Kali Yugam: The Wicked Years
This essay examines how Wicked mirrors the spiritual, environmental, and societal decay of the Kali Yugam, revealing how fear, propaganda, and moral ambiguity shape both Oz and our contemporary world. Focusing solely on Act I, it analyzes the Wizard, Madame Morrible, Glinda, and Elphaba to argue that our truest reflection lies not in heroic self-identification but in the uncomfortable parallels between ourselves and the manipulated, complicit Ozians.
Oz is in an age of severe magical decline. After the Great Drought, the Ozians were in disarray with their growing environmental and societal discord. Mysteriously, the Wizard appears and through his miraculous entrance, the Ozians felt at last they had a leader to guide them. They revered the Wizard, saw him to be wonderful and would do whatever he asked, even if it meant creating division and strife from the perceived enemy within: the Animals. The Wizard convinced the Ozians that the Animals were to blame for the environmental and societal instability and gradually, the animals lost the ability to speak. As a result, the Ozians started to turn against each other, scapegoating the Animals with fear instilled in their hearts and actions. The themes of Wicked by Gregory Maguire, musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, parallel our current world in the period known as the Kali Yugam, a time marked by stark spiritual decline, looming environmental crises, fractured solidarity in humanity, tyrannical leaders powered by greed, and a pervasive culture of fear that motivates much of humanity’s actions. Through the analysis of the Wizard, Madame Morrible, Glinda and Elphaba, these themes are pushed forward. Often, we identify with the main character to confirm our “goodness”, however, Wicked forces us to reexamine our moral ambiguity leaving us wondering if we are akin to Elphaba or are paralleled by the Ozians.
The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard is presented as a savior of Oz. In One Short Day, “who's the mage, whose major itinerary is making all Oz merrier? Who's the sage, who sagely sailed in to save our posteriors? Whose enthuse for hot air ballooning has all of Oz honeymooning? Wiz-n't he wonderful? (Our wonderful wizard!)” He promises to grant the heart’s desires while shielding himself behind the curtain of intimidation. The illusion is fragile; however, the full extent of his wickedness is seen in Act II.
Madame Morrible
Madame Morrible, the headmistress of Crage Hall at Shiz University is the first and only known practitioner of magic. Despite this, she is unable to open the Grimmerie further displaying the magical decline in Oz. She is tasked to manipulate students to serve as soldiers for the Wizard’s main agenda: to suppress dissent and maintain control over Oz’s inhabitants, especially the sentient Animals. Madame Morrible is from Gillikin: the northern quadrant of Oz. This region is the most prosperous and industrially developed which informs her privileged background. One of the first things we learn about Galinda is that she wishes to learn from Madame Morrible, and it can be implied that she has known of her power and wants to emulate her energy.
Madame Morrible has every reason to teach Galinda sorcery. We see Galinda rush to the headmistress stating that she had written an essay, Magic Wands: Need They Have a Point? This alludes to Galinda’s ambition and intelligence. She strives for excellence and proves to be a student worthy of learning. However, Madame Morrible, does not choose Galinda and rather chooses Elphaba to teach. Aside from the fact that Elphaba has natural powers, it can be inferred that Madame Morrible knows that Elphaba is estranged, therefore easily manipulated. As Galinda is surrounded by friends and community, she isn’t deemed desperate for acceptance. Therefore, Madame Morrible makes the wrong inference of Elphaba’s trajectory, assuming she would be desperate for attention in the long run.
Coming from the same region, Madame Morrible and Galinda alike, wish to work within the system and manipulate others in order to prosper where they see fit. Madame Morrible is aware that the Wizard does not have any power but remains submissive to him. Similarly, Galinda’s ambition to be magical and adored by the Ozians is understood at the onset of the story. Both women use manipulation tactics and go to far lengths to ultimately serve the system. As Galinda’s character evolves, we see her come to terms with Oz’s wickedness and, in parallel, her own.
