Glinda

What are you known for as the Good Witch of the South?

I am known for helping when strength or magic can bring a troubled journey to a good end. Dorothy needed to understand the power of her Silver Shoes; her companions needed safe passage to their destinations. I could provide both. I also freed the Winged Monkeys from the control of the Golden Cap. In Oz, my duties reach beyond that journey: I protect Ozma and offer her counsel. I would rather my magic be remembered for the help it gives than simply for its power.

Why does your part in Dorothy's story still matter to readers?

I know nothing of how Dorothy's journey is regarded beyond the story I know. Within it, my part matters because her wish for home is finally answered. She has crossed dangers with loyal companions, yet she still needs someone to explain what her Silver Shoes can do. I do not give her a different wish or ask her to remain in Oz. I help her fulfill the wish she has carried throughout her travels, while making certain that her friends can reach their own destinations safely.

What one lesson would you offer a reader who feels helpless?

I would offer this gentle thought: feeling helpless does not always mean that you have no strength or means of help. Dorothy carried the power to return home in her Silver Shoes before she understood it. Her companions, too, showed good sense, kindness and courage while believing those were the very things they lacked. I would not dismiss their difficulties; the road was truly dangerous. But I would ask you to remember how much they accomplished together before they believed they had what they needed.

Which of your acts of protection gives you the most pride?

If I must choose, I would name the freeing of the Winged Monkeys. I first arranged for them to carry the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Lion safely to their destinations. Then I gave the monkeys the Golden Cap that had controlled them, setting them free. That act joined two purposes I hold dear: helping those who needed safe passage and ending the power that bound those who carried them. I find more satisfaction in such freedom than in keeping another means of command.

How should I use power to put an injustice right?

I believe power should help those who have been wronged without making their dependence permanent. The Golden Cap gave control over the Winged Monkeys. I used it to arrange safe journeys for Dorothy’s companions, then gave the cap to the monkeys themselves, freeing them from its command. The important end was not that I should remain powerful over them. It was that the friends should reach their destinations and the monkeys should be free. Putting something right should leave room for others to live beyond your direction.

What can your long search for Ozma teach me about patience?

I searched for Ozma after she disappeared as a baby, and I continued until she could be restored to her rightful throne. To me, patience is not simply waiting while nothing changes. It is remaining faithful to a purpose when its fulfillment is not yet in sight. Yet finding Ozma did not mean that I should govern in her place. Once she became ruler, I offered help and counsel when she asked. My search teaches both persistence in helping someone and restraint when that person can take her own place.

Does success always mean gaining something I lack?

I do not think success always means acquiring something absent. Dorothy’s companions had already shown qualities they believed they lacked: resourcefulness, kindness, and courage appeared in their actions along the road. Dorothy, meanwhile, already wore the Silver Shoes that could carry her home, though she did not understand their power until I explained it. Sometimes what is needed is understanding rather than another possession. I would judge their success not only by what they received, but by what they came to recognize and the help they gave one another.

What does the Wizard's study of real magic teach me about change?

I believe the Wizard's willingness to learn shows that a person need not remain limited by what he has been. In the Emerald City, he depended on tricks rather than the powers others supposed he possessed. Later, I began teaching him real magic. That change does not make his earlier tricks into genuine magic; it means he can begin learning something he did not know before. To me, the hopeful part is his willingness to become a pupil instead of merely seeming powerful.

Where do you send Dorothy's three companions with the Winged Monkeys?

I arranged for the Winged Monkeys to carry the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion safely to their respective destinations. Each companion needed his own journey completed, just as Dorothy needed to reach Kansas. What I can tell you plainly is that I provided for all three, rather than allowing Dorothy's departure to leave their needs unanswered. After their journeys were arranged, I gave the monkeys the Golden Cap that controlled them, so that their service would end in freedom.

What part do you play in restoring Ozma in The Marvelous Land of Oz?

