Thoughts on how Nessa's relationship with Elphaba evolves over time? In their early years, did she ever take notice of the difference in treatment from Frexspar? Anything relating to her and her sister really.
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As children, the two Thropp daughters were as close as they could be as Elphaba acted in place of a mother to Nessa ( despite not having much of a mother herself either ). Their father wasn’t very present in the earliest years of Nessarose’s life after going into a bit of a depression following the death of Melena. The guilt of being the reason for her death made it almost impossible to even look in the direction of Nessa, seeing as she had the same beautiful features that her mother did. This only drew the relationship between her and Elphaba closer – some may say even dangerously close. These early years caused Nessa to become so emotionally and physically attached to Elphaba that it would become the norm for the rest of her life. Eventually, when Nessa became too heavy for Elphaba to carry around, Frexspar realized that he had no reason to dislike his younger daughter. He began to tell himself that his intentions for forcing the milkflowers down Melena’s throat were good so that, therefore it couldn’t be his fault but rather that it was his older daughter’s fault. After all, he only did it to ensure he would have at least one normal child.
Frex, then, tried to love Nessarose and even grew fond of her charming remarks and adorable face. Additionally, he felt bad for her ( as many did ). Due to this, he began to shower her in gifts to hopefully dull any pain she ever felt. Throughout this gift giving, Nessa was aware that she was getting more than her sister and often felt guilty when she would receive something better than Elphaba and felt even worse when she was left getting nothing at all. Despite all of this, the relationship between the sisters didn’t change. They were still as close as ever, mostly because of how Elphaba reacted to the gifts. She would never show any anger or disappointment from not receiving something because she didn’t want Nessa to feel bad about something she couldn’t control and would feel better that her sister at least was happy. They both were aware of how they were being treated differently, but never brought it up to each other as to not stir up a situation that already was a bit sticky. Seeing as they were hardly allowed to leave ( perhaps from being an embarrassment to the governor – or to keep them safe from harm ) the two girls found company in each other and became not just sisters, but friends. Especially as they grew older, they would find themselves in each other’s rooms chatting all night about something ridiculous, hosting their own mini book club, or studying up on certain topics. They never attended a proper school, but Elphaba made sure that they both had a solid education. When they were allowed to leave the house, Elphaba constantly made a fool of herself – overreacting to the shallow comments about her green skin. This embarrassed Nessarose, who disliked all of the attention it brought the two of them.
As they grew, Elphaba began to become more motherly and would constantly help Nessa in ways that could sometimes be a bit too much. Constantly, she would fix her hair, make sure the pillow in her chair was straight, smooth her clothing out, or make sure she was finishing meals. It was kind, of course, but sometimes was annoying. Nessa didn’t want Elphaba to try so hard to be a mother to her, though she didn’t mind when it was just a natural thing.
Another huge factor in their relationship, was the rare occurrence that Elphaba’s so-called flaw appeared, causing accidental spurs of sorcery to happen. The incidents started small, such as a plate levitating before smashing on the floor but gradually got bigger and bigger, before they started to affect other people – which almost always was Nessarose. A few times, the magic came in handy such as the time it had stopped Nessa from plummeting down a steep hill ( where she would have definitely ended up injured – or at least hurt ). Other times, however, proved annoying or even painful. Parts of Nessa’s body would burn or, in one case, she would find it difficult to catch her breath. After each time, Elphaba would promise to her that it wouldn’t happen again and yet every single time, it did.
It was Nessarose who asked if she would be permitted to attend university and, through many months of persuasion and arrangements, their father finally agreed. There were some conditions that needed to be followed, however. The school of their choosing ( Shiz University ) had to be thoroughly aware about Nessa’s condition and would have to allow the two girls to share a room – which ended up being the only reason Elphaba was allowed to go. A compromise it was, and so they headed out for Shiz. As expected, her sister was a nervous wreck before they arrived and the whole way there. They spent hours packing, re-packing, and double checking that they didn’t forget anything by accident. Elphaba lectured to Nessarose about what she may encounter at this new school, though Nessa found it a bit unbelievable that she could know all of this and began to suspect that her sister had done thorough research on the topic.
