Wicked author confirms lesbian arc between Glinda and Elphaba

original author evil The novel confirmed that the lesbian subtext between Glinda and Elphaba was intentional.

caveat: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West Contains spoilers.

Adaptation of the Broadway musical by Jon M. Chu evil ‘ was released in theaters on November 22nd and took the world by storm.

The film follows the film’s two main characters, Elphaba (Cynthia Arvivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande), who meet and share a room at Shizu University. Although the two initially dislike each other, they develop a friendship and eventually meet The Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum).

This story has long resonated with LGBTQ+ people thanks to its themes of otherness, confronting oppression, and the power of friendship. 1995 book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West This musical by Gregory Maguire inspired the stage musical, but contains far more explicit and disturbing scenes.

However, hinted at in this book is a lesbian subplot between Glinda and Elphaba. Many fans have pointed out that quotes from the book suggest that the two witches are more than just good friends.

Author Maguire said this in a recent interview. they He said he “wanted to give Oz that level of complexity” to make it “believable” and that this “included sexual orientation and sexual diversity”.

In his book, Elphaba and Glinda share a kiss. On-site read: “She brought her face close to Glinda’s and kissed her. “Wait if you can,” she murmured, kissing her again. “Wait a minute, sweetie.”

“…it was amazing how quickly she camouflages herself to the various Ragamuffin streets of the Emerald City. Or maybe it was the stupid tears that blurred Glinda’s vision. Elphaba, of course. She wasn’t crying. She turned her head quickly as she descended, not to hide the tears, but to soften the fact that they were gone. But to Glinda, the sting was real. It was.”

When asked about the sapphic tension between the characters and whether it was intentional, Maguire said: I didn’t want to say the other one.

“Or maybe the girls had sex in bed on the way to the Emerald City, when the lights went out and the novelist was smoking in a back alley, because a novelist can’t write every scene. I wanted to suggest this possibility, but didn’t want to make a definitive statement about it. [it]” he explained.

Wicked: Part 1 is currently showing in theaters.