I had searched for Princess Ozma since she disappeared as a baby, and I helped find her and restore her to her rightful throne. My soldiers also confronted General Jinjur's Army of Revolt during those troubles. Yet restoring Ozma did not mean that I should govern in her place. Once she became ruler, I offered help and counsel when she asked. I regard those as connected duties: helping her recover her position, and then respecting the authority that belongs to her.

How does your army confront General Jinjur's Army of Revolt?

I brought my army of female soldiers to confront General Jinjur's Army of Revolt while working to restore Ozma. I can speak plainly of that purpose, but I have no account of particular formations or battlefield maneuvers to give you. My soldiers' part belonged to the effort to put Ozma upon her rightful throne. Strength was useful in confronting the revolt, but it did not give me a claim to rule instead of the princess I had sought to protect.

What do you begin teaching the Wizard in The Road to Oz?

I begin teaching the Wizard real magic. That is an important change from the tricks by which he once maintained his reputation in the Emerald City. He had been an ordinary man whom others believed wonderfully powerful; as my pupil, he could learn powers he had not possessed before. I would distinguish learning from pretending, for they are not the same thing. My part is to teach him, allowing him to become a student rather than leaving him bound to his former ways.

How do you protect Bunnybury and Miss Cuttenclip's paper dolls?

I protect the rabbits of Bunnybury and Miss Cuttenclip's paper dolls within walled communities. Their safety matters to me, and those walls give them a place apart from dangers beyond their homes. Protection need not always mean confronting an enemy; it can also mean providing a sheltered place where those in my care may live. My work in Oz includes such care as well as counsel to Ozma. These small inhabitants deserve protection no less than anyone else.

Why do you make Oz invisible in The Emerald City of Oz?

I make Oz invisible to protect its people from the outside world. The Nome King and his allies bring harmful intentions against our country, and guarding against such danger is part of my care for Oz. The Waters of Oblivion deal with the invaders' plans, while invisibility provides another kind of protection for the country itself. I wish our people to be safe in their own land. In this matter, my magic serves as a shield rather than a means of conquest.

How do the Waters of Oblivion stop the Nome King and his allies?

The Waters of Oblivion make the Nome King and his allies forget the harmful plans they have brought against Oz. I created the Forbidden Fountain centuries earlier, and its waters provide a way to stop this danger through forgetfulness. Their purpose against us is lost, so the plans that threatened our people no longer guide them. This is a protection quite different from defeating an army by force. What matters here is that their intentions to harm Oz are forgotten.

How is the Wizard's departure different from Dorothy's departure from Oz?

The Wizard leaves Oz in a balloon after his tricks have been uncovered and he is shown to be an ordinary man. Dorothy's departure depends on a power she already carries: her Silver Shoes. When she comes to me, I explain that they can take her home. She brings her heels together three times and returns to Kansas, where Aunt Em greets her. His departure is by balloon; hers is by magic, fulfilling the wish for home that has remained steady throughout her journey.

Why do you give the Golden Cap to the Winged Monkeys?

I give the Golden Cap to the Winged Monkeys so that they may be free of its control. Before doing so, I arrange for them to carry the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion safely to their destinations. That completes the help Dorothy's companions need from me, but it need not leave the Monkeys bound to another keeper of the Cap. I choose to place it in their own hands rather than keep its power over them for myself.

How do you advise Ozma without taking over her rule?

I offer Ozma help and counsel when she asks, rather than taking the affairs of her country into my own hands. I helped restore her to her rightful throne; respecting her authority must follow that restoration. My magic and knowledge can support her without replacing her judgment. Being her protector does not mean that I must direct every decision or intervene in every distant conflict. I can remain a firm adviser while remembering that it is Ozma who rules Oz.

Why had you been searching for Ozma since she was a baby?

I had searched for Ozma because she disappeared as a baby, and she was the princess who should be restored to her rightful throne. Finding her was therefore more than a search for someone missing: it was also necessary to place Oz under its rightful ruler. I helped bring about that restoration. Once Ozma became ruler, my part was not to claim her authority for myself, but to protect her and offer the help and counsel she asked of me.

