The Wonderful Wizard of Oz | L. Frank Baum (1900)
Published in 1900, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum stands as one of the earliest and most enduring works of American fantasy literature. Though often mistaken for a children’s fairy tale alone, the novel functions as a carefully constructed mythic world, complete with geography, laws, rulers, and moral logic. Baum did not draw directly from ancient folklore. Instead, he created a new fairyland that has since taken on the weight and familiarity of folklore itself.
The story opens not in wonder, but in Kansas, a land defined by hardship, monotony, and survival. This stark contrast establishes the emotional and visual divide between the real world and Oz. When Dorothy Gale’s farmhouse is carried by cyclone into Oz, the transition is physical and absolute. Oz is not imagined, dreamt, or symbolic within the narrative. It is a real place entered by chance and exited with difficulty.
Oz is divided into distinct regions, each with its own people, colors, and customs. The Munchkin Country, the Emerald City, and the lands ruled by the Wicked Witches are not vague settings, but functioning territories. Power in Oz is structured through rulers, laws, and magical enforcement. Witches, Good and Wicked, operate under defined limitations. Magic exists, but it is not limitless, and it does not belong equally to all.
At the center of Oz stands the Wizard, a figure revealed to be human rather than magical. This revelation is not a twist meant to undo the world, but a statement about authority and belief. Oz continues to function after the Wizard’s exposure because its power does not rely solely on him. The land itself, its magic, and its inhabitants endure independently.
Baum’s fairyland operates on moral logic rather than strict justice. Acts have consequences, but intention does not always dictate outcome. Kindness, persistence, and cooperation are rewarded, often indirectly. Violence is present, but rarely glorified. Many pivotal events occur through accident, misunderstanding, or necessity rather than heroic conquest.
Importantly, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz establishes a recurring structure that allows characters to return, evolve, and govern within the same world. While Dorothy herself does not initially remain in Oz, the land is presented as stable and ongoing, not a single-use fantasy realm. This permanence is what allows Oz to function as myth rather than mere story.
Baum described his work as a “modernized fairy tale,” but its legacy far exceeds that modest framing. Oz became a shared imaginative space, revisited, expanded, and remembered across generations. In doing so, it achieved what folklore often does. It outgrew its author while remaining rooted in its original text.
