The Wicked Witch of the West (or simply The Wicked Witch) is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum in his children's books. The character also figures prominently in the classic 1939 movie based on Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In these works, The Wicked Witch poses the biggest threat to Dorothy Gale, because she covets the magical pair of Silver Shoes (Ruby Slippers in the movie) which previously belonged to the Wicked Witch of the East and are now worn by Dorothy. The Witch has often been used by editorial cartoonists to represent an evil force; for more details see Political interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

The classic books

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In The Oz Books, the Wicked Witch is the one witch in Oz of which the Wizard of Oz is afraid. She rules the Winkie Country in the western part of Oz. When young Dorothy is dropped in Oz by a cyclone, The Wizard promises to help her return to her home in Kansas if she and her ragtag group of friends kill the Wicked Witch. Dorothy, the brainless Scarecrow, the heartless Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion journey toward her castle and are attacked by wolves, crows, bees, and her Winkie slaves. Dorothy and her companions defeat each threat, but are eventually subdued by the Winged Monkeys that the Wicked Witch commands through the power of the "Golden Cap." Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion are carried to the Wicked Witch's castle. However, The Wicked Witch can't kill Dorothy because the girl is protected by the Good Witch of the North. The Witch tricks Dorothy into tripping over an iron bar and, in anger, Dorothy throws a bucket of water onto the Wicked Witch and causes her to melt.

W.W. Denslow's illustrations for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz depict the Wicked Witch as a paunched old woman wearing an eyepatch; her good eye gave her the visual powers of a telescope.

The 1939 movie

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In the classic movie The Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch, played by actress Margaret Hamilton, was tall, green-skinned, and dressed entirely in black. In many people's minds, this representation of The Wicked Witch has become an archetype for human wickedness.

While this relationship is not mentioned in Baum's books, in the movie, the Witch is the sister of the Wicked Witch of the East, who is killed when Dorothy arrives in Oz. As a result, The Wicked Witch of the West's role is made more prominent as she seeks revenge against Dorothy for killing her sister. It is from this movie where popular culture gets the oft-quoted phrase: "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!"

The Witch also has a counterpart in the Kansas world: a rich, grumpy old woman named Elmira Gulch who seeks to have Dorothy's dog, Toto, put down.

Modern works

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Author Gregory Maguire's successful 1995 revisionist novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West takes the familiar Oz story and turns it on its head, with the Wicked Witch as the novel's protagonist. The Witch is named Elphaba and, while the moods of the book and the musical are different from each other, it is shown that she is not wicked. Born with green skin and shunned because of her difference, Elphaba is a misunderstood child who grows into a brooding and very mischaracterized young woman. Maguire's story was developed into a Broadway musical, Wicked, in 2003. Idina Menzel won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Elphaba. 2005's Son of a Witch is the sequel to Wicked, focusing upon Elphaba's purported son.

In The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, Miss Piggy plays all of the witches of Oz including The Wicked Witch of the West. Her basic attire was a homeage of W.W. Denslow's illustration, with a "biker" theme. The eyepatch also covered a magical glass-eye that gave her visual powers.

Fictional witches | Film villains | Literature villains | Oz characters