女巫變形記：《綠野仙蹤》與《女巫前傳》中的獵巫、女性身體與後身體政治

The Metamorphosis of the Witch: Witch-hunt, female body and the post-body politics in The Wizard of Oz and Wicked

法蘭克˙鮑姆（Frank Baum）在1900年出版的《綠野仙蹤》（The Wonderful Wizard of Oz）可說是美國最受歡迎的本土童話故事，對美國文化與社會有著深遠的影響。1939年，《綠野仙蹤》的改編電影由米高梅電影公司發行，以歌舞電影的形式擄獲人心，獲得了相當大的成功，不僅成為了美國經典大眾電影，更連帶捧紅了童星茱蒂嘉蘭（Judy Garland）。而後，茱蒂嘉蘭成為美國同志運動偶像，而她在電影中一曲〈彩虹之上〉（Over the Rainbow），更成為同志國歌，使得《綠野仙蹤》與美國社會又多了一層連結。1996年，美國童書作家與小說家格萊葛利˙馬奎爾（Gregory Maguire）寫出《女巫前傳》（Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West）一書。馬奎爾顛覆童書經典《綠野仙蹤》，在這本小說中以「西方壞女巫」艾法芭的角度來重述她的一生，並刻意與《綠野仙蹤》的情節交織纏繞，讓我們能夠用女巫的角度來重新檢視原本熟悉的故事情節。在2003年，《女巫前傳》被改編登上百老匯舞台，迅速成為紐約和倫敦兩地最熱門的當代音樂劇，連演十年不衰，持續延伸、拓展《綠野仙蹤》在美國社會中所蘊含的文化意涵。這篇文章將聚焦於女巫「身體」在不同媒介改編中的「變形」上。首先我將援引不同文獻，回顧十六到十七世紀歐洲獵巫熱中女巫身體如何被扭曲，透露出父權社會對年老女人的恐懼，以及規訓女性身體的慾望。接著，我將討論女巫形象與女性身體如何在大眾文化中被多次再現，形成一連串的「女巫變形記」：包括《綠野仙蹤》裡年老醜陋的壞女巫、改編電影中首次以「綠皮膚」形象登場的瑪格麗特˙漢米頓（Margaret Hamilton）、《女巫前傳》中轉化怪物化身體為反叛能量的艾法芭，以及音樂劇中被「後身體政治（post-body politics）」收編的大眾化女巫身體。 Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900, is one of the most popular children’s books in America. Thirty-nine years later, the book was adapted into a major motion picture by MGM. The movie starring the legendary Judy Garland and Margaret Hamilton soon became an instant classic and the images of both Dorothy and the Wicked Witch of the West left a great impression on people’s mind. In 1996, American novelist Gregory Maguire rewrote the plots of The Wizard of Oz and published Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. With an intention to subvert the stereotypes and voice for the witch in this revisionist work, Maguire gives the Wicked Witch of the West a name—Elphaba Thropp—and he re-presents episodes in the original novel through Elphaba’s perspective. The bestseller was adapted into a hit musical in 2003, having been extremely successful in both West End and Broadway so far. The Wicked Witch of the West, therefore, has gone through a series of transformation along with the novels and their adaptations. This current paper seeks to examine different representations of The Wicked Witch of the West and female bodies in The Wizard of Oz and Wicked, along with their film/ stage adaptations. I will first trace back to the history of European witch-hunt in the 16th and 17th century, examining the characteristics of witches and how they were portrayed in pamphlets. Then, I intend to link European witch-hunt to popular culture and point out how the similar characteristics still exist in the contemporary popular literature, film and musical. More importantly, how they are represented differently: the old and ugly Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz, the “greenified” witch in the film adaptation, the subversive monstrous body of Elphaba in Wicked, and the popularized and mainstreamed body of Elphaba in the musical. Through this series of examination, I seek to analyze how evilness and femininity is closely linked to each other in the patriarchal society, based on men’s fear of and hatred toward female bodies.

Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900, is one of the most popular children’s books in America. Thirty-nine years later, the book was adapted into a major motion picture by MGM. The movie starring the legendary Judy Garland and Margaret Hamilton soon became an instant classic and the images of both Dorothy and the Wicked Witch of the West left a great impression on people’s mind. In 1996, American novelist Gregory Maguire rewrote the plots of The Wizard of Oz and published Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. With an intention to subvert the stereotypes and voice for the witch in this revisionist work, Maguire gives the Wicked Witch of the West a name—Elphaba Thropp—and he re-presents episodes in the original novel through Elphaba’s perspective. The bestseller was adapted into a hit musical in 2003, having been extremely successful in both West End and Broadway so far. The Wicked Witch of the West, therefore, has gone through a series of transformation along with the novels and their adaptations. This current paper seeks to examine different representations of The Wicked Witch of the West and female bodies in The Wizard of Oz and Wicked, along with their film/ stage adaptations. I will first trace back to the history of European witch-hunt in the 16th and 17th century, examining the characteristics of witches and how they were portrayed in pamphlets. Then, I intend to link European witch-hunt to popular culture and point out how the similar characteristics still exist in the contemporary popular literature, film and musical. More importantly, how they are represented differently: the old and ugly Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz, the “greenified” witch in the film adaptation, the subversive monstrous body of Elphaba in Wicked, and the popularized and mainstreamed body of Elphaba in the musical. Through this series of examination, I seek to analyze how evilness and femininity is closely linked to each other in the patriarchal society, based on men’s fear of and hatred toward female bodies.