10. The Wizard of Oz is a feminist manifesto about female empowerment and independence
Despite its seemingly childish exterior and protagonist, as literary scholar Michael Patrick Hearn contended “The Wizard of Oz is now almost universally acknowledged to be the earliest truly feminist American children’s book, because of the spunky and tenacious Dorothy”. Heavily influenced by his mother-in-law, the prominent suffragist and theosophist Matilda Joslyn Gage who fought alongside Susan B. Anthony for women’s rights throughout the latter half of the 19th century, Baum consciously sought to create a fantasy story in deliberate contrast to traditional portrayals of women as passive characters requiring rescue and assistance.
As an independent female character, in the words of Michael Hearn, Dorothy “refreshingly goes out and solves her problem herself rather than waiting patiently like a beautiful heroine in a European fairy tale for someone else”. Adequately protecting herself Dorothy, as the “first feminist role model“, even assists the male characters she encounters during her quest, each of whom possesses an innate flaw or are found to be lacking in a vital quality: without heart, courage, brains, or in the case of the Wizard a complete fraud. In fact, the most powerful characters of the novel are all women – Dorothy, the Wicked Witches, and the Good Witches – whilst the supposed “great and powerful” ruler of Oz turns out to be Princess Ozma.