The Marvelous Land Of Oz
Chapter 24/ Princess Ozma Of Oz/ last few paragraphs…
Now that the truth about Princes Ozma had been discovered, Mombi did not care what became of Tip; but she feared Glinda’s anger, and the boy generously promised to provide for Mombi in her old age if he became the ruler of the Emerald City. So the Witch consented to effect the transformation, and preparations for the event were at once made.
Glinda ordered her own royal couch to be placed in the center of the tent. It was piled high with cushions covered with rose-colored silk, and from a golden railing above hung many folds of pink gossamer, completely concealing the interior of the couch.
The first act of the Witch was to make the boy drink a potion which quickly sent him into a deep and dreamless sleep. Then the Tin Woodman and the Woggle-Bug bore him gently to the couch, placed him upon the soft cushions, and drew the gossamer hangings to shut him from all earthly view.
The Witch squatted upon the ground and kindled a tiny fire of dried herbs, which she drew from her bosom. When the blaze shot up and burned clearly old Mombi scattered a handful of magical powder over the fire, which straightway gave off a rich violet vapor, filling all the tent with its fragrance and forcing the Saw-Horse to sneeze — although he had been warned to keep quiet.
Then, while the others watched her curiously, the hag chanted a rhythmical verse in words which no one understood, and bent her lean body seven times back and forth over the fire. And now the incantation seemed complete, for the Witch stood upright and cried the one word “Yeowa!” in a loud voice.
The vapor floated away; the atmosphere became, clear again; a whiff of fresh air filled the tent, and the pink curtains of the couch trembled slightly, as if stirred from within.
Glinda walked to the canopy and parted the silken hangings. Then she bent over the cushions, reached out her hand, and from the couch arose the form of a young girl, fresh and beautiful as a May morning. Her eyes sparkled as two diamonds, and her lips were tinted like a tourmaline. All adown her back floated tresses of ruddy gold, with a slender jeweled circlet confining them at the brow. Her robes of silken gauze floated around her like a cloud, and dainty satin slippers shod her feet.
At this exquisite vision Tip’s old comrades stared in wonder for the space of a full minute, and then every head bent low in honest admiration of the lovely Princess Ozma. The girl herself cast one look into Glinda’s bright face, which glowed with pleasure and satisfaction, and then turned upon the others. Speaking the words with sweet diffidence, she said:
“I hope none of you will care less for me than you did before. I’m just the same Tip, you know; only — only — “
“Only you’re different!” said the Pumpkinhead; and everyone thought it was the wisest speech he had ever made.
At the age of three months, Ozma, the daughter of the former King Pastoria of Oz, was given to the witch Mombi by the Wizard of Oz, as he worried that Ozma would someday challenge his illegitimate rule as Oz’s de facto dictator. Mombi then transformed Ozma into a boy and called him “Tip” (short for Tippetarius). Ozma, in the form of Tip, lived as a boy for the next thirteen years, and had no memory of ever having been a girl. As Tip, Ozma created Jack Pumpkinhead. In The Marvelous Land of Oz, Glinda the good witch forced Mombi to transform the boy Tip back into Ozma, and she was installed as Oz’s ruler (although many realms within Oz were and remain unaware of her authority). Baum was not inclined to worry about things like continuity between his books, however, and so Ozma changed frequently. In her initial appearance, she was described as a cherubic little girl with red-gold hair; however, all subsequent illustrations of the Princess show her as dark-haired, though this is never noted in the text. According to Ozma of Oz, she appears to be the same height and age as Dorothy Gale
Some fans also hold to the view that Ozma may not be interested in males at all, based on hints given in the novels of a very close relationship between Ozma and Dorothy (not to mention Ozma having once been a boy). For example, chapter 17 of Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz contains the following: “Just then the girlish Ruler of Oz opened the door and greeted Dorothy with a good-morning kiss. The little Princess seemed fresh and rosy and in good spirits.” This, however, could be a late invocation of romantic friendship. The books of March Laumer suggest otherwise, though not in much more explicit terms. Many feel that Dorothy’s appointment as “Princess of Oz and Ozma’s companion” is tantamount to a marriage between the two girls. Baum often had many liberal views including an all women army overthrowing men in the second book.
No comments:
Post a Comment