Magic practitioner in The Oz Series
Wicked Witch of the West
Also known as the Wicked Witch of the West, the old Witch, the wicked woman, the wicked creature, the other Witch.
The one remaining wicked witch of Oz, ruling the western country of the Winkies, who would enslave any traveler who passed her way.
Appears in 10 chapters, first in chapter 2, last in chapter 78.
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 | Ruler of the western country of Oz where the Winkies live — the last remaining wicked power among the four witch-domains of the land. (as of ch. 2) |
| Age | old (an old woman / the old Witch). (as of ch. 12) |
| Appearance | An old woman with but one eye, as powerful as a telescope, that can see everywhere; she has a skinny foot, carries an old umbrella in her hand, and is so wicked that her blood dried up years ago; when destroyed she dissolves into a brown, melted, shapeless mass. (as of ch. 12) |
| Being nature | A wicked witch — the one Wicked Witch left in all the Land of Oz after the death of the Witch of the East. |
| Body conditions | So wicked that the blood in her dried up many years before, so she does not bleed when bitten; has a skinny foot; and dissolves entirely in water, melting into a brown shapeless mass. |
| Conflict | Her campaign against Dorothy's party fails at every turn — wolves, crows, bees, Winkies, and Winged Monkeys are all defeated or exhausted; she enslaves Dorothy and steals one Silver Shoe, but is finally melted to nothing by a bucket of water, ending her wicked deeds. (as of ch. 12) |
| Current goal | To destroy the intruding travelers and enslave Dorothy, and above all to seize both Silver Shoes for the great power their charm would give her. (as of ch. 12) |
| Dialogue style | Harsh, severe, and commanding when in power — barking orders to destroy and enslave; taunting and mocking when triumphant; but wailing and despairing when she is defeated and melting. (as of ch. 12) |
| Equipment | A silver whistle worn around her neck to summon her beasts; a Golden Cap set with diamonds and rubies that commands the Winged Monkeys three times; and an old umbrella she always carries and uses to threaten and strike. (as of ch. 12) |
| Gender identity | woman (as of ch. 2) |
| Health condition | Dead: melted away to nothing by a bucket of water; the news of her destruction reaches the Lion at the chapter's opening. (as of ch. 13) |
| Is alive | no (as of ch. 12) |
| Magic alignment | Wicked — with her Eastern counterpart dead, she is now the one Wicked Witch left in all the Land of Oz. |
| Magic tradition | A wicked witch, the last of the two evil witches of Oz. |
| Magical domain | Enchantment and enslavement of persons: those carried into her country she 'will enchant' and make her slaves. |
| Maturation stage | Aged adult (elderly) |
| Motive | To enslave any who pass through her western territory. (as of ch. 2) |
| Personality | Tremendously wicked — characterized by Oz as so wicked she ought to be killed. (as of ch. 11) |
| Power tier | Ruling witch-tier: sovereign over the whole western country with power to enchant and enslave any who enter it — though, like all the witches, less powerful than Oz, who exceeds them all together. |
| Quirks | Never touches water nor lets water touch her in any way, and is deeply afraid of the dark; performs the Golden Cap's charm by standing on her left foot, then her right, then both while chanting nonsense words. (as of ch. 12) |
| Referential profile | feminine (as of ch. 2) |
| Sex profile | female (as of ch. 12) |
| Skills | Commands beasts and the Winged Monkeys, wields the Golden Cap's charm, and works magic arts — such as making a bar of iron invisible to human eyes to trip Dorothy. (as of ch. 12) |
| Social status | Ruling wicked witch of the western land of the Winkies. (as of ch. 2) |
| Special capabilities | Can enchant travelers who drift into her western country and make them her slaves. |
| Status | Destroyed: melted by a bucket of water dashed over her by Dorothy, reduced to a brown, melted, shapeless mass and swept out the door, leaving nothing but a silver shoe. (as of ch. 12) |
Relationships
- owns → silver whistle ch. 12The Wicked Witch of the West owns the silver whistle she wears around her neck and blows to summon her animal servants.
