Character guide

Dorothy

major

Also known as your, yours, yourself

A Kansas girl who only wants to go home, yet keeps freeing strangers and killing witches she never meant to harm.

Tin Woodman

major

Also known as the Tin Woodman, The Tin Woodman, Woodman, the Woodman, himself, your

A polished man of tin who lost his heart with his flesh and will chop through any forest to ask a wizard for a new one.

Oz

major

Also known as the Great Oz, the terrible Oz, Oz the Terrible, the Great and Terrible, the Great Oz himself, myself

The unseen ruler of the Emerald City, who speaks through flames and heads and never lets anyone look him in the face.

Scarecrow

major

Also known as the Scarecrow, The Scarecrow, the poor Scarecrow, himself

A straw-stuffed man who worries his head is empty, yet keeps solving the problems his cleverer friends cannot.

Cowardly Lion

major

Also known as VI The Cowardly Lion, the Lion, the Cowardly Lion, The Lion, the big Lion, XIII The Rescue The Cowardly Lion, himself, myself

A roaring beast who admits he is terrified of everything, then charges into danger anyway to protect his friends.

Toto

supporting

Also known as little Toto, Little Toto

A small black dog who cannot speak but never leaves Dorothy's side, and whose barking topples more than one tyrant.

Wicked Witch of the West

supporting

Also known as the Wicked Witch, The Wicked Witch, the Witch, your, their

She governs a treeless, untilled country from a castle door, watching her borders with a single eye as sharp as a telescope. When Dorothy's party strays into her land, she does not parley—she whistles up wolves, then crows, then black bees, escalating because none of the intruders seem fit even for slavery. Her menace gives the middle journey its shape: every mile west is a step toward a foe who already knows they are coming.

Winged Monkeys

supporting

Also known as the Winged Monkeys, the Monkeys, The remaining Monkeys, XIV The Winged Monkeys, Winged Monkeys, Monkeys, The Monkeys, Your, their

They are servants, not villains: three times the Cap's owner may summon them, and they must obey, whether the bidding comes from a witch or a girl. Their reputation precedes them so powerfully that Oz, who has faced them once in the West, panics at the mere threat of their return. That mix of dread and reluctant obedience makes them the story's wild card—feared by the powerful, yet ultimately the mechanism that carries travelers across impassable country.

Aunt Em

minor

Also known as Em

Dorothy's aunt who lives with her on the Kansas farm.

Glinda

supporting

Also known as Glinda the Good

Ruling from a ruby throne in a castle of red-uniformed girl soldiers, Glinda receives Dorothy with kindness but not sentimentality—she will help, and she will ask for the Golden Cap in return. Her calm authority contrasts with the bluster of Oz and the violence of the West, and her three commanded services of the Winged Monkeys tie off every companion's future. She matters because she turns a wandering adventure into a homecoming with terms.

Munchkins

minor

Also known as the Munchkins, The Munchkins, the kindhearted Munchkins, their

The small, friendly inhabitants of Munchkin Country.

Kalidahs

minor

Also known as the Kalidahs

Fearsome beasts with bear bodies and tiger heads that attack the travelers.

Wildcat

minor

Also known as the Wildcat, the great Wildcat, its, it

A wildcat that chases the Queen of the Field Mice.

Quelala

minor

A handsome young man who wins Gayelette's heart and the Golden Cap.

Uncle Henry

minor

Dorothy's uncle who lives with her on the Kansas farm.

Gayelette

minor

A beautiful fairy queen who owned the Golden Cap.

Boq

minor

Also known as your

A wealthy Munchkin who hosts Dorothy and her friends.

Stork

minor

Also known as the Stork, Stork

A stork who rescues the Scarecrow from a river.

Mr. Joker

minor

Also known as poor old Mr. Joker, himself

A clown in the China Country who speaks to Dorothy.

Quadlings

minor

Also known as the Quadlings, The Quadlings

The inhabitants of the southern country of Oz.

Monkey King

minor

The leader of the Winged Monkeys who explains their history.

Great Humbug

minor

Also known as The Great and Terrible Humbug, the Great Humbug

The true identity of Oz, a ventriloquist and balloonist from Omaha.

King Crow

minor

Also known as the King Crow, The King Crow

A crow who mocks the Scarecrow before he meets Dorothy.