What is your opinion on book Glinda versus musical Glinda? Is there one you prefer more than the other? Just found this blog and I love it. Hardly anyone ever discusses the books, so it's a pleasure to find this blog. :)
Glinda is technically one of the characters that is the least different, which is to say, still really damn different, but not on the same scale as say, Fiyero or Nessarose.
In the musical, when we meet Galinda, she’s the top of the social ladder, she has everything, she’s incredibly shallow. Then she gains a lot of depth as the musical progresses, especially in positive character development. Her choices are more directly framed against Elphaba’s, but not in a way that there’s a definitive “right” and “wrong” between them, I think.
I think the wider goal of both Glindas falls in line with each other more-or-less on a conceptual level, which is trying to do as much good as possible while staying in the frame work of the political system, in order to keep the amount of power to continue to do such things.
In the book, the Galinda we start with isn’t nearly as well-placed socially, but still manages to secure a place of shallow superiority. Being well-off enough to have too high a sense of her own worth compared to others, but also using that sense to consider herself more worldly and more wise than those higher-placed. She also gains a lot of depth from that point, especially at the point of her name change do the experiences that prompted it.
We do get a reminder of the level of book Glinda’s more shallow, reproachable side, though, with the racist comment she made about Fiyero to Elphaba, and the flippant manner she had about the feelings of oppressed peoples, “Tyrants come and go, belvederes are forever” being one of the most “book Glinda” lines you can quote.
But she also has the advantage of her part in the rest of the series - where it really feels like a lot of her actions later were some personal repentance, like she could somehow make it up to Elphaba after the fact. And that’s like a whole other essay I could write.
As far as a preference, I’m not even sure what metric I would decide that by. Like, which one I like better as a person? Which one I find more interesting/complex? Is there a balance to strike between those?
I’m not sure I really have the answer. I tend to prefer the books on a general level, but I don’t think that’s a comment on Glinda’s character in particular, nor does it mean I prefer the book characters individually in all cases. (I absolutely loathe book Nessarose, but I wouldn’t change her in the context she happens to be in.)
I’m not sure I actually said anything that answers your question. If there’s an aspect you’d like to me to discuss in specific, I’d be more than happy to do so.
Like, sincerely more than happy. Like you said, hardly anyone talks about this stuff, so like, my crops are dying.
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