Glinda Sees Herself as Wicked
so if you’re familiar with the song “No One Mourns the Wicked” then you know that at one point Glinda says:
“And goodness knows, the wicked’s lives are lonely. Goodness knows, the wicked die alone. It just shows, when you’re wicked, you’re left only… on your own.”
we know that she’s referring to elphaba, or to the munchkinlanders, the wicked witch of the west. but what if she’s actually referring to herself.
“It just shows, when you’re wicked, you’re left only… on your own”
moments before she had to make a public appearence, moments before she had to celebrate the death of the wicked witch of the west, she witnessed the death of her best friend, elphie. elphaba was on her own, as the wicked witch she had to find ways to hide, ways to survive.
but glinda’s not talking about her. she’s talking about herself. she never once thought of elphaba as wicked. stubborn, yes. a little crazy, yes. but wicked? never. she saw her as strong, as someone who lived and stuck with a code; her code. in glinda’s eyes, elphaba’s decision to abandon her one chance at true acceptance was foolish and confusing; imagine a character, who’s been heavily involved in what it means to “fit in” or to feel loved, watch another character who’s struggled with those things their entire life, only to abandon the idea of them at the most crucial moment. it goes against everything they’ve learned.
but for elphaba, she didn’t care what would happen to her reputation (or maybe she did, but she didn’t let anyone know), just so long as she could fight for what she believed in. glinda, on the other hand, feels at a loss, maybe even betrayed. she’s been in this situation before of making people feel good and accepted; take her friends shenshen and pfannee, she practically created them. when this doesn’t work with elphaba, when elphaba abandons the idea of acceptance and love for something greater, it throws glinda for a loop. in “Defying Gravity” the two women can’t seem to understand the other’s goal. they’re perspectives are so different, and they can’t help but get angry at one another.
but glinda, even at this point, never viewed elphaba as wicked. she was confused and hurt by how elphaba, essentially, abandoned her; but she never, ever saw her best friend as some sort of evil wizard.
“It just shows, when you’re wicked, you’re left only… on you’re own”
she sees herself as wicked. she feels… indescribable guilt for how she helped to put the distance between them, and how she “helped” to get her best friend killed. she’s been left on her own to overlook the citizens of oz; it’s been something she’s dreamed of, as the social butterfly she is. but there’s something missing, something she never expected: elphaba.