- subordinate to ← Stinging Bees ch. 34The Stinging Bees were the Wicked Witch of the West's swarm, loosed at her behest to attack Dorothy's party until the Scarecrow saved Dorothy from them; the bees are now all dead.
- kills ← Dorothy (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.
- oath bound ← Dorothy's Traveling Party (ended) ch. 11–12After separate audiences in which Oz names the same price to each of them, the whole party is committed to a shared mission: kill the Wicked Witch of the West. Only when the Witch is dead will Oz grant their wishes (Dorothy's return to Kansas, brains, a heart, courage), so they decide to journey to the land of the Winkies, seek her out, and destroy her. fulfillment_status: pending.
- oath bound ← Cowardly Lion (ended) ch. 11–12The Cowardly Lion is bound by Oz's condition to bring proof that the Wicked Witch of the West is dead in order to be granted courage, and it is he who resolves the party to seek her out and destroy her. Fulfillment_status: pending.
- oath bound ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 11–12Under Oz's condition, Dorothy is bound to the task of killing the Wicked Witch of the West as the price of being sent home to Kansas; though reluctant and doubtful she can do it, she accepts that they must try. Fulfillment_status: pending.
- enemy of · Dorothy's Traveling Party (ended) ch. 12Angered to find Dorothy's party in her country, the Wicked Witch tries to destroy them with wolves, crows, bees, armed Winkies, and finally the Winged Monkeys, then enslaves Dorothy and cages the Lion—until Dorothy melts her with water and ends the enmity.
- defeats → Dorothy's Traveling Party (ended) ch. 12After her wolves, crows, bees, and Winkies fail, the Witch uses the Golden Cap to send the Winged Monkeys, who scatter the fellowship — battering the Woodman, un-stuffing the Scarecrow, and caging the Lion — and take Dorothy captive.
- invokes → Golden Cap (ended) ch. 12As her last resort the Witch dons the Golden Cap and works its charm, standing on each foot in turn and chanting the magic words to summon the Winged Monkeys for the third and final time.
- enemy of · Oz (ended) ch. 11–12Oz treats the Wicked Witch of the West as his standing enemy, insisting to each of Dorothy's party that she is tremendously wicked and ought to be killed, and making her death the required condition for every reward he offers.
- oath bound ← Scarecrow (ended) ch. 11–12The Scarecrow is bound by Oz's condition to help kill the Wicked Witch of the West in order to earn the brains he desires, and agrees to go along on the quest despite fearing he will be of little help. Fulfillment_status: pending.
- oath bound ← Tin Woodman (ended) ch. 11–12The Tin Woodman is bound by Oz's condition to help Dorothy kill the Wicked Witch of the West to earn a heart, and pledges to go with the others though he has no heart to harm even a Witch. Fulfillment_status: pending.
- imprisoned by ← Cowardly Lion (ended) ch. 12The Cowardly Lion is imprisoned by the Wicked Witch in a high-fenced yard at her castle; she tries to starve him into submission to be harnessed, but he refuses and is secretly fed by Dorothy, until he is freed after the Witch is melted. (fulfillment_status: pending during captivity)
- enslaves → Dorothy (ended) ch. 12The Wicked Witch makes Dorothy her slave, setting her to clean pots and kettles, sweep the floor, and feed the fire; Dorothy works hard and meekly each day until she destroys the Witch and is at last free.
- steals → Silver Shoes (ended) ch. 12Coveting the powerful Silver Shoes, the Witch hides an invisible iron bar in the kitchen floor so Dorothy trips and falls; one shoe comes off and the Witch snatches it onto her own foot, gaining half the charm's power, though she is destroyed before she can take the second.
- commands → Winged Monkeys (ended) ch. 12Having summoned the Winged Monkeys with the Golden Cap for the third and last time, the Witch commands them to destroy all the strangers except the Lion and to bring the Lion to her; their leader answers that her commands shall be obeyed.
- commands → black bees (ended) ch. 12Blowing her whistle three times, the Witch summons a swarm of black bees and commands them to go to the strangers and sting them to death.