Galinda / Glinda
Maguire intentionally created enigmatic characters to comment on how we as humans in this time are morally ambiguous. The story begins with the first prominent character we meet. Galinda is a privileged, elitist, popularity-obsessed young woman who walks into Shiz University with a purpose. With her coordinating pink luggage and blonde hair, she makes a statement amongst her peers and quickly becomes the popular girl at school. In the beginning, she is smart, conniving, and her plan to study magic under Madame Morrible is suddenly interrupted with the entrance of Elphaba, an “unusually and exceedingly peculiar” green girl with a talent for magic. Galinda and Elphaba’s relationship begin tumultuously as they are placed together as roommates at Shiz. In What is this Feeling, we see these two women loathe each other however, even this disgust is nuanced. “What is this feeling, so sudden and new, I felt the moment I laid eyes on you, my pulse is rushing, my head is reeling, my face is flushing, what is this feeling, fervid as a flame?” alluding to this admiration Galinda has for Elphaba. After all, Elphaba has the magic that Galinda so desires. Immediately, we subtly can see how human these characters are; neither fit the “good” or “evil” archetype.
As we continue with Galinda, she along with her posse, bully Elphaba until Dancing Through Life. This scene is one of Galinda’s turning points as she realizes that she has caused Elphaba pain. She embraces Elphaba and after that, their relationship begins a new chapter. In Popular, she makes many poignant points about societal structure. We realize that she is acutely intelligent and the only reason we believed she wasn’t, was because Madame Morrible, dismisses her in the beginning. Her lines in Popular, “Celebrated heads of state, Or specially great communicators! Did they have brains or knowledge? Don't make me laugh! They were popular! It's all about popular, It's not about aptitude, It's the way you're viewed. So it's very shrewd to be, Very very popular, like me” are strikingly similar to Wonderful, “A man's called a traitor or liberator, a rich man's a thief or philanthropist. Is one a crusader or ruthless invader? It's all in which label, is able to persist.” This indicates that Galinda has understood the intricacies of Oz ahead of the audience, who remains in the dark until the end of Act I. Unfortunately, while she can comment on societal turmoil, she remains within the lines of structure as this system has benefitted her well. This is much like the humans in our society where we may comment and even at times, boycott or rebel against the norms, but we ultimately succumb to the system, especially if that system has served us.
Much like Galinda, we conform to beauty standards, stay within the limits of career aspirations, submit to the rules of Corporate America even if it does not suit collective needs, purchase from companies that utilize slave labor because we want to stay fashionable, and so on. While we may care in our hearts for positive societal change, our actions do not always align to this. Some actions come off as performative as our ignorance and privilege clouds us from taking beneficiary, collective action daily. This can be seen in Galinda, after Doctor Dillamond, a professor Elphaba adores, gets imprisoned. Fiyero and Elphaba reminisce about the day they rescued a lion cub, and Galinda chimes in and proclaims that she will now be changing her name to Glinda in honor of how Doctor Dillamond mispronounced her name. Though her intentions were to be in solidarity with the cause of the Animals’ voices being taken away, her actions ring shallow. This parallels social media activism where we see content creators merely post an infographic to show, “I am on the right side of history, see, I too am good”.
Elphaba
Elphaba is a green skinned girl with trauma in her bloodstream. With her entrance, the looming sense of injustice in the story is born. Elphaba walks into Shiz University causing a scene in the perspective of her embarrassed sister and father, rustling the feathers of the delicate ecosystem Madame Morrible had curated. Elphaba proves to be magical, and in the words of Madame Morrible in The Wizard and I, “Many years I have waited, for a gift like yours to appear,” Elphaba finally feels special. “This weird quirk I’ve tried to suppress or hide, is a talent that could help me meet the Wizard, if I make good, so I’ll make good.” Elphaba is suddenly thrust into a flood of emotions so foreign to her: acceptance and hope. We learn that even as a child, she had been waiting to meet the Wizard and tell him her heart’s desire as his legacy portrayed that he could grant it. Her focus narrows as she grows closer to her favorite professor, Doctor Dillamond, a talking, educated goat who expresses to her in confidence in Something Bad that “the animals are now being blamed for everything that goes wrong. Forced from our jobs, told to keep silent.” Her concern grows and she replies, “if animals are losing the ability to speak, leaving Oz, then someone’s got to tell the Wizard. That’s why we have a Wizard.” Doctor Dillamond is a compassionate and intelligent scapegoat that physically embodies the struggle for Animal rights in Oz’s corrupt society. The loss of the Animals' ability to speak serves as a clear parallel to our world, where marginalized groups have historically been displaced from their homes through oppression and silencing. In this country, these communities are pushed to society's margins, forced to persevere under unjust conditions. Yet, when crime rates rise or unemployment is rampant, society unjustly shifts the blame onto the very victims of systemic injustice.
