Chapter 1: Galinda
In this chapter, Galinda, a young lady from Gilikin is traveling by train to Shiz, an all-girls private school, with her Ama Clutch (who does not make it all the way because she steps on a nail). On the way, Galinda meets a Goat who turns out to be a Biology teacher at Shiz University. They discuss the Animal Banns, which are the inequalities between the Animals (talking animals) and everyone else. They do not get along too well, but Dr. Dillamond feels sorry for her and shows her the way when they arrive at the school. All of the girls are taken into a room where they receive a welcome from the Headmaster, Madame Morrible, while the Amas pair up roommates for the girls. Because Galinda's Ama is absent, she is left behind and ends up stuck rooming with another girl without her Ama, named Elphaba.
***
Ama Clutch finally arrives and Galinda has to explain to Madame Morrible why her Ama is incapable of taking care of more than two girls (Galinda lied because she did not want to live with many others). She says that Ama Clutch had once fell into a coma and now was often forgetful and did not always know what was living and what was not. Galinda is still unhappy about living with Elphaba because she is green and she and her friends often make fun of the clothing she wears and her unusual behaviour. One night, the two are alone in their room because the Amas went for a night out and they talk for a bit about learning, their lives, and good vs. evil and Galinda persuades Elphaba to try on one of her fancy hats. Elphaba learns that Galinda is smarter than she thought and Galinda learns that Elphaba is beautiful in her own unique way (even though she ends up making fun of the incident to her friends later). Also, during all of this the window breaks due to a storm, even though Ama Clutch says there was no storm.
***
The boys from the Three Queens come over to Shiz for a poetry reading where Madame Morrible recites "Quells", which are short poems with unusual endings. The first goes over well, but the second one ends with "Animals should be seen and not heard", and many of the Animal teachers are offended by this since Animal Rights is becoming a huge politic issue at this point. The session ends and the students mingle and a boy name Boq comes up to talk with Elphaba and Galinda. He immediately recognizes Elphaba because they grew up together in Munchkinland, but she gets upset since he only recognized her for her colour, and leaves. The next morning, Doctor Dillamond brings up the Quells from the night before, and tells the students about the recent Banns on Animal mobility. He believes that the Quell was related to this and Elphaba and Madame Morrible quarrel over this a few day later when Elphaba asks about it (the headmaster says it was merely poetic irony).
***
At the start of the second semester, Galinda goes to see Madame Morrible to ask about getting a new roommate. Madame Morrible asks Galinda what area of study she plans on pursuing and says that if she chose Sorcery, a new roommate could be lined up. She says Elphaba is going into Life Sciences, and also that her sister will be coming to Shiz next year. She ends by saying that having her sister come will be dreadful because of "how she is".
Chapter 2: Boq
In this chapter, Boq is sitting in his dorm room and his roommate, Avaric, is trying to convince him to come out to the pub with the other guys. Boq refuses and stays in to "study", but ends up sneaking over to Shiz to see the "love of his life", Galinda. He climbs up to her window, but falls when Elphaba startles him. After some chatting, she tells him to come back in three days and she will arranged a meeting for him and Galinda.
***
The three meet on the planned day, secretly, in a garden at Shiz. Boq tries to woo Galinda, but she resists because they are of different cultures and he is too short. Ama Clutch finds them, and Boq departs after Galinda says that although she does not even want friendship with him, she will no longer ignore him.
***
It is now summertime and Boq gets a job at the Three Queens' library cleaning manuscripts with two homosexual boys, Crope and Tibbett. One day, the three go to have a picnic and Galinda shows up with her friends Shenshen and Pfannee. They briefly discuss their summer plans and school, and the ladies depart. A few weeks later, Boq runs into Elphaba in Railway Square. They talk about Elphaba's sister, Boq's love for Galinda, and Doctor Dillamond. Elphaba tells Boq that she is working with the Goat for the summer and that he doing experiments to see if there really is a difference between animal and Animal tissue, and Animal and human tissue. Boq agrees to help Elphaba get books for the doctor from the library he works at. Elphaba leaves and Boq notices that there are no Animals at the station (they can no longer use public transportation).
***
Boq (along with Crope and Tibbett) meet secretly with Elphaba to give her the books she asked them to get for Doctor Dillamond. She gives them an update on how his research is going (just had a breakthrough) and they discuss Queen Lurline and the myths about how the Animals of their world came into being. The chat ends when Grommetik, Madame Morrible's tiktok creature, goes by because Elphaba is paranoid that it is a spy.***
Elphaba receives a letter from Galinda from Lake Chorge where she is staying for the summer with Shenshen and Pfannee. In the letter she asks that Elphaba come visit and because Boq wants to go see her so badly, the two depart along with Boq's roommate Avaric and Grommetik (at the request of Madame Morrible). Avaric and Elphaba fight on the way, but they eventually arrive at "Caprice-in-the-Pines" to the great surprise of Galinda. It turns out that Pfannee wrote the letter to Elphaba as a joke. They stay anyways and Galinda and Boq become closer, not that she seems to enjoy this. The next day, Elphaba, Galinda, Boq, Grommetik, and Ama Clutch head back to Shiz.
***
Boq goes back to his work at the library without revealing his small romance with Galinda to Crope and Tibbett. He finds a book with a picture of the Kumbric Witch on the front and decides that Dr. Dillamond should see it so he meets with Elphaba to give it to her. They discuss the doctor's work and Galinda, who Elphaba says has not even mentioned Boq.
