The Wicked Witch of the East

The Wicked Witch of the East is the title assumed by Nessarose, the armless younger sister of Elphaba, after she inherits the political and spiritual leadership of Munchkinland. The name, originally a slur, becomes a public penance and a symbol of her theocratic tyranny, and her death by a falling house sets the plot of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in motion.

Identity and Origin

Nessarose was born at Colwen Grounds, the ancestral estate of the Thropp family, when Elphaba was about three years old. Her birth coincided with a temporary resurgence of well water during a period of intense drought, and also with the murder of Turtle Heart, a Quadling glassblower and family friend, by a mob incited by the Clock of the Time Dragon. Nessarose was born without arms, a condition that Elphaba later speculated might have been caused by a gypsy remedy their mother, Melena, took to prevent another green child. Despite her disability, Nessarose was her father Frex's favorite, a fact Elphaba acknowledged with a mixture of resignation and bitterness. Frex called her his "beautiful pet" and would drop pieces of fruit into her mouth. Nessarose was raised in Quadling Country, where her father was a missionary, and she developed a strong, unyielding religious faith.

Rise to Power and the Title of Witch

After Elphaba disappeared following their graduation from Shiz University, Nessarose became the next Eminent Thropp upon the death of their great-grandfather. She orchestrated a revolt that led to Munchkinland's secession from Oz, becoming the political head of the Free State of Munchkinland. Nessarose began to be amused by the slur "Wicked Witch of the East," considering it a public penance worthy of a person with such high moral standing. She even took to referring to herself as such. Her rule was marked by a strict interpretation of unionism, and she used her power to enforce her religious views. She was known to perform spells, such as enchanting a woodcutter's axe to cut off a man's arm, in exchange for Animals as payment. Elphaba, visiting Colwen Grounds, was horrified to find that Animals were treated as chattel in Munchkinland and that Nessarose would use magic to harm a man for a farmer's convenience.

The Silver Shoes and Relationship with Glinda

The Silver Shoes were a gift from Frex, who had decorated them with silver glass beads using skills he learned from Turtle Heart. They were sent to Nessarose at Crage Hall, a gesture that deeply wounded Elphaba, who received nothing. Years later, Glinda, now a sorceress, visited Nessarose at Colwen Grounds and put the shoes through an enchantment. The spell allowed Nessarose to sit, stand, and walk without support for the first time in her life. Nessarose claimed the shoes gave her moral virtue as well. The shoes became a symbol of her power and her tyranny, and the Munchkinlanders began to associate them with her oppressive rule. Glinda later gave the shoes to Dorothy, a decision that caused a final, bitter rift between her and Elphaba.

Death and Aftermath

Nessarose was killed when a tornado dropped a house on her head while she was awarding prizes for perfect attendance at religious education classes in the hamlet of Center Munch. The storm, which devastated the Corn Basket, spared Colwen Grounds entirely. Her death was met with both grief and revelry; her devoted followers mourned, while her more unhappy subjects celebrated their release from her "particular sort of fundamentalist bondage." The alien girl, Dorothy, who was in the house, was elevated to living sainthood by some. The news of Nessarose's death reached Elphaba at Kiamo Ko via carrier pigeon, and she attended the memorial service, where she met with the Wizard and had a final, painful confrontation with Glinda over the shoes. The title "Wicked Witch of the East" passed into legend, and the shoes themselves became iconic relics, with imitations cropping up at public ceremonies for years to come.