Things had already gone wrong the moment that they arrived at Shiz. Students, as expected, had poked fun at Elphaba, who couldn’t resist but holler at them in a rage. Nessarose, of course, felt embarrassed by this reaction – especially when during this rant her sister decided to introduce her to everyone, pointing out how she had a “perfectly normal skin color”. At this moment, Nessa could tell that her sister would take a bit to adjust to PEOPLE and couldn’t understand how the two of them could react so differently to a new experience ( being around their peers ) when they had been raised in the same way. Before leaving, her father presented her with a beautiful gift of jeweled shoes, which embarrassed her further. All of these students, who didn’t know her, saw her get a gift in public. Additionally, she had to watch as, once again, Elphaba didn’t get the same treatment as she did. Her sister, once again dismissed this but not without Nessarose feeling guilty about the gift again. And this time it really WAS a lovely gift to receive. Just when it seemed like things couldn’t get any worse, they did. Somehow, despite the arrangements being so carefully planned months in advance, the rooming had been messed up and Elphaba hadn’t been listed for a room. Nessarose, however, was given special living quarters with the headmistress of the school, Madame Morrible. Panic set in for both of the girls, though Nessa hid it a bit more. She didn’t let it show because it was a bit of a sensitive topic for her anyway, especially since it all occurred in front of the entirety of the student body. How was she supposed to manage without Elphaba there? For her entire life, her sister had served as almost an extension of herself and to teach such ways to another person ( who seemed quite undesirable as well ) seemed like the worst thing. But she kept her composure and decided that it would be sorted out later, even though her sister was getting more and more visibly upset. This only went to embarrass Nessa even more about the situation because, once again, she believed Elphaba was drawing attention to them that was simply unnecessary. Madame Morrible ignored the protests and began to take her away ( which made her uncomfortable, of course ). Seeing this as wrong, which it was, Elphaba screamed at the headmistress to let her sister go. The reaction was out of love, which Nessarose later appreciated – but what happened after turned a day that was already bad into a day that became MUCH worse.
Another incident with Elphaba’s uncontrollable magic occurred as Morrible tried to whisk Nessa away from her, this time causing her wheelchair to move itself back to where she stood. Though her intentions were good, this scared Nessa, seeing as she was completely not in control of herself and Oz knows where she was heading. Again, Elphaba apologized to her sister who forgave her, but not without berating her for allowing it to happen again. It had been one day and, already the Thropps were known disasters.
One bad day, however, didn’t dwindle their relationship at all. They were still sisters who loved each other, even if they did get on each others’ nerves.The very next day, they caught up with what had happened to the both of them throughout the rest of day before. Expectedly, Elphaba asked a few too many questions about Nessa’s living arrangements and how Madame Morrible was treating her so far. She answered honestly, telling about the terribleness of her situation, After all, her sister DID deserve to know the pain she was going through as well.
In classes, Elphaba always made sure that Nessarose got a seat up front where it was guaranteed that she would be able to see the board, even if that meant that she wasn’t able to sit by her. After each class, they waited for each other before they left and often would compare notes ( though it was usually Nessa copying her sister’s detailed notes and not the other way around ). They helped each other out, and were still as close as ever. Every morning, Elphaba would arrive early to fetch Nessarose from her room and, on occasion, would arrive even earlier to help her get ready for the day. Though she wanted to, Nessa couldn’t do things for herself because she had an older sister breathing down her neck the whole day.
Elphaba often would give Nessarose advice on how to act in university and what she could expect there. She also tried to open her eyes to a few harsh realities. Most notably happened when Nessa was asked on a date to a party being held at the Ozdust Ballroom. Her sister tried to explain that the boy who had asked her, Boq, was just doing so because he felt bad for her but Nessa refused to believe this. It had happened all too often to her, that people did things for her solely out of pity. Before attending, Elphaba also warned Nessa that sometimes ( at THESE types of gatherings ), people liked to spike the drinks and that she should never be too shy to ask someone what was in it or refuse the beverage altogether. Throughout this, Elphaba poked fun at the party, not being able to believe that Nessa would be attending a DANCE of all things. Perhaps she had hoped for a lovely night in with her sister while the rest of the school went out, danced, and partied the night away. Either way, she was happy for her sister because she was happy and decided to help her get ready for the party – even suggesting she pair her pink dress with the new shoes her father had given her.
It was embarrassing, once again, for Nessa when Elphaba decided to show up at the Ozdust ( clad in a very unflattering frock, might she add). She had made fun of Nessa for wanting to go all afternoon just to show up herself! As the attendees laughed and joked about her sister’s appearance, Nessarose left the party crying. It was supposed to be her night for her to enjoy without her sister – and yet Elphaba had come and ruined it again. This moment was when Nessarose started to very much dislike how much her sister tended over her. For the amount of times it had ruined what would have been a fine day, it wasn’t worth appreciating anymore. She wasn’t a child and didn’t need to be taken care of.
