“City of Emeralds” & “In the Vinkus”

“City of Emeralds” & “In the Vinkus”
Wicked “City of Emeralds” & “In the Vinkus”

Recap from “The Charmed Circle”
Boq is no longer in love with Glinda, who has changed her name to honor Dillamond’s death Nessarose, Elphaba’s sister, has come to Shiz along with Nanny to act as chaperones to Elphaba and Glinda Ama Clutch, since Dillamond’s death, has been in the hospital – she’s come down with the condition that Galinda describes to Morrible when she and Elphaba first become roommates Nessarose is beautiful, but armless – she, like her father, is a bit of a religious zealot Nanny and Elphaba both are clearly devoted to her, though she’s often demanding

Recap (cont’d) Glinda continues to study sorcery, and finds she’s quite adept at it Elphaba becomes more and more disenchanted with Shiz, Madame Morrible (“Horrible Morrible”), and the political goings-on in Oz Her disenchantment reaches its peak in Doctor Nikidik’s class – the Lion/lion cub, and Fiyero’s introduction Nessarose, too young to begin her studies at Shiz, has her most important moment in this section when she receives a pair of shoes from her father which will become the ruby slippers Dorothy eventually owns So…you can guess what happens to Nessa.

Recap (cont’d) Ama Clutch dies, but not before being magicked into one last moment of sanity, where she confesses to the girls that Grommetik murdered Dillamond Glinda, Elphaba, Nessa, Nanny, Avaric, Boq, Fiyero, Crope and Tibbett gather to have a funeral for Ama Clutch This will be the last time the entire group is together – the men go to the Philosophy Club afterwards where we see Mother Yackle a second time (the first time is in Rush Margins, when she gives Melena a potion to make sure her second child isn’t green) After the funeral, Madame Morrible asks to speak to Glinda, Elphaba and Nessa alone She binds the girls with a spell, making it impossible for them to speak about the contents of their conversation ever again She tells them that they are to be “Adepts” – acting as her agents and agents of the Wizard in various parts of Oz on some secret mission

Recap (final) After leaving Morrible’s office, Elphaba convinces Glinda to come with her to the Emerald City, where they will seek an audience with the Wizard Upon finally “seeing” him, Elphaba rants about the rights of Animals, to which he laughs in their faces In addition, his comments about Morrible make it unclear as to whether or not they’re on the same side after all Elphaba puts Glinda back on a train to Shiz, while she stays in the Emerald City, and plans to “go underground”

“City of Emeralds” (Fiyero)
Five years have passed – this section will be narrated by Fiyero, who is in the Emerald City acting as an emissary for his people He is now a prince in the Grasslands – he’s still married to Sarima, and they have three children It’s clear from his observations that things have changed in Oz yet again – the Wizard is still in power, but the pagan religion, Lurlinism, is back in fashion

“City of Emeralds” (cont’d)
We first see Fiyero at a statue of Saint Glinda (after whom our Glinda names herself), where he’s spotted Elphaba apparently praying in a cloister devoted to the saint She tries to avoid him, denies who she is, but he persists and eventually catches up with her “Rumor held that the great-grandfather, the Eminent Thropp, had engaged agents to look for her in Shiz, in the Emerald City. From Elphaba herself there was never a postcard, never a message, never a clue. Nessarose had been inconsolable at first, and then grew to resent her sister’s putting her through this pain of separation. Nessa had lost herself deeper in religion, to the point where her friends had begun to avoid her” (Maguire ).

“City of Emeralds” (the affair begins)
Fiyero traces Elphaba to her home, where she agrees to sit and talk with him, but only this once Page 237 – the description of Elphaba’s living space What details stand out? She claims to be living solely for her cause – what parts of her home support that, and which parts suggest that she may not be being totally honest? Fiyero tells Elphaba about his life and children, and asks about hers – she is not especially forthcoming However, her words betray more than she means them to…

“City of Emeralds” (the affair cont’d)
Read pages (at the page break). When you’ve done so, turn to the people around you and answer the following questions (take notes on the answers!): Why did Elphaba leave Shiz? What kinds of questions does she ask about Glinda, and what do they tell you about Elphaba’s feelings? What does their conversation reveal about the government in Oz? Who/what are the Gale Force? (What verbal puns do you notice in that name, by the way?)

