The first Good Witch

By Charlie Levine

Matilda Joslyn Gage, was a women’s suffragist, Native American rights activist, abolitionist, freethinker, and author. She is cited as the youngest speaker at the 1852 New York National Women’s Rights Convention. In 1893, Matilda published ‘Woman, Church and State’, a book that outlined the variety of ways in which Christianity had oppressed women and reinforced patriarchal systems, followed by her thoughts on abortion and a woman’s rights over her own body. She was not afraid of shaking up the system and she did so with clarity, as celebrated in 1995 when she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

“The witch was in reality the profoundest thinker, the most advanced scientist of those ages.”

Matilda Joslyn Gage, Women Church and State.

Matilda’s effect is long felt, when in 1993, historian Margaret W. Rossiter coined the term, “The Matilda Effect”. This effect responds to counter “The Matthew Effect”, where already-famous scientists are over-credited with new discoveries. The Matilda Effect highlights when women scientists inaccurately are overlooked or receive less credit for their scientific work and discoveries.

Matilda was also Maud Gage Baum’s mother. Maud may be best known for being the wife of L Frank Baum, the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz books, but she was in fact an unsung feminist who broke the rules from infancy.

Maud and L Frank Baum had an unusual marriage for the times. Neither lived their lives according to gender roles of the day: they shared household responsibilities, celebrated each other’s creativity, and shared equally the literary rights (and therefore royalties) of all the published books. Maud owned all the rights to their properties and everything within them except L Frank’s typewriter, library and clothes.

Maud grew up with this activist spirit with thanks to her mother. It was exaggerated further when her parents sent her to an all boys school –- also attended by L Frank Baum, though they are said not to have met there but later at a Christmas party in 1881.

The couple were not an immediate item as Maud had several beaus. It took a year and several miles travelled by L Frank for the two to fall in love and agree to a marriage that took place in November 1882.

It was later, as L Frank began writing the Oz series that he put pen to paper and created the first Good Witch, Glinda, based on his mother-in-law, Matilda and her idea that “The witch was in reality the profoundest thinker, the most advanced scientist of those ages.” Her vision that witches were great women scientists, healers and carers inspired L Frank to incorporate this thinking into this Children book series. He promoted a different outlook for future young girls and re-thought the representation of powerful, intelligent, vocal and creative women. So rather than independent women seeing a future as the ugly dark witch, rather they could encompass and become the smart and inspiring Good Witch we find in Glinda.