She is the most famous character in cinematic history who never actually says a word. Think about it. We see her feet. We see her silver shoes—or ruby slippers, depending on which version you’re watching. Then, a house falls on her. That’s the end of the line for the Good Witch of the East, at least as far as the 1939 MGM classic is concerned. But if you actually dig into L. Frank Baum’s original 1900 novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, or the broader lore of Oz, you realize she wasn't "good" at all. In fact, calling her the Good Witch of the East is a total misnomer that has confused fans for nearly a century.
She was a tyrant. Plain and simple.
The Munchkins were literally enslaved by her for years. When Dorothy’s house drops out of the sky and crushes her, the Munchkins don't mourn. They throw a party. They call Dorothy a "noble sorceress" because she finally ended the reign of a woman who kept an entire population under her thumb. It’s a weird quirk of pop culture memory that we sometimes mix up the sisters or assume there was a "good" one in every corner of the map. In the original books, the only truly "Good" witches were from the North and the South.
The Identity Crisis of the Wicked Witch of the East
Most people hear "Good Witch of the East" and their brain immediately jumps to Glinda. But Glinda is the Good Witch of the South (in the books) or the North (in the movie). The lady under the house? Her name was Nessarose in later adaptations like Wicked, but in the original Baum text, she doesn’t even get a name. She’s just a force of nature—or a force of evil—that happened to own some very powerful footwear.
L. Frank Baum was pretty specific about the geography. Oz is divided into four quadrants. The North and South were ruled by Good Witches. The East and West were ruled by Wicked ones. This balance of power is central to why the Munchkins were so miserable. They were stuck in the East, living in the shadow of a woman who used her magic to bind them to her service.
It’s fascinating how the 1939 film changed the stakes. By merging the Good Witch of the North and the Good Witch of the South into one character (Glinda), the movie simplified the politics of Oz. But in doing so, it left a vacuum in the East. If you go back to the text, the "Wicked" Witch of the East was actually the one who enchanted Nick Chopper—the Tin Woodman. She didn't want him to marry a Munchkin girl who worked for her, because she didn't want to lose a servant. So, she struck a deal with the Wicked Witch of the West to curse his axe. Every time he swung it, he chopped off a limb. He kept replacing them with tin until he had no heart left.
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That's not "good" behavior. That's cold-blooded labor management.
Why the Silver Shoes Matter More Than the Witch
In the book, the shoes weren't ruby. They were silver. And they were the primary source of the East Witch’s power over the Munchkins. When she died, the magic didn't just vanish; it transferred to Dorothy.
The shoes are a symbol. Some historians, like Henry Littlefield in his 1964 essay, argued that the shoes represented the silver standard in a political allegory about late 19th-century monetary policy. In this view, the Witch of the East represented the Eastern industrial bankers who "enslaved" the common workers (the Munchkins). When the house (the populist movement) falls on her, the silver shoes are the key to the protagonist's journey home.
Whether or not you buy into the political allegory, the physical remains of the Witch are vital to the plot. She "dries up" in the sun. Baum writes that she was so old and so wicked that she simply shriveled away into nothing, leaving only the shoes behind. This is a stark contrast to her sister, the Wicked Witch of the West, who requires a bucket of water to meet her end. The East Witch was already spiritually hollow.
The Gregory Maguire Reimagining
If you've seen the musical Wicked or read the book, you know her as Nessarose Thropp. This is where the "Good Witch" confusion gets another layer. In Maguire’s version, Nessa starts with good intentions. She is Elphaba’s sister, born with a disability, and she eventually becomes the governor of Munchkinland.
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She wants to be loved. She wants to be perceived as good.
But her desperation for the love of a man named Boq leads her down a dark path. She uses the Grimmerie (the book of spells) to try and make him love her, but she ends up stripping away his humanity instead. She becomes a dictator out of heartbreak. It’s a tragic, humanizing arc that explains why the Munchkins hated her so much by the time Dorothy arrived. She wasn't born a monster; she was a woman who used power as a crutch for her own insecurities.
The Mystery of Mombi and the Power Vacuum
When the Witch of the East died, it wasn't just a win for the Munchkins. It created a massive power vacuum in Oz. This is a detail casual fans often miss. In the sequels—and yes, Baum wrote 13 sequels—we learn more about how these witches rose to power.
There’s a character named Mombi. In some versions, Mombi is the one who conquered the North before being displaced. The witches of the East and West were actually usurpers. They overthrew the rightful rulers of Oz, the Pastoria family, long before the Wizard ever showed up in his balloon.
The Good Witch of the East (if we're using the term to describe the position rather than the person) was a role that hadn't been filled for generations. The East had been "dark" for a long time. This is why the arrival of Dorothy’s house is seen as a divine intervention. It wasn't just an accident; it was the restoration of balance.
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Understanding the Magic of the East
What kind of magic did she actually practice? Unlike the West Witch, who controlled winged monkeys and wolves, the East Witch seemed more interested in domestic control and binding spells.
- She could enchant inanimate objects (like the Tin Woodman's axe).
- She had the power to bind people to the land.
- She possessed the Silver Shoes, which allowed for instantaneous travel (a power she seemingly didn't know how to fully use for herself, or perhaps she was bound by other magical laws).
It's a common trope in Oz that the witches are limited by their geography. The East Witch couldn't just fly over to the West and take over. There were rules. Magic in Oz is bureaucratic. It has boundaries. When Dorothy takes the shoes, she breaks those boundaries.
Why We Still Talk About Her
Why does a character who dies in the first ten minutes of the story still fascinate us?
Because she represents the "Unknown." We see the aftermath of her reign, but we never see the reign itself. We see the ruby slippers (or silver shoes) and we wonder: what would have happened if she had lived? If Dorothy had missed her by five feet, would the Wizard have ever been exposed?
The Witch of the East is the catalyst. Without her death, there is no journey. No Scarecrow. No Lion. No Heart.
Actionable Insights for Oz Enthusiasts
If you're looking to dive deeper into the real lore of the East, stop relying on the 1939 movie. It's a masterpiece, but it's a "CliffNotes" version of a much more complex mythology.
- Read the Original Text: Pick up a copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It’s public domain. Read the description of the Munchkins' reaction to the death of the Witch of the East. It’s much more nuanced than the "Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead" sequence.
- Explore the Sequels: The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz explain the backstories of the witches and how they took over the four corners of the land.
- Check Out "Wicked": While technically "fan fiction" (Maguire's estate is separate from Baum's), the book offers a psychological profile of the East Witch that is hard to ignore once you've read it.
- Differentiate the Shoes: Remember that the Silver Shoes are a metaphor for the silver standard, while the Ruby Slippers were a Technicolor choice by MGM to pop against the yellow brick road. Knowing this changes how you view the "power" Dorothy is wearing.
The Good Witch of the East doesn't exist—but the Wicked Witch of the East is the most important corpse in literature. Her death started a revolution. Understanding that distinction is the first step to truly understanding the world L. Frank Baum created. Keep exploring the maps of Oz; there's always something hiding in the corners that the movies left out.