Wicked Queen Revisited

so, i'm sure i've said all this countless times before but in my search for "reading" material for tomorrow's vacation i've downloaded Wicked by Gregory Maguire and i'm excited to finally hear the story. don't tell me how it ends. (wink)

and so of course i'm reminded of my fascination with with the "bad" characters and how i more readily identify with the Wicked Queen and NOT the princess. Definitely not the poor, mistreated mouse who must be saved by the prince and who is saved because she is so beautiful and dainty despite her dirty face and ragged clothes. Nope. i identify with the misunderstood, intimidating woman who attempts to control her own condition and circumstances not relying on a prince to save the day. i'm hopeful, of course, that Gregory Maguire gets this and has explored that further too. i'll find out by the end of the book. surprisingly i've not heard any more about it other than its lead in message from the publisher that says,
"When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?"

and in the very first chapter, there is this exchange,
"But she remembered this as a joke, fondly. Woe is the natural end of life, yet we go on having babies.
No, said Nanny, an echo in Melena's mind (and editorializing as usual): No, no, you pretty little pampered hussy. We don't go on having babies, that's quite apparent. We only have babies when we're young enough not to know how grim life turns out. Once we really get the full measure of it — we're slow learners, we women — we dry up in disgust and sensibly halt production.
But men don't dry up, Melena objected; they can father to the death.
Ah, we're slow learners, Nanny countered. But they can't learn at all. "

and although the wicked witch of the west was never one of my favorite heroines... i've always thought that that Oz's wizard was not just a fraud but an idiot that should have been called on it. it's obvious his "Great and Powerful" wizard was the epitome of smoke and mirrors, but no one seems to gag when he "bestows" the gifts of a brain, heart and courage on Dorothy's friends. yes, he does say that they had these things all along, but still his showy presentation reminds me of a former coworker who packaged the obvious in glossy, bound reports. what a waste of time. but, the travesty to me in the whole thing is that he doesn't help Dorothy because he stupidly flies off in his balloon without her. and THEN the prissy Glenda comes along and tells her she had the ability to go home on her own the whole time with those shoes. Well, why didn't she tell her in the first place? Clearly people had other agendas here and screwed around with others to achieve their desired outcome.

so, in my absence from the real world over the next week as i sit on a plane or a beach or poolside, i'll be listening to this story. i so hope it is fabulous!