Elphaba’s complexity can be seen in Dancing Through Life and Popular where her vulnerability is brought to the surface. The audience may assume that her high boundaries are insurmountable, however, she is in fact sensitive to the pain of her exclusion and finds comfort in Galinda’s love and attention. While she is at first betrayed by Galinda’s bullying, she’s thrilled to be invited to her very first party. Galinda presents her with the iconic black hat in Dancing Through Life, “I thought you might want to wear this hat to the party tonight! It's really, uh, sharp, don't you think? You know, black is this year's pink. You deserve each other, this hat and you” and Elphaba accepts the hat and wears it to the Ozdust. This is a tension filled, emotional moment as we see Elphaba mocked and ridiculed for her outfit of choice. Galinda sees the pain that she has caused but at that point, Elphaba looks to have embraced her circumstances and begins to dance. As Galinda realizes her mistake and joins her, she accepts her hand and the embrace. This shows how loving Elphaba truly is and though the world has made her question her worth and forced her to have sharp edges, she softens the moment someone shows her grace. In Popular, she enjoys the attention that Galinda gives her, though she does humorously call Elphaba a “project”. Elphaba turns to Elphie in the eyes of Galinda.
The truth of the matter is that in both Oz and our world, we all crave to be accepted. We have opportunities to be receptive to love and transmute negative energy into self-love and acceptance. In the words of Jon M. Chu, the director of Wicked, “stress is the misuse of imagination”. We often spend our time toiling over insecurities and pain where there is a golden opportunity to turn those experiences into art. Life is meant to teach us lessons beyond what meets the eye, and while we may not be able to grasp every message in the moment, turning inwards and treating ourselves with respect, will allow us to be a receiver of truth, understandings and blessings. Elphaba proves this very point. Her receptiveness allows others to see her for who she truly is. At the core of her character, while she does evolve, her self-respect and collective mindset does not shift. She continues to care for the Animals, continues to show up as herself and through pain, acts in a way that balances both the individual and collective mindset. From this, we can all learn.
After One Short Day where Elphaba is invited to meet the Wizard, there comes a moment of realization that the Wizard is a complete fraud. His lies and corrupt nature come to the surface when Elphaba approaches the Grimmerie and performs a spell where she accidently causes the monkeys to take flight. We realize her power and relationship with gravity and the lack thereof in Madame Morrible and the Wizard. Elphaba comprehends in that moment that she has been a pawn in Madame Morrible and the Wizard’s long-term plan of gaining full control of the denizens of Oz. Anger, confusion and betrayal flood Elphaba, and her and Glinda flee the scene.
Everything Elphaba has known and wanted is shattered in front of her very eyes. In this moment, what rises above the rubble of her belief system is the choice she makes. She leaves behind her previous dreams and desires and chooses to stand on justice. There comes a point in time in all our lives where we are asked to make the right decision. We know through literature and the spoken word of the wise that the right decision is not always the comfortable choice. In our lives, we are asked to choose dharma above desire, collective duty above individual needs, and introspection over illusion. We see that Elphaba’s desires of acceptance and acclaim are pushed aside once she realizes her duty to protect the Animals. Making the choice of saving the Animals throws her into discomfort as she is ripped from the fruits of her labor in the form of Madame Morrible’s smear campaign, demonizing her in the eyes of the Ozians.
Elphaba is the story’s truth seeker and teller. It’s almost as if she needed to know the truth about Oz, to finally realize that she was the one that needed to change the course of the societal decline - to finally take flight. Defying Gravity is the event that changes the course of her path.
Glinda pleads, “Elphie, listen to me, just say you're sorry. You can still be with the Wizard. What you've worked and waited for. You can have all you ever wanted”, Elphaba responds, “I know. But I don't want it. No, I can't want it anymore.” In this moment, we see how Glinda is still in submission of society and that Elphaba has transcended.