Elphaba tells Fiyero, “’I never use the word humanist or humanitarian as it seems to me that to be human is to be capable of the most heinous crimes in nature’” (240). How does this further develop the conversation about good and evil? How does Elphaba define evil? In describing what she does, Elphaba says, “’It’s unbecoming…A perfect word for my new life. Unbecoming. I who have always been unbecoming am becoming un’” (241). What does all of this mean?

Of course, in spite of her objections, Fiyero and Elphaba do continue to meet – first, they talk about mutual friends, but eventually an affair begins between the two Based on what we know about these characters, what might it be that draws the two of them together? She continues to ask about mutual friends (clearly she’s not as willing to be “underground” as she says), and continues to insist that she’s pushed them all away because she loves them too much to allow them to be close to her

“City of Emeralds” (Elphaba’s plans)
She shares with him her code name, Fae - we learn that she is part of a “cell” where none of the members know one another’s actual names or identities She also tells Fiyero that, because she “doesn’t exist” his affair with her is not an actual act of dishonesty This theme will continue throughout – Elphaba denies her actual existence Over and over again Fiyero returns to the statue of Saint Glinda, which is outside a mauntery (an Ozian nunnery, of sorts), filled with nuns who have taken vows of silence What thematic significance could this have? As an “again and again”, why might Maguire continue to return to the image?

“City of Emeralds” (Plans cont’d)
“The wind tore the leaves from the trees. The Gale Force continued to frog-march Animals and collaborators out of town. Interest rates in the Gillikin banks went soaring up – good for investors, bad for those who had adjustable rate loans. Foreclosures on a lot of valuable city-centre properties. Too early, businesses began stringing the green and old lights of Lurlinemas tryin got woo cautious and depressed citizens into the shops” (247). What is happening in Oz? How do these conditions reflect real-world conditions in similar times?

Read pages (at the page break) – when you’re done, turn to the people around you and answer the following questions (take notes!): What do we learn from Fiyero about what’s happening in Quadling Country? Elphaba tells us more about the parts of her life that we’ve not seen – what was her role in her father’s life and missionary work? How does she feel about the part she played? How does she feel about her sister, Nessarose? What are some things she says in this section that we know will appear in later in The Wizard of Oz?

“’Look Fiyero, how can I be worried about them and be worried about the campaign of the season too? I can’t course around Oz – on that broomstick there, like a storybook witch! – I’ve chosen to go underground so that I can’t worry. Besides, I know what will happen to Nessarose at least. Sooner or later’” (251). Maguire is playing with irony in a couple of ways here – what foreshadowing does Elphaba do that she cannot possibly know that she is doing? How does this comment further characterize Elphaba? How does she feel about what she’s doing? About what she needs to do?

“City of Emeralds” (On Good and Evil)
Read from the top of 253 to the page break on when you’re done, turn to the people around you and answer the following questions (take notes!): How does Elphaba define wickedness? How is “wickedness” different in women and men? Think back to Elphaba’s origins and the suspicions surrounding her gender – how might that figure into this conversation? Consider Elphaba’s argument about martyrs, and accidents – whose side are you on? Fiyero’s or Elphaba’s? What are the moral implications of what she’s taking part in?

“City of Emeralds” (good & evil cont’d)
Elphaba says of her involvement in the revolution she is promising that she is “’a pack animal, wheeling with the herd’’’ to which Fiyero replies, “’Since your work is terrorism, that’s the most extreme argument for crime I’ve ever heard. You’re eschewing all personal responsibility. It’s as bad as those who sacrifice their personal will into the gloomy morasses of the unknowable will of some unnameable god. If you suppress the idea of personhood then you suppress the notion of individual culpability’” (256). Let’s first acknowledge that Maguire is doing some BIG STUFF here – remember, we started this novel talking about it as a prequel to The Wizard of Oz Think about the logic of Fiyero’s argument – is he right? Where do we draw the lines between righteous action, vigilante-ism, and terrorism? To what degree does this depend on your perspective?

