Living being in The Oz Series
Dorothy
Also known as most noble Sorceress, Dorothy, the Small and Meek, a girl that came here from Kansas, Miss Gale, Dorothy Gale, of Kansas, the girl Dorothy, a little girl from Kansas, the little Kansas girl, little Dorothy, from Kansas, little maid, our little heroine.
A merry young orphan girl who lives with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em on the gray Kansas prairie, her laughter setting her apart from the joyless farm. While showing the wandering Shaggy Man the road to Butterfield, she becomes lost with him and Toto among a maze of strange, multiplying roads near her farm-house.
Appears in 80 chapters, first in chapter 1, last in chapter 100.
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 | Niece and ward of Uncle Henry and Aunt Em; now returned to live on and help run the family farm in Kansas. (as of ch. 89) |
| Age | A young child (a little girl) (as of ch. 1) |
| Appearance | A little girl; described as small ('a little bed in another corner') (as of ch. 1) |
| Being nature | An ordinary human child |
| Body conditions | An ordinary being of flesh and blood who must sleep, eat, and drink to live, unlike her tin and straw companions. |
| Conflict | Has left Foxville and Dunkiton behind; King Kik-a-bray gave the shaggy man a donkey's head in return for a flattering speech, and it can only be undone by bathing in the Truth Pond, somewhere in the Land of Oz. Dorothy also promised to try to get the donkey king an invitation to Ozma's birthday celebration. (as of ch. 96) |
| Current goal | To find a way to cross the deadly desert and reach the Land of Oz and its Emerald City; the earlier Dunkiton-era promise to bring King Kik-a-bray a second pair of donkey ears no longer applies now that the party has left Dunkiton behind. (as of ch. 100) |
| Dialogue style | Polite, artless, and direct; asks a steady stream of simple, curious questions and answers honestly, protesting mistakes with childlike hesitation. (as of ch. 2) |
| Equipment | Carries no notable equipment; the Magic Belt is now worn by Ozma, who uses it to send Dorothy home. (as of ch. 89) |
| Gender identity | woman (as of ch. 1) |
| Green spectacles count | 1 |
| Health condition | Hungry, thirsty, and weary from a long day's hard walking with nothing but apples eaten since breakfast, but restored after feasting on wild strawberries, oranges, and pears at the spring and sleeping peacefully under the trees through the night. (as of ch. 100) |
| Is alive | yes (as of ch. 1) |
| Maturation stage | Child |
| Motive | Having already traveled with Uncle Henry to Australia and back to San Francisco to see him through his illness, Dorothy's mission is now complete; her only remaining aim is the short-term one of returning home to Kansas with him the next day. (as of ch. 70) |
| Personality | Merry, cheerful, and affectionate; calm and resilient under danger, resolving to wait patiently rather than panic (as of ch. 1) |
| Quirks | Laughs and finds merriment where no one else can: her laughter is so out of place on the gray farm that it startles Aunt Em, who wonders the child can find anything to laugh at. (as of ch. 1) |
| Referential profile | feminine (as of ch. 1) |
| Sex profile | female (as of ch. 6) |
| Silver shoes count | 1 |
| Skills | Can build and tend a campfire, kindling a splendid fire to warm herself in the forest. (as of ch. 7) |
| Social status | A well-traveled young girl who has been an honored guest of Ozma, ruler of the Land of Oz, and of the Queen of Ev, while remaining the dependent niece of a poor Kansas farming family (as of ch. 69) |
| Special capabilities | The only person ever able to cross the deadly desert separating the Land of Ev from the Land of Oz, having done so once by cyclone and once by magical silver shoes. |
| Status | Resting with Button-Bright, Polychrome, and the shaggy man at a fruit-and-spring oasis on the edge of the deadly desert; has eaten wild strawberries, oranges, and pears there, slept overnight under the trees, and is now watching Johnny Dooit build a sand-boat so the party can sail across the sands to the Land of Oz. (as of ch. 100) |
Relationships
- ally of · Polychrome ch. 94Dorothy meets the lost, weeping Polychrome on the road, comforts her, agrees to be her friend, and invites her to travel with the group to the Emerald City so Ozma can help her get home.
- ally of · Tin Woodman ch. 5Dorothy gladly welcomes the rescued Tin Woodman into her party for the journey to the Emerald City.