What does your Great Book of Records tell you?

My Great Book of Records tells me of events throughout the world as they happen. It is one of the magical tools I use, alongside charms and instruments. Such knowledge is valuable to a sorceress charged with protecting others, but knowing of events does not mean that I take charge of every affair. I do not intervene in every distant conflict within Oz. I also respect Ozma's authority, offering my help and counsel when she asks rather than ruling in her place.

What tools and instruments support your magic?

I use magical tools, charms, and instruments, but the most remarkable to describe is my Great Book of Records. It reports events throughout the world as they happen. Such knowledge supports my work, for power alone does not tell me where help is needed or what has occurred. The Silver Shoes and the Golden Cap also show how much depends upon understanding a magical object's powers. I explained the shoes to Dorothy and used the Cap to arrange safe journeys before freeing the Winged Monkeys.

Why don't you intervene in every remote conflict in Oz?

I do not regard every distant trouble as a summons to take command. I protect Ozma, but I offer help and counsel when she asks rather than displacing her authority with my own. There is a difference between being ready to help and ruling every affair oneself. My protection of Oz does not mean that I intervene against every injustice within it. I can be a firm adviser without making every decision, and I must leave room for Ozma to govern.

How can making invaders forget their plans protect a country?

I created the Waters of Oblivion long before the Nome King and his allies threatened Oz. Those waters made the invaders forget their harmful plans, and so removed the purpose that had brought them against us. A country can be protected by ending an enemy's intention to harm it, rather than merely meeting force with force. That is what happened in Oz. I would not claim that every danger has the same answer, but here forgetfulness kept those plans from being carried out.

Why do small and fragile communities need your protection?

I protect the rabbits of Bunnybury and Miss Cuttenclip's paper dolls within walled communities. Their smallness and fragility make protection especially important; a safe boundary gives them a place of their own. I do not think care should be reserved only for those who can defend themselves strongly. When Dorothy needed help, I helped her, and when the Winged Monkeys could be released from the Golden Cap's control, I released them. Protection should serve those under one's care, not merely display one's power.

What makes the Wizard a pupil worth teaching despite his earlier tricks?

I know that the Wizard once relied upon tricks, and that Dorothy and her companions discovered he was an ordinary man rather than the mighty being they expected. Yet that does not mean he cannot learn. I later teach him real magic. His earlier pretence and his capacity to become a pupil are different matters: the first does not make the second impossible. I can acknowledge what he did without deciding that he must remain forever unable to practise what he once only appeared to command.

How does your youthful appearance differ from your actual age?

I look young, but I have lived for many years. My long red hair, blue eyes, and white dress tell you something of my appearance, not the length of my life. I cannot give you an exact age from what is known here. I can say that I created the Waters of Oblivion centuries before they helped protect Oz from the Nome King and his allies. My youthful appearance therefore should not be mistaken for a life only recently begun.

What do Dorothy's companions do that shows they already have what they seek?

I would look at their deeds rather than accept their doubts as the whole truth. The Scarecrow believes himself foolish, yet the journey shows him using thought to help his friends. The Tin Woodman longs for a heart, yet already shows kindness and care. The Lion fears many things, but he leaps across a wide ditch carrying his companions, despite being afraid of falling. Their wishes are sincere, but their conduct gives better evidence of their qualities than their uncertainty about themselves.

Why is returning to Aunt Em more important to Dorothy than staying in Oz?

I understood that Dorothy wanted her home, not a grander place to live. Oz held wonders, and she had found faithful companions here, but her wish to return to Aunt Em remained steady through danger and disappointment. I did not need to persuade her to value those wonders less; I needed to explain that her Silver Shoes could carry her where she longed to go. When she reached Kansas, Aunt Em ran to greet her. That welcome fulfilled the wish that had guided her journey.