An audience with Gregory Maguire

Q: When writing Wicked!, how did you conjure up the image of Elphaba (The Wicked Witch of the West) and did you base this image on anything in particular?
elphie86

Gregory Maguire: I had in mind for Elphaba two things: the person I would like to be, that is strong, smart, more defiant than I am in real life.

But as I wrote her character, I also envisioned three women in my mental pantheon of idols.

One of them is the American pop singer from the seventies called Laura Nyro. She may not be that well-known over here but she was very beautiful with long, black hair and a powerhouse voice.

The second one was the American poet Emily Dickinson for her ability to retire from the world but observe it with uncanny accuracy. And the third one was the English novelist Virginia Woolf for her supreme intelligence and capacity to see the larger picture.

Q: I won't give away the ending to Son Of A Witch but would you ever write a novel carrying on from where it left off?
darkmusic

Gregory Maguire: Yes, it's in my nap-sack right now (points to it). It's coming out in the States this autumn and I think the title is going to be A Lion Among Men, and it starts off about eight years after the end of Son of a Witch.

Q: There are many subtle hints in Wicked! at a 'more than friendship' relationship between Elphaba and Glinda. Was this intended, or just accidental? And if intended, what influenced you to create this relationship?
darkmusic

Gregory Maguire: I'll say one thing, which is I think English readers are much smarter than American readers. American readers never ask that question!

But the questioner is correct. I do hint at something but I don't say exactly what it is and I don't say exactly how 'known' it is in either of the women. This is for several reasons but the main reason is the same reason I don't say specifically if Elphaba is wicked in any way and, if so, where this wickedness comes from.

I think the whole point of a novel is not to do the sum and come up with the answer but to ask the question over and over again. How complex are people? How many levels of understanding and sometimes complication and contradiction can they have and still be themselves?

Elphaba and Glinda could have a romantic affection for each other without even knowing it. They don't need to know it in order for it to be real for the reader and in order for it to be real for them.

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