Elphaba and the Wizard's adversarial relationship

Elphaba and the Wizard of Oz are locked in a lifelong adversarial relationship that defines the political and personal trajectory of both characters. Their conflict begins with ideological opposition over the treatment of Animals and escalates through assassination attempts, political manipulation, and the destruction of Elphaba's loved ones, culminating in the Wizard's indirect role in her death. The relationship is characterized by mutual contempt, the Wizard's manipulative use of power, and Elphaba's unwavering resistance, making it a central axis of the novel's exploration of tyranny, resistance, and the nature of evil.

First Encounter: The Student and the Tyrant

Elphaba first confronts the Wizard during her student years at Shiz University, when she and Glinda travel to the Emerald City to present Doctor Dillamond's scientific findings on the biological continuity between humans and Animals. The Wizard receives them in a theatrical display of power, appearing as a skeleton of dancing lights within a storm conjured in the throne room. When Elphaba demands justice for the murdered scientist and protests the Banns on Animal Mobility, the Wizard dismisses her concerns, calling Dillamond's work "derivative, unauthenticated, specious garbage" and "what you'd expect of an academic Animal." He refuses to engage with her moral arguments, declaring, "I do not listen when anyone uses the word immoral." When Elphaba threatens to join an army against him, he responds with a cryptic quotation from the Oziad about the Kumbric Witch rearranging the world, then vanishes. This first encounter establishes the fundamental dynamic: Elphaba's passionate, principled opposition meets the Wizard's cynical, theatrical evasion.

The Underground Years: Elphaba's Resistance and the Wizard's Retribution

After disappearing from Shiz, Elphaba goes underground in the Emerald City, working with a secret cell of revolutionaries whose ultimate goal is to kill the Wizard. She adopts the code name "Fae" and lives in a hidden room above an abandoned corn exchange, studying political theory and preparing for action. During this period, she reconnects with Fiyero, an old friend from Shiz, and they begin a passionate love affair. The Wizard, through Madame Morrible's surveillance network, learns of Elphaba's activities and her relationship with Fiyero. On Lurlinemas Eve, Elphaba attempts to assassinate Madame Morrible outside the Lady's Mystique theatre, but the presence of schoolchildren prevents her from carrying out the attack. That same night, the Wizard's Gale Force, acting on information provided by Madame Morrible, raids Elphaba's hideout. They find Fiyero there and beat him severely; his body is never recovered. Elphaba, arriving later, finds the blood-soaked room and flees to the Cloister of Saint Glinda, where she spends seven years in silence and penance. The Wizard's orchestration of Fiyero's murder transforms their political conflict into a deeply personal vendetta.

The Bargain: The Grimmerie and Nor

Years later, after Nessarose's death in a tornado, Elphaba returns to Colwen Grounds for the memorial service. The Wizard, traveling under diplomatic immunity, demands a private audience with her. In a bare chamber, he reveals that he knows about the Grimmerie, the ancient book of magic hidden at Kiamo Ko, and demands to know its location. Elphaba, in turn, demands information about the fate of Sarima and her family, who were kidnapped by the Gale Force years earlier. The Wizard coldly informs her that Sarima and her sisters are dead, that Irji was executed by "the Paraffin Necklace" as a public statement, and that Nor is being kept as a political prisoner. He refuses to release Nor, saying, "She is my protection from you." When Elphaba offers to trade the Grimmerie for Nor's freedom, the Wizard rejects the bargain, declaring, "I do not bargain." He reveals that Madame Morrible had warned him about Elphaba years ago and that it was through her surveillance that he learned of Elphaba's affair with Fiyero. The audience ends with mutual contempt: Elphaba calls him "a very bad wizard," and he retorts that she is "only a caricature of a witch."

The Final Confrontation: Dorothy and the Shoes

The Wizard's final act against Elphaba comes through Dorothy, the girl from Kansas whose house killed Nessarose. After Dorothy and her companions—the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion—reach the Emerald City, the Wizard refuses to grant their wishes unless they kill the Wicked Witch of the West. He sends them to Kiamo Ko with this mission, knowing that Dorothy wears the Silver Shoes that once belonged to Nessarose. When Dorothy arrives at the castle, Elphaba confronts her, demanding the shoes and accusing her of being the Wizard's assassin. In the climactic struggle on the parapet, Dorothy throws a bucket of water at Elphaba, causing her to melt away. The Wizard's indirect orchestration of Elphaba's death completes their adversarial arc: he who had destroyed her lover, imprisoned her surrogate family, and refused her every plea, finally sends a child to finish what he began. Shortly afterward, the Wizard himself flees Oz in a hot-air balloon, leaving behind a legacy of tyranny and the unresolved questions of his relationship with Elphaba—including the dwarf's cryptic suggestion that he may have been her biological father.