***
Boq and Avaric are walking by Shiz when they notice that something has happened. Doctor Dillamond is dead, and some (like Elphaba) are convinced that he was murdered, perhaps because of the research he was doing. Ama Clutch had noticed a light on in his office the night before and went to investigate and the was nowhere to be seen the next morning. Elphaba and Galinda went to tell Madame Morrible, who said that she was in the infirmary because she had a relapse (of the fake disease that Galinda had made up). The two went down to see her and she was been talking to the nail that she stepped on before.
Chapter 3: The Charmed Circle
In this chapter, we learn that Doctor Dillamond was murdered but the official story was that he accidentally cut his neck on a magnifying glass. Elphaba's sister, Nessarose, arrives at Shiz with Nanny. We learn that her handicap is that she has no arms. Her and Nanny stay with Galinda and Elphaba. It is also mentioned here that Elphaba is the Thropp Third Descending, meaning that she will be the Eminence one day.
***
Galinda matures quite a bit since Dillamond's death has put everything into perspective and she no longer trusts Madame Morrible because of what happened to her Ama. She leaves her old snobby friends (but becomes closer to Elphaba) and regrets kissing Boq because she wants nothing to do with him. She also changes her name to Glinda because that is how the Doctor pronounced it. Elphaba reveals to her that her mother died during the birth of her younger brother, Shell, and that Turtle Heart was sacrificed to help relieve the drought because of the Clock. She says that Nessarose is her father's favourite, but Glinda does not like her as much because she is high maintenance and very religious and very beautiful (even without arms). Glinda gets very interested in learning sorcery at school.
***
Elphaba reveals to Boq that she plans to continue pursuing Doctor Dillamond's research during the class that the new Life Sciences teacher, Doctor Nikidik is leading. Their discussion is interrupted when a Winkie named Fiyero enters late for class and is attacked by a pair of antlers that the teacher had enchanted as a demonstration. The differences between science and sorcery are discussed and the students gossip about the new Vinkus boy. The next week, during the same class, a cub is brought in and the teacher asks who can tell if it is a Lion or a lion. Just when Nikidik is about to investigate the matter (by harming the cub) it runs away and Elphaba gets very upset and yells at the teacher.
***
Elphaba, Glinda, Boq (who no longer has romantic feelings towards Glinda), Avaric, and Nessarose are now close friends, and Pfannee, Shenshen, Milla, Crope, and Tibbett often meet up with them. Fiyero is introduced to them and becomes part of their group and they learn that he is already married, since it is part of his culture. Although they try to avoid Madame Morrible, Grommetik comes to find Elphaba and Nessarose and takes them to her office. She gives them a letter from their father as well as beautiful shoes that he decorated (with glass beads made by Turtle Heart) for Nessarose. Elphaba gets nothing and is jealous of her father's love for her sister. That night, the group of friends go out and after some wine, they talk Elphaba into singing for them. They are all, except for Nessarose, amazed at her beautiful voice.
***
Grommetik arrives with a note telling Glinda that Ama Clutch is dying, so she and Elphaba go to see her. Glinda tells her that this is all her fault, but manages to cast a brief spell on her to make her sane. In this time, she tells the girls that Grommetik killed Doctor Dillamond, and then she dies.
***
There is a brief funeral for Ama Clutch and afterward Elphaba, Glinda, and Nessarose are summoned to Madame Morrible's office. She tells the girls that Grommetik did not kill Doctor Dillamond. She also says that she wishes for the three to become Adepts of the Wizard (Glinda for Gilikin, Elphaba for Munckinland, and Nessarose for Quadling Country) but says she will give them time to decide. She puts a spell on them so that they are unable to discuss this with anyone or amongst themselves. By the afternoon they are all unsure of what really happened and Glinda faints when she tries to think about it. The friends all meet up at a local pub to mourn for Ama Clutch. Avaric suggests they go to the Philosophy Club, and all but the three girls go. Elphaba reveals to Glinda that the two of them are leaving tonight to go see the Wizard in Emerald City.
***
At the philosophy club, a woman named Yackle gives the students tickets to get in and they drink and dance with all kinds of different creatures before they are ushered into another room. The dwarfs running the "entertainment" arrange a strange orgy involving a woman, a Tiger, and Tibbett-while the others watch. They say that Tibbett is the Unknown God, the Tiger is the Dragon of Time in its cave, and the woman is the Kumbric Witch.
***
Glinda and Elphaba take over a week to get to the Emerald City. When they arrive, Elphaba notices that there are no Animals and she suggests that they may have gone "underground". They pass through all of the filth of the city (poor, starving, prostitutes, etc.) and reach the Palace. After six days of making arrangements they get four minutes with the Wizard. In the Throne Room, he puts on a spectacle of showing as a giant skeleton and Elphaba, speechless at first, manages to explain why they came. She tells him about Doctor Dillamond's murder and brings his work to show, but the Wizard dismisses this as well as the poor treatment of the Animals that she rants about. He mentions the offer from Madame Morrible and recites a poem about things being different than they seem. He also says to "beware whom you serve". Galinda heads back to Shiz, while Elphaba stays behind and does not tell Galinda of her plans.
My Thoughts/Questions:
-is Galinda the good witch from The Wizard of Oz?
-she is the exact oppposite of Elphaba/shows contrast of the characters
-illusion and reality in main characters (outside vs. inside)
-why did the window break?
-is Madame Morrible trying to control the fate of her students? I have a felling she has alot of power
-Animal rights is going to play a big part in the story
-does Elphaba have feelings for Boq?
-is the cub the cowardly lion from The Wizard of Oz?
-did Madame Morrible kill Doctor Dillamond?
-wonder how everything is going to pan out with the girls as adepts
-Yackle again!
-what is the importance of the ending at the Philosophy Club?
-why does Elphaba want to stay in the Emerald City?
-what is the importance of what the Wizard tells them? is he evil?
No comments:
Post a Comment