What Could be Worse, Than to be Not Loved?

The situation in the novel so far has completed a complete 360º . In this case the story has flipped from the reader favouring the main characters but to favouring the underdog. This leaves the future of the story up to the characters to pan out themselves. Hopefully they make the correct choices and do not mess up in a sense that Elphaba’s life is at jeopardy. Similar to the circumstance at the end of the previous chapter. When the ladies wanted to leave Elphaba there to die, or even to kill her themselves. Some of the situations in this novel so far have felt like they are putting a life in risk. The next chapter should elaborate more on Elphaba’s relationship with her parents and her surroundings.

Maladies and Remedies

This chapter deals with the social aspect of the baby’s deformity. The young girl is given the name Elphaba, after Saint Aelphaba of the Waterfall. The reader also learns that Melena’s old nanny, has come to visit and help take care of the baby. She is not thrilled, due to the lack of enthusiasm that Melena and Flex are showing. The nanny helps the couple out by showing them that their baby is not abnormal, and only her skin colour is different. Frex on the other hand, decides to perform an exorcism on the child, to see if that will help with the discolouration of her skin. However this tactic does not succeed. During this, the nanny and Melena chat about a possible affair that could have led to the skin disorder. After learning that Melena was taking drugs, as well as drinking certain ‘drinks,’ the nanny discover that Melena drank a ‘miracle elixir’ while pregnant and that could have been that cause of the discolouration. The final line in this chapter shows a side of the story that no one has thought about up until this point. “Perhaps, thought Nanny, little green Elphaba chose her own sex, and her own color, and to hell with her parents.” (Maguire)

OMG That is So NOT My Kid!

After what is revealed in the previous chapter, one can guess what is going to happen in the next chapter. Frex will go home and discover his wife missing, or find them there. He will see that his wife has giving birth to a girl, that has green skin. Melena on the other hand is most likely going to freak out when she finds out that her daughter is green. Or she could freak out at the fact that she had a demon inside of her for that long. The title indicates that they could be coming up with some form of remedy that will change the colour of her skin or her teeth. More or less, they want to change her, to fit in with the roles and norms of society.

The Birth of a Witch

This chapter had a lot of crucial information presented to the reader in such a short amount of time. Within the matter of six and a half pages, Frex is beaten by his own congregation due to the influences of “The Clock.” A puppet show is performed in which a wooden Frex, has a large amount of gold, and is hiding it from everyone, while the other puppets in the show stab him over it, as well as eat him. This is similar to the novel Lord of the Flies (Golding). The chapter progresses as Melena enters into labour, while the ladies the Frex sent to help her were there. She begins to deliver as townspeople from the riot come to attack her. Luckily the ladies move Melena to safety. Coincidentally, Melena was moved to “The Clock” cart, in which she delivered the baby. The baby was green and has razor sharp teeth. The baby bites into one of the ladies. After this, the ladies leave Melena and the baby alone in “the Clock.”

Pipkin: a small, earthen pot.

"pipkin." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 05 1 Oct. 2011. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pipkin>.

What do you Think…?

Due to the dramatic conclusion of the previous chapter, I suspect that the next chapter; “The Birth of a Witch,” will involve the Clock. Potentially as a conflict that the main characters will have to work out or potentially a crisis will arise. Other predictions could include; the birth of the witch, hence the title of the chapter. Melena, quite possibly might go into labour and deliver the “witch” baby. Whom one could guess the story is focussed around - the back cover of the novel allows for this type of insight into the novel.