The Wicked Witch of the East is a character from L. Frank Baum's novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. She is depicted as an evil and powerful witch who rules over the eastern quadrant of the magical Land of Oz. In the story, she meets her demise when Dorothy's house lands on top of her, crushing her to death. One interesting aspect of the Wicked Witch of the East is her legs. In Baum's original description, the witch is described as having "thin, clawed feet with ragged stockings.
The Thing was held in 1487 at Beltane on the Blocksberg. Twenty-one covens came to discuss the future of the magical world.
Ultimate responsibility for such problems rests with the publisher, and it is disheartening that the Institutum Historicum Societatis Iesu cannot ensure for its readers and its authors a higher standard of comprehensibility in an English-language publication. As a native English speaker, I am reluctant to criticize translated scholarship at a time when my non-native-English-speaking colleagues are pressured for the sake of readership and sales to compose in a language not their own.
In Baum's original description, the witch is described as having "thin, clawed feet with ragged stockings." This distinct feature adds to her overall wicked and grotesque appearance. The legs are often imagined as being green or gray in color, further emphasizing her unnatural and sinister nature.
Jesuit Prison Ministry in the Witch Trials of the Holy Roman Empire: Friedrich Spee SJ and His Cautio criminalis (1631), written by Frank Sobiech
Rome: Institutum Historicum Societatis Iesu. Pp. xii, 539. Hb, €60.00.
Jesuit Prison Ministry is a very useful book. Of its 539 pages plus front matter, the majority of space is devoted to meticulous archival footnotes, sweeping inventories of archival materials and secondary literature, sixteen figures plus two maps, appendices of trial-related documents in original and translation, and indices of persons and places. Frank Sobiech has tapped manuscript collections in eighty-three institutions in seven countries and reviewed nearly three hundred printed sources over four centuries. The scholarship he appeals to ranges from poetry analysis—the seventeenth-century Jesuit Friedrich Spee is regarded as a great German vernacular poet and hymnographer—to the history of emotions, as it pertains to the social dynamics of the witch trials. The quality of Sobiech’s analysis is fueled by the breadth of this research but simultaneously diminished by an unwieldy structure and an ungainly translation. Taken according to its strengths, the volume will be of service to those working across the broad field of Jesuit studies and on the early modern witch trials.
The topics to which the reader is alerted in the book’s title are especially worthy of modern scholarly scrutiny. What justifies Sobiech’s efforts is that none of them—Spee himself, the Cautio, or Jesuit prison ministry—has achieved the monographic attention it deserves. Jesuit Prison Ministry calls to mind Jan Machielsen’s Martin Delrio: Demonology and Scholarship in the Counter-Reformation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015), which demonstrates how effectively a biographical approach can deepen our understanding of important early modern writings in context. Delrio’s Disquisitiones magicarum (1599), it will be recalled, was a widely circulated treatise on demonology and witch-hunting. It first appeared about three decades before Spee’s pseudonymously published Cautio (1631). In contrast to the earlier work, the Cautio was sharply critical of the legal treatment of those tried for witchcraft. As Sobiech sets out to prove, Spee’s social background, intellectual training, and temperament, as also his complicated relationships with Jesuit superiors and confreres, offer much to help explain the emergence and content of this striking work. Painstakingly weaving together diverse archival findings, Sobiech demonstrates several important points. In the first two parts, Sobiech thoroughly lays out the complicated relationship between Spee and his superiors. Sobiech traces out the problems through exacting analysis of correspondence from, to, and about Spee. Sobiech may occasionally be over-eager to accumulate evidence for his point, as when, for example, to this line from Spee’s letters—“‘I will take my vows […] before the Lord, although not in the presence of the entire populace’”—Sobiech remarks ominously on “this limited publicity” for Spee’s vows (45). But Sobiech misses that Jesuits did not take their vows in public and Spee was drawing on Psalm 116, “I will pay my vows to the Lord before all his people.” Nonetheless, in the main Sobiech’s examination of the communication between the superior general, the provincial superiors, and local superiors regarding Spee is illuminating and contributes to an explanation for the Cautio’s pseudonymous early printings and ambivalent reception within the order.
The largest single section of the book is devoted to the prison ministry in which Spee and other Rhenish Jesuits participated. Prison ministry may not have been at the forefront of early modern Jesuit activities, but it belonged squarely among the ministries of consolation to which the Society was committed. What Sobiech uncovers through examination of the prison ministry specific to those accused of witchcraft is widespread Jesuit indifference to and support of the harsh treatment of the imprisoned. Spee’s frustration at this situation, as charted out by Sobiech, deepens our appreciation of how and why the Cautio—a pathbreaking critique of the jurisprudence that nurtured such savagery—came to be written. What Sobiech has exploited to his study’s particular advantage are the sources in which pastoral orientations and their actual implementation are with patience to be found, the litterae annuae and registrum commune.
