Elphaba Thropp
by Jason Mecchi
Qualities of a Tragic Hero
- Embodies nobility and virtue.
- The tragic hero is great, but not perfect.
- Their downfall is their own fault.
- Punishment is worse than the crime.
- Their fall is not all loss, there is something learned.
- The ending is sad, but the audience is not depressed.
Why Elphaba is a Tragic Hero
- At the beginning of the play, she was a kind, intelligent, and cynical girl who is ostracized for how she looks.
- Elphaba's main flaws include her green skin and trusting nature.
- She ends up being called evil because she trusts the Wizard, who flatters her by telling her she's a talented witch. He ends up blaming her for giving the monkeys wings and torturing animals.
- Elphaba learns through her experience that her true friends, such as Glinda and Fiyero, will be able to see past her physical deformities.
- In the end, Elphaba fakes her own death and ends up running away with Fiyero. However, the citizens of Oz, including Glinda, believe she is really dead. Moreover, most of them believe that she was evil and celebrate her death.
"I don't cause commotions, I am one." - Elphaba
"No good deed goes unpunished." - Elphaba
Wicked- Defying Gravity Director's Cut