After Fiyero’s troubling encounter with Elphaba, and now fully aware that she’s part of something which is imminent, Fiyero ventures into Emerald City and notices serious changes to the landscape He stops by a coffee shop he frequents to find that a hole has been blown in one of the walls because of an explosion – he wonders if Elphaba and her “cell” were involved. While in the coffee shop, he can see into the prison yard of a nearby school-turned-internment-camp – he realizes that the explosion must have been intended to free the people and Animals inside

However, none of the people or Animals attempt escape – more than once he wonders why not, as they outnumber the guard 12 to 1. As he’s wondering he witnesses the following: “Below, because the Bears had not stood to join the lineup, the soldier raised his cudgel and it came down on the skull of the cub. Fiyero’s body jerked, he spilled his drink and the cup broke, porcelain shards on the buttery herringbone-laid oak flooring…There were racking cries from the mother Bear, and then a silence in the world outside the heavy damask drapes” (261). Note the contrast between the brutality of of the murder and the richness of the surroundings – what is Maguire doing?

Fiyero, for reasons he doesn’t fully understand himself, decides not to tell Elphaba about the incident with the Bear cub. However, it’s clearly impacted him pretty strongly. Elphaba tells him that she cannot see him for 2 weeks – that her cell is planning something big, and she is going to be busy He begs her to tell him what’s going on – she assures him that her part will be small, marginal – she’s too obvious in public to be used for anything other than that

Fiyero worries that because of the nature of this organization that she could be playing right into the Wizard’s hands – she doesn’t know who’s pulling the strings, and so it could be anyone Elphaba insists that it’s impossible – she knew when she was being manipulated by Morrible, so she would know if she was being manipulated now She begs him to get out of town, or at the very least to avoid public places, on Lurlinemas Eve – eventually she confesses to him that the plan is to assassinate the Wizard She tells him, too, that she has 4 “comrades” – no one knows the other’s identity, masking spells are used, and no one knows who the leader is.

“City of Emeralds” (Glinda)
A week passes, and Fiyero wonders whether or not he’s in love with Elphaba – he worries about her, but her extremism makes it difficult for him to decide While he reflects on Elphaba, his language about Sarima changes – he now describes her as a “sulky…well-fed malcontent, [a] monster”, while Elphaba “seemed an advance on gender, she seemed a different species sometimes” (266). It’s in the middle of these daydreams that he runs into Glinda – she’s giddy, married, and with Crope

“City of Emeralds” (Glinda cont’d)
The three friends sit down for tea – Glinda doesn’t let anyone get a word in. She talks about her husband, a wealthy man with whom she’s in a companionable, if loveless, marriage. Crope hasn’t seen Tibbett, who was never quite the same after their evening at the Philosophy Club. Fiyero learns that Nessa is in town as well – Nessa, for her part, has sworn to “’spit in [Elphaba’s] face’” if she ever sees her again (270). Glinda begs to see Fiyero again before he leaves town – she seems to be both smarter and more powerful than she lets on. She makes a number of comments about how Fiyero clearly has something going on in his life which makes him both happy and sad, and when they leave one another, Glinda asks him to tell Elphaba that Glinda misses her, “’if [he] should see her’” (272).

“City of Emeralds” (Lurlinemas)
Fiyero sees Elphaba one last time before Lurlinemas – he doesn’t tell her about Glinda, and she repeats her warning, begging him to leave town. Obviously, he doesn’t. He follows her on Lurlinemas Eve – he decides he’s in love with her, or so afraid for her that he MUST know what she’s up to.