- ally of · Billina ch. 50Dorothy leaves Billina behind in Oz: Billina refuses to accompany her to Australia, declaring she will end her days there among the finest bugs and ants, while Dorothy departs to nurse Uncle Henry.
- ally of · Cowardly Lion ch. 6After their hostile first meeting, Dorothy warmly welcomes the Lion into her party, telling him he will be very welcome and will help keep the wild beasts away.
- born in → Kansas ch. 54Dorothy is a girl of Kansas, her home country from which she originates.
- member of → road_to_oz_traveling_party ch. 90Dorothy, lost with the Shaggy Man among the enchanted roads far from her farm, travels with him down the seventh road as a member of their small party; when they meet the lost boy Button-Bright resting under a chestnut tree, the Shaggy Man declares someone ought to take care of him and that he'd better come along with them, growing the traveling party to include the boy.
- provides service ← Tiktok ch. 52Once wound, Tiktok pledges himself as Dorothy's obedient servant. He rejoins her party for the trip from Ev to Oz, where Dorothy winds his machinery for the journey, but when she leaves for Australia she leaves him behind in Ozma's care rather than bring him into the ordinary world.
- oath bound ← Tiktok ch. 52Tiktok kneels and vows to be Dorothy's obedient servant from this time forth, doing whatever she commands so long as she keeps him wound up; fulfillment_status: pending.
- provides service → Uncle Henry ch. 69Dorothy leaves Oz to return to the Kansas farm to help Uncle Henry and Aunt Em, who need her.
- provides service ← Cowardly Lion ch. 7Freed and reunited with Dorothy, the Lion is once again her active companion — helping seek out and recover their scattered friends and setting off with her for the Emerald City.
- ally of · Evring ch. 67Dorothy and Prince Evring ride together on the Sawhorse back to Ev, chatting pleasantly as fast friends.
- oath bound → King Kik-a-bray ch. 96Dorothy promises King Kik-a-bray she will ask Princess Ozma to invite him to Ozma's birthday celebration, in exchange for supper, a bed for the night, and an early start the next morning; fulfillment_status: pending, since she has not yet reached Oz.
- ally of · Scarecrow ch. 3Dorothy and the Scarecrow's companionship is restored this chapter: she has the Winkies recover his scattered clothes and restuff them, so the Scarecrow is 'as good as ever' and reunited with her for the journey on.
- provides service ← Winged Monkeys ch. 14Having once carried Dorothy and her whole party to the Emerald City on the Cap's charm, the Winged Monkeys are summoned a second time and bow before her, but their service is now shown to be bounded: they belong to this country alone and cannot leave it or cross the desert, so they refuse to fly her to Kansas and depart.
- provides service ← Zeb ch. 70After the buggy falls through the earthquake crack into the glass city, Zeb drives the buggy (with Jim pulling) as the man with the star leads them through the streets toward the House of the Sorcerer.
- provides service → Cowardly Lion ch. 12The nightly secret feeding is over: the Witch is dead and Dorothy simply unlocks the Lion's prison and sets him free, so the covert provisioning gives way to open companionship.
- oath bound → Eureka ch. 75fulfillment_status: fulfilled. Dorothy promised Eureka she would do all she could to save her from being cast into the Black Pit; she has now used Ozma's Magic Belt to wish herself and Eureka safely away to the Land of Oz.
- possesses → golden key ch. 50Dorothy carries the golden key she picked up on the shore in the pocket of her dress. When Billina finds a rock door with a key-hole atop the mound, Dorothy fits the golden key into the hole and turns it, unlocking the rock chamber to reveal the clock-work copper man Tiktok.
- controls → iron giant ch. 66With a word to the magic belt, Dorothy causes the giant of iron to pause with his hammer motionless in the air, letting the whole party pass safely between his legs.
- oath bound → Jim ch. 75fulfillment_status: fulfilled. Dorothy used the Nome King's Magic Belt to wish Jim (along with the Wizard and Zeb) to safety in the Land of Oz, transporting them from the underground cave to the Emerald City, thereby saving Jim as she had promised.
- includes ← ozma_rescue_expedition ch. 57Dorothy rides in the golden chariot beside Ozma, holding Billina, as part of the expedition setting out to free the enslaved queen and her children from the Nome King.
- possesses → Tiktok ch. 86Tik-tok the clockwork copper man belongs to Dorothy, who winds him up for the procession, though she has left him in Ozma's care since he is useless outside a fairy country.
