Living being in The Oz Series
Jellia Jamb
Also known as little Jellia Jamb, the green maiden, our interpreter, the trembling girl, a sprightly little maid, a pretty girl in a green gown, the green robed maiden.
A sweet, modest young green maiden of the Emerald City, born in the North Country (Gillikin land), summoned by the Scarecrow to serve as interpreter between him and Jack Pumpkinhead; she mischievously mistranslates their words for fun before revealing that all of Oz speaks one language.
Appears in 5 chapters, first in chapter 31, last in chapter 87.
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 | One of the green people of the Emerald City, in the service of its ruler Queen Ozma. (as of ch. 68) |
| Age | A young girl / young woman. (as of ch. 31) |
| Appearance | A sweet, modest young girl with a pretty face and beautiful green eyes and hair, dressed all in green: a dainty green silk skirt to the knees, silk stockings embroidered with pea-pods, green satin slippers decorated with bunches of lettuce, a silken waist embroidered with clover leaves, and a jaunty jacket trimmed with uniform sparkling emeralds. (as of ch. 31) |
| Being nature | An ordinary living young human woman, one of the green-hued people native to the Land of Oz. |
| Conflict | No significant conflict remains; she is back to her ordinary duties at the Emerald City palace. (as of ch. 68) |
| Current goal | To perform her duties as a serving maid at the royal palace of the Emerald City. (as of ch. 68) |
| Dialogue style | Polite and deferential on the surface ('Yes, your Majesty'), but delivers demure, mischievous falsehoods with a straight face; drops the act to laugh merrily once the joke is exposed. (as of ch. 31) |
| Equipment | Adorned in green finery: green silk skirt, pea-pod-embroidered silk stockings, lettuce-decorated green satin slippers, clover-embroidered silken waist, and an emerald-trimmed jacket. (as of ch. 31) |
| Gender identity | woman (as of ch. 31) |
| Is alive | yes (as of ch. 31) |
| Maturation stage | A young woman / maiden. |
| Motive | A playful love of mischief: she teases both the King and his wooden guest with false translations for her own amusement. (as of ch. 31) |
| Personality | Sweet and modest in bearing but mischievous and impish beneath it: she teases royalty with straight-faced false translations, delighting in the trouble she stirs and barely keeping from laughing in the face of the King. (as of ch. 31) |
| Quirks | Keeps a demure, straight face while telling outrageous falsehoods, barely able to keep from laughing in the presence of royalty. (as of ch. 31) |
| Referential profile | feminine (as of ch. 31) |
| Sex profile | female (as of ch. 31) |
| Skills | Speaks the language of the Gillikins as well as that of the Emerald City/Munchkins (though these prove to be one and the same); quick-witted at improvising mischievous false translations. (as of ch. 31) |
| Social status | A common young woman of the Emerald City's green populace, serving as a maid at Queen Ozma's royal palace. (as of ch. 68) |
| Status | Back to her ordinary life in the Emerald City, serving as a sprightly little maid at the grand palace feast welcoming Ozma home; the Scarecrow pinches her rosy cheeks and seems to know her well, with no trace of the earlier Mombi-disguise ordeal. (as of ch. 68) |
Relationships
- born in → Country of the Gillikins ch. 31Jellia Jamb was born in the North Country (the Country of the Gillikins), which is why she is presumed to understand the Gillikin language.
- provides service → Ozma ch. 87Jellia Jamb serves Ozma as her personal maid, running the Princess's errands about the palace—fetching the white piglet from the boudoir and later attempting to bring the kitten Eureka at Dorothy's and Ozma's bidding.
- provides service → Scarecrow ch. 31Jellia Jamb serves the Scarecrow as his interpreter between himself and Jack Pumpkinhead, though she mischievously mistranslates before revealing no interpreter was needed.
- located in → City of Emeralds ch. 31Once one of the green people living in the Emerald City, Jellia is led out of the city gates disguised as Mombi and taken before Glinda; exposed and restored, she is granted Glinda's protection, so she is no longer resident in the city.
- subordinate to → Scarecrow ch. 31Jellia Jamb welcomes the Wizard and Zeb to the Emerald City palace on Dorothy's orders, explaining that a beautiful Princess (Ozma) now rules and that Dorothy is with her; she acts under the new court's authority, not the Scarecrow's.
- restores form ← Glinda (ended) ch. 45Understanding magic better than anyone in Oz, Glinda utters a few potent words and makes a peculiar gesture to transform the disguised girl back into her proper shape, revealing her as Jellia Jamb.
- transforms ← Mombi (ended) ch. 45Mombi performs a magical rite that makes Jellia Jamb take on Mombi's own form and features while Mombi grows to resemble the girl, so that the disguised Jellia can be delivered to Glinda as the supposed Mombi.
- communicates with → Oz (ended) ch. 84Jellia Jamb greets the returning Wizard, explains that the Emerald City is now ruled by a beloved Princess who will not willingly part with her rule, and tells him and Zeb where Dorothy is and shows them to their apartments.
- protects ← Glinda (ended) ch. 45When Jellia, forced to confess Mombi's trick, begs Glinda's protection, the Sorceress readily grants it.
- communicates with ← Jim (ended) ch. 84Jim the horse indignantly questions Jellia Jamb after overhearing her call him unusual, and she reassures him that she does not consider him a freak, before arranging a palace room for him.
- threatens ← Mombi (ended) ch. 45Mombi threatens Jellia with death if she confesses the fraud, so that under Glinda's questioning the terrified girl dares not reveal her true name.
- threatens ← Eureka (ended) ch. 87Eureka threatens to scratch Jellia Jamb's eyes out if the maid tries to touch her, refusing to be fetched.
- deceives → Jack Pumpkinhead (ended) ch. 31Under the guise of translating, Jellia gives Jack false renderings of the Scarecrow's words, telling him the King asked whether he was hungry or aware of a painted eye when he had said otherwise.
- commands ← Ozma (ended) ch. 87Ozma commands her maid Jellia to go to her boudoir and fetch the white piglet she left on the dressing-table.
- commands ← Scarecrow (ended) ch. 31The Scarecrow appoints Jellia Jamb his interpreter and directs her to explain to Jack all that he says and to him all that Jack says.
- communicates with ← Scarecrow (ended) ch. 68During the feast, the Scarecrow pinches Jellia Jamb's cheeks, showing he knows the serving-maid quite well.
- deceives → Scarecrow (ended) ch. 31Jellia deceives the Scarecrow with false translations of Jack's words, telling him Jack said his brains had come loose and had insulted the ruler, when Jack had said no such thing.
From the text
He says that your Majesty's brains seem to have come loose.Chapter 31
Because they are one and the same! Does not your Majesty know that in all the land of Oz but one language is spoken?Chapter 31
"There is nothing more to eat! The Hungry Tiger has consumed everything!"Chapter 68
See Jellia Jamb chapter by chapter in the interactive codex →