“City of Emeralds” (Lurlinemas cont’d)
He follows her all the way to a crowded theater – he sees her waiting outside, with something hidden under her cloak He realizes who the target it – Madame Morrible steps out of a carriage, and it’s clear that Elphaba is there to assassinate her (which means everything she told him before had been a lie) A group of schoolgirls, however, shows up – they crowd around Morrible and he watches as Elphaba clearly struggles with what to do For all of her talk about “accidents”, she holds back – she doesn’t kill Morrible because it would clearly involve harming the girls as well

“City of Emeralds” (Lurlinemas cont’d)
After Morrible goes inside, Fiyero sees Elphaba sink down, shaking and panicking – he tries to get to her, but the crowd masses and he loses track of her He decides, instead, to go back to her apartment. He, too, is shaken. He turns on the lights, and opens the skylight – Malky, Elphaba’s cat, is nervous Upon turning on the lights, Fiyero realizes that there are four Gale Force officers in the apartment – one hits him over the head (reminiscent of the Bear cub’s death), he sees his own blood pooling on the floor, Malky leaps out into the night, and Fiyero’s narration is cut short.

“City of Emeralds” (conclusion)
The next scene shifts – a woman is at the mauntery, and knocks on the door. The youngest maunt brings her inside, and because it is Lurlinemas, goes back to her prayer. The young woman is obviously frightened and won’t speak – her hands and arms are covered in blood An older maunt, of the group waiting to die, goes to her and comforts her – she identifies herself as Mother Yackle

“In The Vinkus” “The Voyage Out” & “The Jasper Gates of Kiamo Ko”

“The Voyage Out” (I) We move forward in time again – this time seven years This section is narrated by a woman only calling herself “the seven year maunt” Any guesses yet? Remember: the mauntery is behind te statue of Saint Glinda The woman leaves the mauntery with few personal effects including a broom, and the Superior Maunt calls her “Sister Saint Aelphaba”

“The Voyage Out” (I) Sister Saint Aelphaba is handed over to a woman called Oatsie who agrees, for a hefty fee, to take her on the Grasstrail Train – a caravan heading to the Vinkus So – who is this woman? Where is she going and why? “’Sweet childs of the Unnamed God,’ said the Superior Maunt, ‘you go from us to conduct an exercise in expiation. You feel there is a penalty to pay before you may find peace. The unquestioning silence of the cloister is no longer what you need. You are returning to yourself. So we send you from us with our love and with our expectations of your success. Godspeed, my good sister’” (290).

“The Voyage Out” (I) In addition to her scant baggage, the seven year maunt, Sister Saint Aelphaba (who now allows herself to be called Elphie) has a young boy with her – when Oatsie asks his name, she only shrugs Who is this boy? Elphie took a vow of silence while at the mauntery, and eventually worked her way up to speaking again while working in the ward for incurables While there, she treats Tibbett – he recognized her. She tells us, “He reminded her that she did think. Under the scrutiny of his tired frame she was recreated, against her will, as an individual. Or nearly” (294).

“The Voyage Out” (I) Elphie seems exhausted and sad – none of the same fire that we saw in her earlier in the novel “There was much to hate in this world, and too much to love” (294). How is this a shift for this character? Why the change? The trip is a dangerous one that involves crossing paths with many local tribes, which are highly territorial The cook’s dog, Killyjoy, becomes especially attached to Liir, the small boy traveling with Elphie – she notices this with some degree of warmth She realizes when Liir is caring for Killyjoy that she feels a vague sense of jealousy – whether it’s for the boy or dog is unclear

“The Voyage Out” (I) Read pages , then turn and talk with a classmate about the following questions (take notes!): What talent is Elphie revealed to have when she climbs the tree returns with bees? What do the travelers discuss with regard to the Kumbric Witch and Lurline? What are the proposed theories on the origins of evil in the discussion of the Kumbric Witch? Why is Maguire continually returning to this myth/legend?

“The Voyage Out” (II) The group engages a rafiqi, a kind of local guide, to help them deal with the tribesmen they will encounter The Cook, who Elphie dislikes, disappears in the middle of the night – he is later found dead at the bottom of a cliff, so puffy and deformed as to be almost unrecognizable What’s happening here? Someone Elphie hates ends up dead with possible bee involvement – what additional talents might she possess?