- guardian of ← Uncle Henry ch. 49Uncle Henry is Dorothy's guardian uncle. Worried by his ailing appearance in Ozma's magic picture, Dorothy gives up the Nome King's magic belt to be wished to his side in Sydney, where he brightens and begins to recover in her care; they then travel together back to San Francisco and toward Kansas.
- possesses → Eureka ch. 80Dorothy still owns Eureka, her small white kitten. At the public trial before Ozma's throne Eureka was caged and accused of eating Ozma's piglet, but was proved innocent when the missing piglet was produced; Ozma ordered her let out of the cage ('she is no longer a prisoner, but our good friend') and Dorothy hugged the kitten, delighted to know she was innocent.
- oath bound ← leader of the Wheelers ch. 54In exchange for Dorothy keeping his secret, the Wheeler leader promises never again to frighten children who approach; fulfillment_status: pending.
- possesses → the box of rustles ch. 79Dorothy accepts and now possesses the box of rustles the braided man insisted she take.
- indebted to ← Winkies ch. 13The freed Winkies feel deeply grateful to Dorothy for ending their long bondage and eagerly pledge to do everything in their power for her; fulfillment_status: pending.
- provides service ← Chief Steward of the Nome King ch. 61The Chief Steward leads Dorothy through a doorway into a long hall of sleeping apartments and gives her the first room to sleep in.
- acquires resource → jewel-studded belt (ended) ch. 66Dorothy unbuckles the Nome King's magic belt from his waist while he is blinded by broken eggs and fastens it around her own waist, gaining control of its powers.
- defeats → the Nome King (ended) ch. 66Dorothy slips behind the Nome King while eggs blind him, unbuckles his magic belt and takes it for herself, leaving him powerless to transform anyone; when he tries to work magic without the belt nothing happens, and he creeps back to his throne defeated, bemoaning his loss.
- steals → jewel-studded belt (ended) ch. 66While the Nome King is blinded by broken eggs, Dorothy sneaks behind him, unbuckles his jeweled magic belt, and takes it as her own, refusing to give it back even when he demands its return.
- uses → jewel-studded belt (ended) ch. 83Dorothy recounts having previously used the Nome King's Magic Belt herself, including wishing herself to Australia, before leaving it in Ozma's keeping.
- gives → Ozma (ended) ch. 69Before leaving for Australia, Dorothy hands the Nome King's magic belt to Ozma so Ozma can use it to wish Dorothy back to Oz later without the belt itself being lost.
- rescues ← Ozma (ended) ch. 83At the agreed signal, Ozma uses the Magic Belt to instantly whisk Dorothy out of the underground prison cave to safety in Oz.
- rescues → the Royal Princess (ended) ch. 74Dorothy helps pull the Princess free from the Royal Bush, rescuing her from being left unpicked at the Prince's mercy.
- threatens ← the Royal Princess (ended) ch. 75The Princess declares that Dorothy, Zeb, and the Wizard must be destroyed by being thrown into the Garden of the Clinging Vines to be crushed and devoured.
- kills → Wicked Witch of the West (ended) ch. 12Made angry by the theft of her shoe, Dorothy dashes a bucket of water over the Wicked Witch; the water makes the Witch shrink, melt away into a brown shapeless mass, and end her wicked deeds—Dorothy did not know water would destroy her.
- communicates with ← Billina (ended) ch. 65Billina flew to Dorothy, perched on the Lion's back, and whispered urgently to her to quickly get the Nome King's jeweled belt, which unbuckles in the back.
- frees → Evring (ended) ch. 62Dorothy touches a purple kitten ornament and says "Ev," correctly guessing it, which restores the enchanted figure to his true form as the boy Prince Evring of Ev.
- frees → Evring (ended) ch. 63Dorothy succeeds at guessing correctly in the Nome King's palace, breaking one of his enchantments and leading the freed little Prince Evring out by the hand.
- rescues → Evring (ended) ch. 66As part of rescuing the royal family of Ev, Dorothy's use of the magic belt to defeat the Nome King and force open the passage enables Prince Evring, held in his mother's arms, to be led safely out of the cavern along with the rest of the freed royal family.
- invokes → jewel-studded belt (ended) ch. 66Dorothy repeatedly invokes the magic belt's power in critical moments: to open the sealed passage out of the cavern, to turn the pursuing Nome warriors into eggs, and to halt the iron giant so the party can pass safely.
