.
- Cryokinesis: In the book, Elphaba manages to freeze a lake to save a monkey in danger, allowing her to run across the ice without getting wet, as she was allergic to water since childhood.
- Flight: Elphaba was able to use her powers to levitate herself above the ground and fly in the air, also using the broom she stole from the Wizard's castle.
- Transmutation: Elphaba can use her powers to manipulate the biology of living creatures, like growing wings on the monkeys of Oz.
Equipment[]
Mother Yackle prophesied that Elphaba's destiny was tied to a broomstick, which she has carried ever since, although at first Elphaba thought this meant she would be a maid rather than a witch. The broomstick is capable of moving on its own and floating through the air.
Personality[]
Contrary to the best known 1939 film version, this version of the Witch is a good and kind person, if still very flawed. As a child, she was precocious and friendly, as well as protective of her younger sister, Nessa. However, the frequent bullying she suffered from other children, and the disinterest to borderline contempt her father showed her, accumulated into making her an incredibly cynical and jaded person, and quickly defensive. Ironically, the harsh treatment she received for a superficial quality made her often judge others based on surface level details; although, she was capable of respecting the nuances in people if she got to know them, which was rare due to the prejudice her green complexion drew and her own rejection of most attempts to connect with her.
Perhaps due to or merely emphasised by her own experiences of facing persecution, she would sympathise with any being that was similarly targeted, and even becoming fiercely protective of them- more so than she ever would for herself - as she passionately defended Dr. Dillamond the talking goat teacher when he was being taunted for his speech impediment. She also committed to a goal of reversing the (to her) unexplained dispossession of the talking animal citizens of Oz.
While she and Galinda started with a hostile relationship, once Elphaba helped Galinda, Galinda in turn would work to undo the mockery that she flamed in the Shiz Academy, which allowed the other students to not yet like Elphaba, but at least accept her presence; despite Elphaba and Galinda's initially coarse relationship, they would eventually forgive any issues they each had, becoming closest friends, with certain hints of potential intimacy that began even in their adversarial time. Similarly, she was dismissive of Fiyero's flirtations because of his aloof, irresponsible, partying attitude, but upon encouraging him to share his true self, who was intelligent and compassionate, she felt drawn to him; however, she never advanced a deeper relationship because of multiple factors, such as her life of being demeaned made her feel insecure and thus unworthy of love, but a greater complication was the loyalty and affection she felt for now-Glinda because she too was attracted to the handsome prince, therefore Elphaba didn't wish to "steal" that happiness from her closest friend.
She would be strong in her convictions, since she refused the greatest opportunity if it demanded the disadvantage of others. Even understanding the consequences of her resistance, she would rather be a hunted exile, over a collaborator in a fascist regime. While she was strong in her beliefs, she eventually grew beyond her own judgements to better understand that everyone has complexities in their lives, ergo in spite of being upset that Glinda rejected her invitation to run away, she understood her fear and choice to remain under the reign of the Wizard.
Other Media[]
Musical[]
Elphaba in the musical
In the musical, Elphaba was originally played by Idina Menzel; who also portrayed Vivian in Cinderella and also made a cameo in the 2024 film adaptation. Elphaba was also portrayed by the dutch singer and actress Willemijn Verkai, who has played the character more times than any other actress in the world. She remains the only actress to have performed the role in four countries (and in three languages); on Broadway, West End, in Germany and the Netherlands.
Unlike in the novel, there are several differences in the musical; Elphaba does not turn evil as in the book nor is she born with fangs. She also does not end her friendship; with Glinda; but; instead she is framed; by Madame Morrible; when she does not use her magic to aid the Wizard in abusing the animals of Oz. Lastly, after Dorothy threw water on her, Elphaba survives, as she had faked her death and she leaves Oz; with Fiyero; who also survived.
Wicked (films)[]
In the films Wicked, Part 1 and its sequel Wicked: For Good, Elphaba is portrayed by Cynthia Erivo. Karis Musongole also portrays a young Elphaba in the first film.
According to a post from Grey DeLisle's Instagram, she did the character’s vocal efforts for the 2024 film. In Wicked: Part 1, only Elphaba was capable of magic, whereas her sister Nessa had not indicated any talent yet. In this version, the most noteworthy stage actor of Elphaba, Idina Menzel has a cameo as one of the Emerald City players, alongside Galinda's Kristin Chenoweth. They each interact with the film's actors of their respective characters.
Also see[]
- Elphaba Thropp on the Heroes Wiki
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