“The Voyage Out” (II) “The travelers fears the Scrow more than they had the Yunamata. The rafiqi did not say much to allay their fears. He was more tentative than it had first seemed; perhaps the job of negotiating among suspicious peoples required caution. Liir idolized him hopelessly, after only a few days of travel. Elphie thought: Such silly things, children – and so embarrassing – because they keep changing themselves out of shame, out of a need to be loved or something. While animals are born who they are, accept it, and that is that. They live with greater peace than people do” (302). Consider Elphie’s reflections – how does this show character development?

“The Voyage Out” (III) The caravan meets the Scrow, and their Princess, Nastoya The tribe welcomes them, and Elphie is singled out (among a few others) to attend a Scrow religious ceremony

“The Voyage Out” (III) Read pages 305 (starting at “When the drone died out”) to the end of chapter 3 (on page 308) – and then, with a classmate, answer the following questions: What new power has been revealed to exist by Elphie’s encounter with Princess Nastoya? Who/what is she really? What implications does this have for Dillamond’s research? Think back to the description of Elphaba’s home in Emerald City and the elephant skull – how should we have seen this coming? What advice/warning does Nastoya give Elphie? What predictions can we make for the rest of the story?

“The Voyage Out” (IV) They approach their first Arjikis (the tribe of which Fiyero was prince) a few days later The sight of them, “ripped Elphie’s heart into pieces. Their wildness. Their otherness. This may be a punishment to the house of my death, she thought” (310). WHY? Killyjoy catches sight of something moving in the grass and swims through water to get to it – the small creature screams, and Elphie rushes to save it In spite of knowing what the water will do to her, she tries to get through – it turns to ice under her feet She saves a small snow monkey, who she names Chistery – he, along with Killyjoy, the bees and the crows are part of her retinue

“The Voyage Out” (IV) When they arrive at Kiamo Ko, Elphie leaves the train The boy, Liir, comes with her offering to take care of Killyjoy, and to help with getting honey from the bees Elphie accepts his company, and notes as they enter the gates that Liir was “[entering] his father’s house” (311). We know who he is now…right?

“The Jasper Gates of Kiamo Ko” (I)
This section is narrated by Sarima, Fiyero’s widow She lives with their three children, as well as her 5 sisters (they have no names, they’re numbered Two through Six) The section opens with Elphaba’s arrival at their “castle” Sarima calls it a “decaying manse” (315) Not only is their money waning, but their power is as well – with Fiyero dead, the tribe has been taken over by older, more powerful men than her sons

Sarima’s 3 children are Irji, Manek (both boys), and Nor (a girl) Irji, though the oldest, is more meek than Manek, who is loud and outspoken Nor is small and mild – she still believes in fairytales – there’s one particular story which she loves to hear The kids begin to play with Liir, who gets bullied mercilessly by Manek – Elphie seems to pay no attention to him at all

“With less drama than usual Sarima rattled through the tale of how the three fox babies were kidnaped and caged and fed to fatness, in preparation for a cheese- and-foxling casserole, and how the Witch went to get fire from the sun to cook them. But when the Witch came back to her cave, exhausted and in possession of father flame, the foxlings outwitted her by singing a lullaby to make her sleep. When the Witch’s arm fell, the flame from the sun burned the door off the cage and the foxlings ran. Then they howled down the old mother moon to come down and stand as an unmovable door in the entrance of the cave” (317).

