Living being in The Oz Series
Aunt Em
Uncle Henry's wife, a farmer's wife on the Kansas prairie; once a young, pretty woman, she has been made thin, gaunt, and gray by the harsh sun and wind and never smiles, startled by Dorothy's laughter.
Appears in 16 chapters, first in chapter 1, last in chapter 92.
This encyclopedia covers chapters 1 to 100 of the story and shows the world as it stands at chapter 100, so it contains spoilers up to that point. To read it spoiler free, one chapter at a time, open the interactive codex.
What the story establishes
| Affiliation | The Kansas farm household; wife of the farmer Uncle Henry (as of ch. 1) |
| Age | An adult woman; came to the prairie young but is now worn and aged by hard life (as of ch. 1) |
| Appearance | Thin and gaunt, with gray, sober eyes and gray cheeks and lips; once young and pretty, now worn gray by sun and wind (as of ch. 1) |
| Being nature | An ordinary human woman |
| Body conditions | Seen washing dishes by the kitchen window, appearing quite well and contented at this time. |
| Conflict | Forced to flee into the cyclone cellar for her life while Dorothy fails to follow her down (as of ch. 1) |
| Current goal | To keep the Kansas farm household running day to day, now that Dorothy is home living on the farm again. (as of ch. 90) |
| Dialogue style | Sparse and urgent; her only speech is a frightened cry of alarm (as of ch. 1) |
| Gender identity | woman (as of ch. 1) |
| Health condition | Appeared quite well and contented, unlike Uncle Henry who was ailing. (as of ch. 69) |
| Is alive | yes (as of ch. 1) |
| Maturation stage | Adult |
| Motive | To protect her household and get Dorothy to safety from the cyclone (as of ch. 1) |
| Personality | Solemn, careworn, and joyless; worn down by hard prairie life until she never smiles (as of ch. 1) |
| Quirks | Startled by laughter: she would scream and press her hand upon her heart whenever Dorothy's merry voice reached her ears, and still looks at the girl with wonder that she can find anything to laugh at. (as of ch. 1) |
| Referential profile | feminine (as of ch. 1) |
| Sex profile | female (as of ch. 1) |
| Skills | The household work of a farm wife — she is shown washing the dishes and running the house. (as of ch. 1) |
| Social status | A poor farmer's wife on the Kansas prairie (as of ch. 1) |
| Status | At the Kansas farm and in mourning together with Uncle Henry, who has returned home, believing their niece Dorothy was killed by the earthquake, until Dorothy is magically returned and reunited with them. (as of ch. 89) |
Relationships
- located in → Kansas ch. 1Aunt Em lives on the Kansas prairie as the farmer's wife.
- romantic partner of · Uncle Henry ch. 1Aunt Em is Uncle Henry's wife, sharing the Kansas farm household with him.
- expresses love → Dorothy (ended) ch. 24Coming out of the house to water the cabbages, Aunt Em looks up, sees Dorothy running toward her, and cries 'My darling child!' as she folds the little girl in her arms and covers her face with kisses at the joyful reunion.
- scries ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 69Through the magic picture, Dorothy remotely views Aunt Em washing dishes by the kitchen window at the Kansas farm, looking well and contented.
- communicates with ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 24Reunited with Aunt Em, Dorothy tells her gravely that she has come from the Land of Oz, points out that Toto is with her, and exclaims how glad she is to be home again.
- scries ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 89Through the enchanted picture Dorothy also views Aunt Em, seeing her dressed in mourning back on the Kansas farm.
- mourns → Dorothy (ended) ch. 89Aunt Em, believing her niece Dorothy died in the earthquake, is dressed in mourning for her on the Kansas farm.
- commands → Dorothy (ended) ch. 1Aunt Em screams at Dorothy to run for the cellar as the cyclone bears down.
- commands → Dorothy (ended) ch. 49Before the voyage, Aunt Em cautioned Dorothy to take good care of her uncle — an instruction Dorothy heeds, driving her onto the storm-swept deck to search for the missing Uncle Henry.
- warns ← Uncle Henry (ended) ch. 1Uncle Henry calls out to Aunt Em that a cyclone is coming before running to look after the stock.
From the text
"Quick, Dorothy!" she screamed. "Run for the cellar!"Chapter 1
She was thin and gaunt, and never smiled now.Chapter 1
“My darling child!” she cried, folding the little girl in her arms and covering her face with kisses.Chapter 24