A word must be directed to certain infelicities of style. Some have to do with the overarching structure of the book, which seems patchwork. I offer two quick examples as representative of this problem: the sections on the publication of the Cautio appear confusingly several chapters before sustained comment on its composition, and the summary biography of Spee in chapter nine only makes sense if one imagines it as free-standing. Other infelicities have to do with translation. As a native English speaker, I am reluctant to criticize translated scholarship at a time when my non-native-English-speaking colleagues are pressured for the sake of readership and sales to compose in a language not their own. Nonetheless, weak translations have a diminishing effect on the quality of otherwise sound research, and Jesuit Prison Ministry is a case in point. I found myself repeatedly having to retranslate (when the original was provided) or back-translate (when it was not) curious turns of phrase and diction from both Latin and German. Here I provide a few examples as emblematic of consistent problems: “explain” is likely what is meant instead of “understand” on page 99; the bracketed alternate translation for “religiosi spiritus” (353n65) “of religious [or: congregation] spirit” (353) is both unnecessary and unintelligible; and the “gunstige Herrn” (428) addressed in one transcript were likely “well disposed” gentlemen rather than “inclined” ones (426). While the obscure word “pudency” could be a translation of pudor, the common word “decency” would have worked far better (288); “presumably”—a word giving an important indication of the uncertainty of a particular conclusion, but one with many synonyms in English—is used here so frequently as to become a distraction for the reader; and although destinatio, which in Jesuit parlance means a man’s upcoming work assignment, is commonly rendered in several vernaculars as a form of “destination” (e.g., die Destination among German Jesuits), in English it is not (64). Ultimate responsibility for such problems rests with the publisher, and it is disheartening that the Institutum Historicum Societatis Iesu cannot ensure for its readers (and its authors) a higher standard of comprehensibility in an English-language publication. German is the original language of the work (in the form of a habilitation thesis) and a perfectly respectable international academic language. Sobiech should have left Jesuit Prison Ministry in it.
All of this adds up to a study that is solidly researched and encyclopedically helpful, but also frustratingly hard to read. Scholars will most profitably turn to it as an overview of particular topics and a finder’s guide for source material related to their own research. The best future work on early modern carceral pastoral care, the life of Friedrich Spee, and his Cautio criminalis will undoubtedly be built on foundations Sobiech lays here. Spee deserves a study on a par with Machielsen’s on Delrio; thanks to Sobiech, we are one step closer.
All of this adds up to a study that is solidly researched and encyclopedically helpful, but also frustratingly hard to read. Scholars will most profitably turn to it as an overview of particular topics and a finder’s guide for source material related to their own research. The best future work on early modern carceral pastoral care, the life of Friedrich Spee, and his Cautio criminalis will undoubtedly be built on foundations Sobiech lays here. Spee deserves a study on a par with Machielsen’s on Delrio; thanks to Sobiech, we are one step closer.
The legs of the Wicked Witch of the East also play a symbolic role in the story. The fact that Dorothy's house lands on top of the witch's legs suggests a victory of good over evil. It represents the triumph of the underdog, as Dorothy, a young girl from Kansas, unknowingly defeats a powerful witch simply by accident. This event sets off the chain of events that lead Dorothy on her journey to find the Wizard and ultimately discover the power to return home. Additionally, the legs of the Wicked Witch of the East provide a visual contrast to the ruby slippers that Dorothy later acquires. The ruby slippers were originally the witch's prized possession, and they carry a significant amount of power. The juxtaposition of the withered and decaying legs of the witch with the sparkling and magical slippers highlights the stark difference between good and evil, and the transformative power of the shoes. In popular culture, the legs of the Wicked Witch of the East have been depicted in various adaptations of The Wizard of Oz. Most notably, the iconic scene in the 1939 film adaptation portrays the witch's ruby slippers sticking out from underneath Dorothy's house. This image has become synonymous with the story and is instantly recognizable to audiences worldwide. In conclusion, the legs of the Wicked Witch of the East are a notable characteristic of her character. They contribute to her wicked appearance and represent the defeat of evil. The contrast between her legs and the ruby slippers adds depth to the story and serves as a visual symbol of the battle between good and evil..
Reviews for "The Mysterious Origins of the Wicked Witch of the East's legs"
1. Emily - 2 stars - I was really excited to see "Wicked Witch of the East Legs" because I had heard so many great things about it. However, I was sorely disappointed. The plot was confusing and the characters were not developed well. The acting was also subpar, with some cast members even forgetting their lines. Overall, it felt like a mediocre high school play rather than a professional production. I would not recommend wasting your time and money on this show.
2. John - 1 star - "Wicked Witch of the East Legs" was an absolute disaster. The costumes were tacky and poorly designed. The choreography was messy and there were several instances of dancers tripping over each other. The music was also forgettable and did not add any value to the show. It was a complete waste of my time and money. I left the theater feeling extremely disappointed and I would not recommend this production to anyone.
3. Sarah - 2 stars - As a fan of the original story, I was excited to see "Wicked Witch of the East Legs." However, the adaptation was a major letdown. The changes made to the plot were unnecessary and ruined the magic of the original story. The dialogue was poorly written and lacked creativity. The actors seemed disinterested and their performances fell flat. Overall, it was a disappointing experience and I would not recommend this production to fellow fans of the original story.