Sarima is a woman who is plagued by her loss of power and loss of her husband – when Elphie arrives she needs to remind herself that she is in charge She worries especially about her appearance – even Elphie doesn’t help with that Elphaba will not tell Sarima her name, but she recognizes her as the green woman her husband talked about She also knows of Nessa, Boq, Avaric and the others – she seems to think that her husband was in love with Glinda

Elphaba tries to tell Sarima why she feels responsible for Fiyero’s death – she wants forgiveness Sarima refuses to hear her – she clearly doesn’t want to discuss Fiyero, but does invite Elphaba to stay as her guest She tells her sisters to welcome Elphaba (“Auntie Guest”) as they would welcome her

“The Jasper Gates of Kiamo Ko” (II)
The children begin calling Elphaba “Auntie Witch” and ask Liir questions about her – he tells them that she’ll turn them into toads if they don’t behave Elphaba tells Sarima about her life at the mauntery – Sarima confesses that she never knew how to read, but is learning

“The Jasper Gates of Kiamo Ko” (II)
Open to page 325 beginning at (“’You will think me an unpolished person’”) and read to page 327 What’s the power dynamic between these two women? Why doesn’t Sarima want to know the truth about Fiyero?

“The Jasper Gates of Kiamo Ko” (III)
Elphaba moves from a guesthouse into the main house – she has a room at the top of a tower, which she believes truly looks like a witch’s room She doesn’t know where Liir sleeps and doesn’t seem to care – their relationship is complicated Lurlinemas arrives and there are gifts for the other children, but not Liir

“The Jasper Gates of Kiamo Ko” (IV)
Elphaba decides that since Sarima won’t talk about Fiyero’s death, she’ll ask the sisters (Two, Three, Four, Five and Six) They explain the story: An Arjiiki trader received an anonymous tip in Emerald City that Fiyero had been murdered The sisters are divided: some believe it was political, and that he got involved in some fringe group staging a rebellion. Others believe, Sarima in particular, that he was having an affair with Glinda, and that Glinda’s husband had him killed

“The Jasper Gates of Kiamo Ko” (V)
Read pages – answer questions and take notes: What has Elphaba discovered? What’s the dynamic between Sarima and Elphaba? How did the book arrive at Kiamo Ko? What does Elphaba seem to suspect?

“The Jasper Gates of Kiamo Ko” (VI-VIII)
Elphaba works with Chistery – she’s trying to teach him to speak. She believes that if she can, she’ll prove that there’s no difference between animals and Animals, or at the least, that there’s an ability to go from one to the other The children continue to obsess over her, and spy on her – when they hear her talking to Chistery, Manek especially mocks her The boys convince Liir to hide in a well during a game of hide and seek – then they leave him there – days pass before anyone notices his absence In the meantime, Elphaba and Sarima discuss the children – Elphaba calls them “’evil sprites’” not because of what they’ve done to Liir, but because of the way they tease Chistery (354). They also discuss Elphaba’s broom – a gift from the Superior Maunt, which is supposed to connect her to her destiny

“The Jasper Gates of Kiamo Ko” (IX)
The women notice a caravan coming from the north – the sisters hope it’s a man (though none of them are married, they could be married by their customs) Everyone lines up in front of the house to greet the newcomer – except Liir The arrival is Nanny – she’s been looking everywhere for Elphaba and got word of her from the mauntery She brings news that the Wizard has declared himself Emperor (though over what, no one is sure)

“The Jasper Gates of Kiamo Ko” (X)
Liir has finally been located and dragged out of the well – Manek is clearly disappointed and Elphaba realizes that he’s the one behind Liir’s disappearance The kids encourage Elphaba to use her magic to bring Liir back to life, but she says she has no skill at it – instead, she administers CPR Liir is revived – much to Manek’s chagrin

“The Jasper Gates of Kiamo Ko” (X)
Read pages 364 – end of the section; answer the following questions: What does Sarima say is the difference between the anger of men and women? How does this relate back to the conversation about evil in men and women? What happens to Manek? Why? Who is responsible?

“City of Emeralds” & “In the Vinkus”

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "“City of Emeralds” & “In the Vinkus”"— Presentation transcript:

Similar presentations

About project

Feedback

Log in

Auth with social network:

“City of Emeralds” & “In the Vinkus”

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "“City of Emeralds” & “In the Vinkus”"— Presentation transcript:

Similar presentations

About project

Feedback