We return to Oz one last time (at least for this book). In our last installment, Dorothy and her friends were about to leave for the Quadling Country, to seek out the Good Witch Glinda and ask her help in getting Dorothy home.
When the party leaves the Emerald City, it is with many fond farewells to the people who have treated them so well during their stay. Their journey begins very nicely, and they are all glad to be on the road in a beautiful countryside. They reach their first obstacle on the second day, however—a thick forest with very little path between the trees, and no way around. The Scarecrow finds them a way through, but when they come near the trees, he is smacked and flung aside. All of the travelers are attacked this way, but the Tin Woodman chops off several of the branches and the others are able to run through before being attacked again. These are, of course, the fighting trees that we saw in the movie—although there it was early on in the story, while they were still traveling through the land of the Munchkins.
It turns out that only the first row of trees is able to attack, and it soon becomes clear why—they are sentinels protecting what lies behind a high, smooth white wall made of china, that lies deep in the forest. The Tin Woodman chops branches to make a ladder, and they climb over the wall to discover a country made entirely of china dolls. They and everything in the little country are made of painted china. At first the inhabitants take no notice of the group, but a cow is startled by them and kicks, breaking her leg and chipping the milkmaid who is milking her. The milkmaid is very irritated, of course, and they all realize that they will have to be very careful while they are making their way through the area.
On talking with the locals, they find out that although being broken isn't unheard of, they do their best to avoid it, because they can be mended but will never look as nice again. In addition, none of them can ever leave the china country, or they will turn into regular china and won't be able to move around anymore. Dorothy and her friends make their way over the wall on the far side of the country with a few more mishaps (the Cowardly Lion accidentally breaks a church with his tail), and soon they are on their way again.
Beyond the china wall is a very swampy area that is difficult to pass. Beyond that is more forest:
But here the country seemed wilder than ever, and after a long and tiresome walk through the underbrush they entered another forest, where the trees were bigger and older than any they had ever seen.
"This forest is perfectly delightful," declared the Lion, looking around him with joy; "never have I seen a more beautiful place."
"It seems gloomy," said the Scarecrow.
"Not a bit of it," answered the Lion; "I should like to live here all my life. See how soft the dried leaves are under your feet and how rich and green the moss is that clings to these old trees. Surely no wild beast could wish a pleasanter home."
I like this passage, because it shows yet again how different the characters are and how they have different tastes and preferences. In the china country, the Scarecrow commented on how glad he was that he was made of cloth and straw and could not break. Indeed, this is a common theme throughout the entire series—Baum's characters often discuss their differences (which are very great, given the wide variety of creatures he invents), and nearly all of the characters are extremely happy with their own uniqueness and would not want to be anything else. It's a fascinating way to look at diversity. Sometimes they'll argue that they are clearly made in a superior way to another character, but usually the argument is settled with everyone agreeing that they are quite happy with their own lot, and that's good enough. It seems that the Cowardly Lion is no different, and although he seems pathetic and unhappy when they first meet him, there is definitely a place where he feels at home and content.
They soon come across a clearing in which they find a gathering of every wild beast imaginable. It's obviously a meeting of some sort, and when they enter the clearing, a huge tiger stands and greets the Lion: "Welcome, O King of Beasts! You have come in good time to fight our enemy and bring peace to all the animals of the forest once more." (We'll just let it slide that lions live in grasslands, not forests. After all, this is Oz, so who knows how things are different here?)
It turns out that the forest animals are threatened by a monstrous spider the size of an elephant that has been preying upon them. Apparently there were lions in this forest, but the monster has eaten them all. The animals agree to make the Lion their king if he will defeat the spider, so he goes off to do battle by himself. He finds the spider asleep, and although it's huge and intimidating, it has a slender neck, so the Lion pounces and knocks the head from its body. He returns, and the animals are delighted and agree to make him their king once he returns from helping Dorothy find her way home.
I find it interesting that the Lion defeats this enemy so easily and quickly, with no sign of hesitation. It's possible that the Wizard's courage really did help him out. We know he was courageous before, even if he wasn't brave—because after all, true courage is acting bravely even when you feel terrified. It may be that the Lion was afraid but was able to mask it better with his newfound confidence, in a kind of placebo effect. It might be that he was just as scared as usual, but we weren't shown that. Or again, it might be that the courage the Wizard gave him actually worked. I'd be interested to know what others think about this, and just how real the Wizard's gifts were.
At the edge of the forest is a steep, rocky hill. Behind the first rock is someone who tells them they aren't allowed to cross into the country of the Quadlings:
He was quite short and stout and had a big head, which was flat at the top and supported by a thick neck full of wrinkles. But he had no arms at all, and, seeing this, the Scarecrow did not fear that so helpless a creature could prevent them from climbing the hill. So he said,
"I'm sorry not to do as you wish, but we must pass over your hill whether you like it or not," and he walked boldly forward.
As quick as lightning the man's head shot forward and his neck stretched out until the top of his head, where it was flat, struck the Scarecrow in the middle and sent him tumbling, over and over, down the hill. Almost as quickly as it came the head went back to the body, and the man laughed harshly as he said,
"It isn't as easy as you think!"
There are a number of other Hammer-Heads on the hill, and finding it impossible to get past them without being knocked over, Dorothy calls the Winged Monkeys and asks them to carry the group over the hill. (Why they didn't just ask to be carried all the way to Glinda's palace, I don't know!) This is the third and last time Dorothy can call for the Monkeys' help, so they bid her farewell after leaving the party in the land of the Quadlings, which is a lovely country with bridges, houses, and fences painted all in red. "The Quadlings themselves, who were short and fat and looked chubby and good natured, were dressed all in red, which showed bright against the green grass and yellowing grain." So in this book, at least, we know that the coloring of each country is limited to man-made structures, and not the countryside itself.