Though she insisted on this, it wasn’t true. She had attached herself so much to her sister that she didn’t have any skills to take care of herself. Life proceeded as normal for the next few months – until Elphaba received an invitation to meet the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Of course, she went to see her sister off and as expected, Elphaba made sure that Nessa would be fine. They said their parting words before Nessa stormed off, reacting to something Boq had said. Though Elphaba would only be gone for a day, she couldn’t help but feel sad.
So when Elphaba didn’t return from the Emerald City and news spread that she had done something terribly wicked, Nessa’s heart broke. Her first thoughts were selfish – about her. How was she supposed to live like this? How could she endure Madame Morrible for the next three years alone? How, after all the years they spent together, could Elphaba abandon her. Summer came, and being at home didn’t help with Frexspar leaning into the rumors, perhaps even strengthening their validity at times. Each day she told herself that Elphaba would return – and that what they said about her couldn’t be true, but as each day passed and her sister didn’t return all of that hope became lost.
Eventually, she graduated Shiz, though the value of her education wasn’t as valuable to her without Elphaba there to remind her. After all, throughout the years she knew that it wouldn’t matter in the end because she would just take her father position once he died. But no one expected Frex to pass so suddenly. In his last days he, once again, blamed it on Elphaba and claimed to be dying from shame. Another person in her life was gone and ( according to her father ) it was Elphaba’s fault. Nessa, not being particularly intelligent, believed that her sister had inadvertently caused her father’s death and therefore took another thing away from her that she needed.
Her heart grew bitter as she laid down an iron fist over Munchkinland, adding more laws each day to protect her own feelings and needs, not thinking much about anyone else and what they might need. Once again, her reputation was fueled by negative thoughts about her sister ( who now was officially being referred to as a wicked witch ). Even though she hadn’t seen Elphaba in years, the memories lingered everyday, whether it be from entering a familiar room or another rumor that had popped up. No one ever came to her to ask about a theory, for they had all lost trust in her years ago.
It was insulting when Elphaba showed up again, seeing as she had only come back because she needed something. All of these years and she just returned to ask for a favor? Not a small favor either, but a rather large one that could result in arrest or even death. She hadn’t even bothered to know about their father’s death and didn’t care much for how Nessa felt about his passing either. It was obvious that she hadn’t liked him growing up – but Nessarose had never realized that she felt absolutely no love towards him. Their relationship cracked more in that moment, when Nessa realized just how wicked her sister had become. All the things they said must have been true, because the girl that showed up wasn’t the girl that she used to know. Where was her compassion? Where was the love in her presence? It was gone, destroyed – and it seemed unlikely that it would come back. So she refused to help her sister. At this point, she was no sister to her anymore. Nessa listened as Elphaba went on a rant about helping the Animals when something hit her; her sister had NEVER tried to help her with magic. No, her whole life it had just caused her pain and embarrassment. It surprised her when Elphaba quickly performed the spell from the Grimmerie, enchanting her shoes and granting her the ability to walk. Nessarose was grateful, of course, though still felt bitter over the whole engagement. Years of suffering, depending on others for support – just to have it solved in a few moments? Why, if Elphaba hadn’t been so dramatic she would have had a place to hide years ago. All she would have had to do was come back.
Nessa rushes to show Boq ( who had been forced to reside with her ) her new ability and his reaction isn’t the one she hoped for. While she’s expecting something sweet, such as a proposal, she gets something very difference. As he grasps her hands kindly, he announces that he too is leaving now. So Nessa snaps, tries to perform a spell from the Grimmerie herself, and sees it fails miserably. It does, however, do what the spell description said it would – and Boq loses his heart, but it is physically instead of metaphorically. Elphaba steps in, fixing the mistake her sister made by performing another spell on Boq that turns him into a man made entirely of steel. She announces that Boq will be okay, as Nessa realizes that her decisions have been a bit selfish. If she had just moved on from missing her sister, she would have been able to carry out her own life better – but she didn’t. And now she was stuck, being just as wicked.
Elphaba decides that she needs to go, despite Nessarose begging her to stay. She needs someone. She needed SOMEONE – but no one wanted her. So Elphaba leaves and Nessa stays.
“I have done everything I could for you, Nessa and it has never been enough. And nothing ever will be.”
The Thropps don’t get a happy ending. They never get the chance to make up, though if more time existed they would have eventually, because they always do. They always did. But death hits the young woman ( quite literally ). She dies alone. Goodness knows, the wicked die alone.
