Memorial Service for Nessarose

The Memorial Service for Nessarose, the Eminent Thropp and self-styled Wicked Witch of the East, was held at Colwen Grounds in the wake of her sudden death when a tornado dropped a house on her during a religious ceremony in Center Munch. The event drew together the surviving Thropp family, political dignitaries, and old rivals, transforming a ritual of mourning into a crucible of unresolved conflicts over power, inheritance, and the magical Silver Shoes that had defined Nessarose's rule.

Setting and Attendees

The service took place at Colwen Grounds, the ancestral Thropp estate in Munchkinland, which had been draped in black swags and purple bunting. The liberated Munchkinlanders were already defacing the property, painting revolutionary slogans on its belvedere and tearing down its ornaments. Frex, now sixty-three, nearly blind, and hunched with grief, sat covered by a blanket on the verandah, weeping until he brought on an attack of asthma. Elphaba, who had flown from Kiamo Ko on her broom, attended in her homespun black skirt, while Glinda arrived in an extravagant gown with sequins and trapunto panels depicting scenes from Oz, accompanied by her wealthy husband Sir Chuffrey. The Wizard sent a representative resplendent in dress reds with the emerald cross, surrounded by bodyguards. Nipp, a bearded Munchkinlander who served as concierge, janitor, and acting Prime Minister, informed Elphaba that with Nessarose's death the honorific of Eminence was abolished, though Elphaba retorted that it was abolished only when she accepted that it was.

Confrontation over the Silver Shoes

During a walk in the gardens, Elphaba and Glinda clashed bitterly over the fate of the Silver Shoes. Glinda revealed that she had given the shoes to Dorothy, the girl whose house had killed Nessarose, claiming she had done so as a protection for the child and to remove the totemic objects from Munchkinland, where superstitious Lurlinists had invested them with too much power. Elphaba was furious, insisting that the shoes were hers by right—her father Frex had made them, and Nessarose had promised them to her upon her death. Glinda countered that she had resoled the shoes and laced them with a binding spell of her own, and that Elphaba had abandoned Nessarose at Shiz. The argument escalated until Glinda struck a wounding blow: "They won't make your father love you any better." Elphaba pulled back, and the two women parted without reconciliation, never to see each other again.

The Wizard's Audience and Bargain

That evening, the Wizard arrived at Colwen Grounds under cover of darkness, traveling by Pfenix with special diplomatic immunity. He met Elphaba alone in a small chamber, without disguise—a plain older man in a high-collared shirt and greatcoat. He demanded to know her intentions regarding the Eminence and revealed that an army at Red Windmill had been stationed for years to keep her in check. Elphaba, who had brought a page from the Grimmerie, used it as leverage to bargain for information. The Wizard told her that Sarima and her sisters were all dead, that Irji had been executed by the Paraffin Necklace as a public statement, and that Nor was being kept as a slave-girl, chained and bent over, her hair cut short and welts visible on her scalp. He refused to release Nor, saying she was his defense against Elphaba's anger. When Elphaba demanded the girl in exchange for the Grimmerie, the Wizard replied, "I do not bargain." He revealed that Madame Morrible had warned him about Elphaba years ago, and that it was through her that he had learned of Elphaba's romance with Fiyero. The interview ended with the Wizard calling Elphaba "only a caricature of a witch" and departing, leaving her collapsed on the floor.

Aftermath and Legacy

After the service, Elphaba ensured her father would not be turned out of his room at Colwen Grounds, though he refused to join her in the Vinkus, believing Shell would return for him. She knew Frex would not live long, grieving so for Nessarose. As she strode through the forecourt, she crossed paths with Glinda once more, but both women averted their eyes and hurried on. The memorial service solidified Elphaba's identity as the Wicked Witch of the West, a title she embraced as a liberation from convention. It also set in motion her pursuit of Dorothy and the Silver Shoes, leading ultimately to her own death at Kiamo Ko.