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Wizard of Oz Part I

© Mary C. Legg

L Frank Baum, Wizard of Oz, Oz, Maud Gage, Theosophists, American Fairy Tales, political allegory, fairytale as allegory, 19th Century America, children's literature, Scarecrow, Dorothy, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, educational resources

For kids everywhere, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with its pumpkin-headed scarecrow represents escape from dull reality and the doldrums of pragmatic living with its bleak black and white views on humanity. Controversial, L Frank Baum's books lend themselves to new literary commentary, examining them within their historical frame and in light of political nd philosophical movements of their day. For those who are unread, the title recalls the 1939 film with Judy Garland as Dorothy, Jack Haley as the Tin Man, Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West, Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion, Frank Morgan as Wizard and Billie Burke as Glinda the Good Witch and the lyrics of "Somewhere over the Rainbow" reflecting the evanescent American Dream of success.

Lyman Frank Baum (1856-1919) was born in New York to a successful oilman, Benjamin Ward Baum and the ardent feminist, Cynthia Stanton Baum. He was home tutored until twelve when he was shipped off unmercifully to Peterskill Military Academy where he learned to hate military discipline. A precocious writer, he was writing stories, dramas and musicals even in his teens, producing the Rose Lawn Journal when he was fifteen from the estate in Chittenango. Seeing his propensity towards theater, his father provided support and houses for Baum to establish his own troupe. However, the stock market crash in the eighties, brought with it financial disaster for the Baum family. Adopting his father's pragmatism, Baum tried nearly every aspect of commercial business without success, including a general store in Aberdeen, Dakota Territory and establishing the National Association of Window Trimmers and becoming the editor-publisher of Show Windows from 1897-1902.

In 1873, he was a journalist for the New York World, which was also the origin of another famous children's writer, Thornton Burgess and his long-standing partnership with Harrison Cady and the Mother West Wind books. In 1875, Baum was in Pennsylvania raising chickens and editing the Poultry Record.

In 1882, his life changed as he formed a lifetime partnership with Maud Gage, his wife and business manager, keeping him on a safer road of domestic stability and success. With Maud, he had four sons; but his works are dominated by heroines. His wife, too was an ardent feminist, influencing Baum in the presentation of his novels and political involvement.

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