“So if you care to find me, look to the western sky. As someone told me lately, "Everyone deserves the chance to fly!” And if I'm flying solo, at least I'm flying free. To those who ground me, take a message back from me! Tell them how I am defying gravity! I'm flying high, defying gravity! And soon, I'll match them in renown. And nobody in all of Oz, no Wizard that there is or was, is ever gonna bring me down!”
After Elphaba masters her ability to fly, Madame Morrible promotes Glinda to “the Good Witch”. Glinda now has the platform and stage she so desperately desired, and while she may resolve to thinking that she can somehow work the system from the inside, she effectively abandons Elphaba. There is a press tour detailing the wickedness of Elphaba. To preview Act II in Thank Goodness, “Every day, more Wicked,” the Ozians preach. “Every day, the terror grows, All of Oz is ever on alert. That’s the way with Wicked, spreading fear wherever she goes, seeking out new victims she can hurt.” Glinda does not deny these statements.
Thank Goodness and No One Mournes the Wicked mirror each other in that Ozians are accurate in their fundamental understanding of wickedness, however their target is misguided. The relationship that Glinda has with them is transactional – they give her a platform, she gives them a personification of “good”. Therefore, when speaking to them, it’s clear that she allows them to sit in their ignorance rather than challenging them to question why Elphaba is the Wicked one. “And Goodness knows, the Wicked's lives are lonely” and “There are bridges you cross you didn’t know you crossed until you’ve crossed”, indicating that the subject of the lines is not Elphaba, but rather Glinda who bears the guilt and shame of abandoning her friend, effectively siding with oppressors.
In our world, we constantly seek definitions for wicked and good to an almost obsessive degree. This desire programs us to divisive language, thoughts and actions causing us to vehemently despise what we believe to be “wicked” and desperately try to rationalize our own “goodness”. This internal war, prophesized as the Kali Yugam, is the act of our own egos attempting to fearfully avoid the consequences of being labeled wicked. “No one mourns the Wicked. No one cries they won't return. No one lays a lily on their grave. The good man scorns the Wicked. Through their lives, our children learn, what we miss when we misbehave”.
In the Kali Yugam, the war between good and evil is within us and while we can convince ourselves of our goodness, we cannot deny that there are parts of us that are selfish, shrewd, and vain as well. The judgement of what is right and wrong, whether through introspection or observation is all consuming. The battle in this period is less about vanquishing adharmic practices (like in the Treta or Dwapara Yugam) rather an internal war of fear and self-hatred. This leads to external wars where the government and the people alike, are unable to look past differences of ideals, race, gender, sexual orientation, values and much more. Ozians are no different in that the Wizard felt that Animals should be seen and not heard, so they believed the same. The fact of the matter is that fear is the main motivator for action.
In Oz, you see magical decline, the silencing of the animals, truth being ostracized and fear in the hearts of civilians. In our world, you see spiritual decline, the voices of those in marginalized communities silenced, truth unseen and fear in the actions of all.
Love. Friendship. Community. Faith. We have all heard that these forces heal but waive it off when asked to practice. We are walking contradictions. We cry that our society is broken but hesitate to hold forgiveness in our heart for ourselves and others. We crave community but contribute to cancel culture and dogpile in comment sections. We feel alone yet are reluctant to lean on spirituality and ostracize those who preach the truth. We want a loving world but fail to love ourselves and by extension, each other. Duality exists in this world for us to learn to surpass it. Our self-importance is imbalanced by inaction for collective needs. There is a call to move past any form of hatred including for those that you deem wicked. There is a call to move past any form of idolization including for those that you deem good. This extends to your view of yourself and how you oscillate between extremes.
The Wizard, Madame Morrible, Glinda and Elphaba serve to display the themes of spiritual decline, climate crises, societal turmoil, fractured solidarity, greed and fear that ubiquitously bleed through every member of our society. To identify with duality is to do a disservice for the full breadth of the human experience; to crave to be seen as good, is to the detriment of your soul. The thoughts and beliefs about the world affect every action, therefore affecting society on a global scale.
Pride and ego forces to us to identify with the main character. In reality, the dualities we cycle between, the material desires we desperately try to feed, and the actions we take born of fear and hatred are depicted most clearly in the Ozians, much as we may wish or believe otherwise. Analyzing our own moral ambiguity allows us to neutrally do the prescribed duty, thereby devaluing the sense of self and ridding us of suffering.