They get directions from a Quadling woman, and it isn't long before they reach Glinda's palace: "Thanking the good woman, they started afresh and walked by the fields and across the pretty bridges until they saw before them a very beautiful Castle. Before the gates were three young girls, dressed in handsome red uniforms trimmed with gold braid..." Glinda employs only young women as her guards and servants, as we find out later, and she seems, in a lot of ways, to be the quintessential feminist—the most powerful person in Oz, always calm and self-assured, and with great respect for and confidence in those who serve her.
They are all taken to freshen up from their journey before they see Glinda, and once they are cleaned up and presentable, they meet the good witch:
When they were all quite presentable, they followed the soldier girl into a big room where the Witch Glinda sat upon a throne of rubies.
She was both beautiful and young to their eyes. Her hair was a rich red in color and fell in flowing ringlets over her shoulders. Her dress was pure white, but her eyes were blue, and they looked kindly upon the little girl.
One thing I find delightful is Dorothy's explanation of why it is so urgent for her to return home:
"My greatest wish now," she added, "is to get back to Kansas, for Aunt Em will surely think something dreadful has happened to me, and that will make her put on mourning; and unless the crops are better this year than they were last I am sure Uncle Henry cannot afford it."
Dorothy is an incredibly practical girl, and her reasoning for getting home has to do with the family finances! Of course, I'm sure she is at least a little homesick too, but she doesn't seem to think it worth mentioning. In fact, although she really is a very little girl at this point—I'm guessing six or seven—and sometimes acts it (for example, chasing after a princess doll in the china country, just because she wanted a better look at her), she seldom cries and recovers herself easily. She was often cheerful in the movie, but she also cried or felt helpless a good deal. My guess is that they had to make Dorothy act this way to seem like a little girl, since Judy Garland was a teenager when she played the role. Judy Garland's Dorothy, if played as she was in the book, would not have seemed precocious and capable, but merely like a teenager instead of a little girl. I think the change in the character works, for that reason, but I'm also delighted to read the book and see how Dorothy was originally portrayed. She is a very capable and practical little girl, and actually a very good role model for young readers. Glinda seems to agree:
Glinda leaned forward and kissed the sweet, upturned face of the loving little girl.
"Bless your dear heart," she said, "I am sure I can tell you of a way to get back to Kansas."
In return, she asks for the Golden Cap. Dorothy is glad to part with it, since she can no longer use it to call the Winged Monkeys anyway. Glinda says she will use the three wishes to ask the Winged Monkeys to carry the Scarecrow to the Emerald City to rule as king, to carry the Tin Woodman to the land of the Winkies to rule as their emperor, and to carry the Cowardly Lion to the forest to rule as their king. After she has done this, she says she will give the Golden Cap to the King of the Monkeys so that he and his people will be free from then on. Having thus shown her generous and fair nature, she tells Dorothy what we have been waiting for—that the Silver Shoes will carry her home, and although they could have done so all along, if Dorothy had gone home sooner, the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion would not have found what they were looking for, and Dorothy would never have made such good friends with them.
After a tearful farewell and with Toto in her arms, Dorothy clicks the heels of her shoes together three times and tells them, "Take me home to Aunt Em!" We don't see the phrase "There's no place like home" used here, and in fact, we are told that the Silver Shoes could take Dorothy anywhere she wanted to go in just three steps, but of course she only wants to go home. However, since home is in the real world and not a fairyland like Oz, the shoes fall off of Dorothy's feet during her flight home. She finds herself sitting on the prairie in front of the new farmhouse Uncle Henry built to replace the one carried away by the cyclone. (It makes me wonder exactly how long she was gone, and if Aunt Em had already put on mourning anyway!)
Just as in the start of the book, the conclusion is very short, and we don't hear much at all about the real world. The final chapter is only three paragraphs long and just consists of Aunt Em's surprised reunion with Dorothy, who says she has been in the Land of Oz and is very glad to be home again.
So, what can we take away from this book? There's a lot I could go into great detail about, and probably will in a future post—the use of color as a constant theme, diversity and tolerance, feminism, self-confidence, optimism, and the importance of fairy tales and imagination. The Land of Oz is a marvelous place. Some authors might present it as someplace imaginary that's nice to dream about, but then one has to come back to the real world eventually, and eventually one will find that the real world holds much more satisfaction than any imaginary place. Baum does not treat it this way. However, he isn't really championing escapism—he is, I think, a strong proponent of idealism. What makes Oz so wonderful? The fantasy creatures and strange places, sure, but the countryside is beautiful and many of its inhabitants happy, content, and even enlightened in a way. I'm not sure I would say Baum explicitly wanted his readers to walk away feeling inspired to make the real world more like that, but I do think it's a definite and positive lesson that can be taken from the book. When it comes down to it, The Wizard of Oz is not a book about escaping from our dull and dreary lives so much as it is about looking beyond them to see the possibilities of what could be. In the era in which he was writing, progress was an amazing and positive force, and I think Baum had a strong belief that we could shape the world into something wonderful if we only tried. In fact, although we haven't gotten there yet, I think a part of me believes we still can. Maybe that's what we can take away from Oz, when all is said and done—that someday, we'll make our own world into a kind of Oz. Idealistic? Absolutely. Realistic? Possibly. But definitely an uplifting, inspiring, and dynamic way to think and live.
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