- imprisoned by → Cowardly Lion (ended) ch. 12The Cowardly Lion is held prisoner by the Wicked Witch in a small high-fenced yard at her castle; she tries to starve him into being harnessed, but he refuses and is secretly fed by Dorothy, until Dorothy frees him after melting the Witch. (fulfillment_status: pending, then resolved by escape)
- threatens → Dorothy (ended) ch. 12The Witch harshly threatens to make an end of Dorothy—as she did of the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow—if she does not obey, and often threatens to beat her with her umbrella, though the mark on Dorothy's forehead keeps the Witch from daring to actually strike her.
- commands → Dorothy's Traveling Party (ended) ch. 12Through the Winged Monkeys the Witch commands that the strangers all be destroyed except the Lion, whom she orders brought to her to be harnessed and made to work.
- possesses → Golden Cap (ended) ch. 12The Wicked Witch keeps in her cupboard a Golden Cap set with diamonds and rubies, whose charm lets its owner call the Winged Monkeys three times; she had already spent two of its uses and now holds only one remaining.
- communicates with ← leader of the Winged Monkeys (ended) ch. 12The leader of the Winged Monkeys speaks with the Witch when summoned, noting she has called them for the third and last time and asking her command, then afterward reports that they obeyed as far as able but dared not harm the girl, declaring her power over the band now ended.
- fears ← Oz (ended) ch. 15Having no real magic, Oz lived in deadly fear of the wicked Witch of the West, and promised the party anything if only they would do away with her.
- located in → the Witch's castle (ended) ch. 12The Wicked Witch of the West dwells in her castle in the country of the Winkies, sitting at its door to watch her land with her single far-seeing eye and directing her attacks from there.
- commands → wild crows (ended) ch. 12Blowing her whistle twice, the Witch summons a great flock of wild crows and commands their King Crow to fly at once to the strangers, peck out their eyes, and tear them to pieces.
- enslaves → Winkies (ended) ch. 12The Wicked Witch of the West rules the Winkies' country and would make any passing traveler her slave.
- commands → Winkies (ended) ch. 12The Witch calls a dozen of her Winkie slaves, gives them sharp spears, and orders them to go to the strangers and destroy them; the unwilling Winkies obey until the Lion's roar drives them back.
- commands → wolves (ended) ch. 12The Witch summons a pack of great wolves with her silver whistle and commands them to go to the strangers and tear them to pieces, saying none of the party is fit to be made a slave.
- deceives → Dorothy (ended) ch. 12The cunning Witch tricks Dorothy by placing an iron bar in the kitchen floor and making it invisible by magic, so that Dorothy stumbles over it and falls, letting the Witch snatch away one of her Silver Shoes.
- uses → silver whistle (ended) ch. 12The Wicked Witch of the West blows her silver whistle to summon her wolves, crows, and bees against Dorothy's party.
- commands → Winged Monkeys (ended) ch. 14Owning the Golden Cap, the Wicked Witch of the West commanded the Winged Monkeys to enslave the Winkies and to drive Oz out of the Land of the West.
- possesses → silver whistle (ended) ch. 12The Witch wears a silver whistle hung around her neck, blowing it to summon her beasts: once for the wolves, twice for the wild crows, and three times for the black bees.
- injures ← Toto (ended) ch. 12When the Witch strikes Toto with her umbrella, the brave little dog flies at her and bites her leg; the Witch does not bleed, for she was so wicked that the blood in her had dried up many years before. (minor bite; no bleeding)
- punishes → Winkies (ended) ch. 12When the Winkies return having been scared off by the Lion, the Wicked Witch beats them well with a strap and sends them back to their work.
- leader of → Winkies (ended) ch. 2–12The Wicked Witch of the West rules the western country where the Winkies live.
From the text
“that country, where the Winkies live, is ruled by the Wicked Witch of the West, who would make you her slave if you passed her way.”Chapter 2
“There is now but one Wicked Witch left in all this land... Remember that the Witch is Wicked—tremendously Wicked—and ought to be killed.”Chapter 11
Now the Wicked Witch of the West had but one eye, yet that was as powerful as a telescope, and could see everywhere.Chapter 12
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