- rescues → Jim (ended) ch. 83Dorothy assures Jim the cab-horse that she will save him too via the Magic Belt once she is in the Land of Oz.
- uses → magic picture (ended) ch. 69Dorothy asks to use Ozma's magic picture and wishes to see the Kansas farm and Aunt Em, then Uncle Henry, viewing them through the shifting scenes it shows.
- communicates with → Oz (ended) ch. 11In the Throne Room Dorothy meets Oz in the form of a giant Head; she names herself 'the Small and Meek,' answers his questions about the silver shoes and the mark on her forehead, and begs him to send her home to Kansas.
- discovers → Oz (ended) ch. 15When the tipped screen exposes a little old man behind it, Dorothy discovers that the Great Oz is no wizard at all but a humbug — a common man who has been making believe.
- rescues → Oz (ended) ch. 83Dorothy promises the Wizard that once she reaches Oz she will use the Magic Belt to wish him to safety in the royal palace along with the others.
- negotiates with ← Oz (ended) ch. 11Oz bargains with Dorothy in the Throne Room, refusing to send her home for nothing and insisting that in his country everyone must pay for everything he gets; he offers to use his magic to return her to Kansas only in exchange for killing the Wicked Witch of the West.
- commands ← Oz (ended) ch. 11Oz commands Dorothy to kill the Wicked Witch of the West and orders her not to seek him again until the task is done, insisting she will not see her uncle and aunt again until the Witch is dead.
- rescues → Ozma (ended) ch. 66Dorothy, having taken the Nome King's magic belt, formally welcomes the restored Ozma back to the land of the living and leads the escape from the Nome King's underground palace, seeing Ozma safely out through the passage and past the iron giant to freedom.
- frees ← Ozma (ended) ch. 55Ozma obliges Langwidere to release Dorothy from her tower prison and leads her back down by the hand.
- rescues → Queen of Ev (ended) ch. 66Dorothy welcomes the restored Queen of Ev back to the land of the living and, wielding the magic belt she took from the Nome King, leads the party's escape from the palace and cavern to safety, protecting the Queen and her children along the way.
- rescues → royal_family_of_ev (ended) ch. 66Dorothy secures the magic belt from the Nome King, uses it to force open the sealed passage out of the cavern, and turns pursuing Nome warriors into eggs, leading the entire royal family of Ev safely out of the underground palace and past the iron giant to the open road toward Ev.
- imprisoned by → Scoodlers (ended) ch. 99[CASCADE] Created by CAPTURES(scoodlers→dorothy)
- captures ← Scoodlers (ended) ch. 99The Scoodlers surround Dorothy along with her companions and lead her across the bridge into their cave as a prisoner intended for the soup kettle.
- invokes → Silver Shoes (ended) ch. 23Following Glinda's instructions, Dorothy takes Toto in her arms, claps the heels of the Silver Shoes together three times, and commands them to take her home to Aunt Em — and is instantly whirled through the air to the Kansas prairie.
- located in → Sydney (ended) ch. 69–70Ozma wishes Dorothy to Uncle Henry's side, and Dorothy arrives in the pleasant room in Sydney where her uncle has been staying.
- located in → the glass city (ended) ch. 71–74Dorothy and the buggy float down and land on a rooftop in the glass city after falling through the earth, and is then led through its streets toward the House of the Sorcerer.
- rescues → the nine tiny piglets (ended) ch. 83Dorothy agrees to try to save the nine tiny piglets along with the rest of the party by wishing them into the royal palace via the Magic Belt.
- rescues ← the Shaggy Man (ended) ch. 99The shaggy man engineers the group's escape from the soup kettle, telling Dorothy to run for the cave entrance while he holds off the pursuing Scoodlers, saving her from being made into soup.
325 further relationships are in the interactive codex.
From the text
she stopped worrying and resolved to wait calmly and see what the future would bring.Chapter 1
No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home.Chapter 4
“I am Dorothy, the Small and Meek. I have come to you for help.”Chapter 11
It was Toto that made Dorothy laugh, and saved her from growing as gray as her other surroundings.Chapter 1
Dorothy was an innocent, harmless little girl, who had been carried by a cyclone many miles from home; and she had never killed anything in all her life.Chapter 2
she knew very well she was only an ordinary little girl who had come by the chance of a cyclone into a strange land.Chapter 3