Relatives of Dorothy

[vovat]

The very first sentence in the Oz series introduces Dorothy's guardians, the poor Kansas farmer Uncle Henry and his wife Aunt Em. Everyone has heard of these two, but there's really a lot we don't know about them. While the MGM movie gave them the same last name as Dorothy (Gale), the canonical books never actually reveal their surname, exactly how they're related to Dorothy, or even what "Em" is short for. It does seem like Henry must be the blood relative, though, considering Zeb's statement in Dorothy and the Wizard that his uncle married Uncle Henry's wife's sister. If Em had been the blood relative, he presumably would have just said "your mother/father's sister," unless he was trying to be convoluted. In Emerald City, we learn that Henry "thought his little niece merely a dreamer, as her dead mother had been." Does this mean that Henry is Dorothy's mother's brother? Maybe, but it's not entirely clear. I've even seen suggestions that he might be Dorothy's GREAT-uncle. While Henry comes across as rather distant in his brief role in Wizard, with Dorothy associating Em with home, he and Dorothy become closer as time goes on. Part of this is due to the trip the two of them take to Australia, which seems a bit odd for a poor turn-of-the-twentieth-century farmer. Yes, he goes into debt to pay for it, but how did he even manage to borrow that much money? Well, maybe he had a really good crop, or his relatives in Australia helped him to pay for it. Regardless, he's about to lose the farm when Dorothy comes to Oz to live, and Ozma invites Henry and Em to live there with her. They're not accustomed to living a life of luxury, however, and quickly become restless. Ozma provides them with token jobs, Henry becoming Keeper of the Royal Jewels, and Em apparently doing some of the palace mending. But it seems to be a popular idea that they eventually returned to farming. Glinda indicates that Dorothy's uncle "now lived near the Emerald City with his wife Aunt Em. Uncle Henry taught the Oz people how to grow the finest vegetables and fruits and grains and was of much use to Ozma in keeping the Royal Storehouses well filled." Eric Shanower's Giant Garden has them starting up their own farm in the Munchkin Country.

Henry and Em are two more characters who basically fade into the background in later books, but it's probably due to their own choice. They aren't really the type to get involved in grand adventures or lavish parties, but they'll always be there for their niece when she needs them. And I'm not the first one to write a blog post about these two; you can also check out Jared Davis' take on the characters.

Comments

[vilajunkie.livejournal.com]

I've always wondered what happened to Dorothy's parents, and in my own head-canon, they were traveling abroad and got captured by the Nome King, eventually dying or being turned into ornaments.

[bethje.livejournal.com]

The Shaggy Man is Dorothy's dad.

[jadavisofmo.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

Did you read that in GOZZIP Magazine?

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

It could be made to make sense, though ... :-) Of course, if you go merely by chance, you could argue that The Shaggy Man is Betsy Bobbins' dad!

[vovat.livejournal.com]

In a multi-author story on the Oz Club's Message Board, I actually made a joke about Gozzip magazine saying Shaggy was Betsy's father. And I remember that someone (possibly Robin Olderman) was writing a story in which Dorothy's mother knew Shaggy's father.

As for the Nome King capturing Dorothy's parents, well, he did that with Shaggy's brother, so why not?

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

That could turn into a huge, complicated, interconnected backstory, in which there are no coincidences. I suggest someone contact J.J. Abrahams and suggest to him something I've considered: that the "Lost" island could be a dimensional gateway to the new location of Oz.

Lost -- the Sequel, about how the parents, relatives and other people incidental to the children who come to Oz are all interrelated. It'll take up an entire wall just to lay out for plot, but let me start with this: Shaggy will, indeed, turn out to be Betsy's father -- and Shaggy's brother will be Dorothy's assumed-dead father! The Wizard is Cap'n Bill's brother, of course.

And if it's not a TV show, it's an entire friggin' series of books.

;-)

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Isn't "no coincidences" pretty much the opposite of Baum's typical writing method? :P

If the Wizard is Cap'n Bill's brother, where does that leave Cap'n Joe?

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

There are no coincidences -- only plot twists waiting to be uncovered! :-)

I'm not familiar with Cap'n Joe; remember, I've only read a few post-Baum books, and my entry into the online Oz fandom is fairly recent. However, in an attempt to desperately hold onto my flimsy theory, Cap'n Joe is stimply another brother. Before going to sea he used to be called "Little Joe". Yup. That's my story.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Joe shows up in The Sea Fairies, as one of Zog's slaves.

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

He does? Looks like it's time for me to go back and do some re-reading, I don't remember that at all.

Come to think of it, I bought that book to read to Jillian when she was about ten, so it's been 8 years since I read it!

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Joe has the job of sewing Zog's buttons back on when he loses them, and ends up becoming ruler of the castle after Zog's death.

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

That's quite a promotion!

[speciesof1.livejournal.com]

'In Emerald City, we learn that Henry "thought his little niece merely a dreamer, as her dead mother had been."'

It's just a single line, but I find it to be one of the most intriguing and memorable comments in the whole series. It raises so many questions with potentially powerful answers. "A dreamer? In what sense? How'd she die? Did being a dreamer get her killed?" Etc, etc.

If no one's ever done a story about Dorothy's mom, I'll be surprised.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think that might be the only time Baum says something specific about one of Dorothy's parents, and it's very enigmatic. I wonder if he ever considered writing about them.

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

Clearly, I'm not the only one who's thought about Henry and Em's past ...

I pick the name Emily for Em -- that's my girlfriend's name, so I'd probably hear about it if I didn't. :-)

[vovat.livejournal.com]

She's Emily in the movie, and that seems to be what most modern Oz writers go with, but I think I've seen her called Emma before.

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

I suppose it's possible that her entire name was just Em -- but I doubt it; that wouldn't seem to fit in with the times.