Originally published in The Baum Bugle, vol. 36, no. 3 (Winter 1992), pgs. 5–7
Citations
Chicago 17th ed.:
Shepherd, Kenneth R. “Imperial Oz: Ozma and the Nome Kingdom.” Baum Bugle 36, no. 1 (1992): 5–7.
MLA 9th ed.:
Shepherd, Kenneth R. “Imperial Oz: Ozma and the Nome Kingdom.” The Baum Bugle, vol. 36, no. 1, 1992, pp. 5–7.
(Note: In print, this article was supplemented with illustrations that have not been reproduced here. However, typographical errors have been left in place to accurately reflect the printed version.)
Ozma is generally considered a benevolent ruler. However, in the early years of her reign, she pursued an aggressive foreign policy and showed tendencies toward imperialism, imposing her will on other, weaker governments, and invading the sovereign territory of another state—the Nome Kingdom. The destabilization of the Nome King’s government marked the beginning of her imperial ambitions; but the ensuing struggles between Ozma and the Nome King brought Oz and its ruler near defeat many times.
The beginnings of Ozma’s imperial ambition can be seen in Ozma of Oz. Ozma first left Oz to rescue the wife and children of Evoldo, late king of Ev, from captivity in the Nome Kingdom. According to the Tin Woodman, her reasons for doing this were entirely selfless, but she also reached some political understanding with the new ruler of Ev. Perhaps Ozma, knowing of the misgovernment in Ev following Evoldo’s demise, wished to secure her borders, and realized that the best way to do that was through the restoration of the Evian royal house. She also used the opportunity to establish friendly relations with other monarchs on the Ozian continent.
Ozma’s handling of Princess Langwidere of Ev anticipated her failure to impress Roquat of the Rocks. New to the throne, Ozma had not yet developed a sense of diplomacy or, it seems, tact. She told Langwidere, “You must listen to what I have to say. I am the ruler of the land of Oz, and I am powerful enough to destroy all your Kingdom, if I so wish.”[1] It was the first time in her career that she resorted to threats. Langwidere was easily cowed, and quickly dropped her objections.
Roquat, however, was no spoiled girl. Ozma’s worst mistake came when she applied the same techniques she used on Langwidere to Roquat. The Nome King did not respond favorably to the threats of the Ruler of Oz; he was, as Tik-Tok reminds Ozma, a power in his own right. When Tik-Tok suggested that Ozma try entreating Roquat to gain admittance to the Nome Kingdom, Ozma indignantly refused: “Do you wish your ruler to plead with this wicked Nome King? Shall Ozma of Oz humble herself to a creature who lives in an underground kingdom?”[2] Had Dorothy not been along, the story might have ended right there. It would have been more diplomatic had Ozma practiced a little tolerance, swallowed her pride, and made her request with humility.
As it turns out, the Nome King was fully as wicked as Ozma expected him to be.[3] He had no intention of letting the Ozites depart; Although he initially agreed that Dorothy and young Evring should go free, he later called his army to seize them period two events finally tipped the balance in favor of the Ozites: the discovery of the Nome’s horror of eggs, and the capture of the Magic Belt. When Roquat refused to honor his bargain, the Scarecrow began to pelt him with Billina’s eggs, and in the resulting confusion Dorothy removed the belt.[4] Before this point the Nome King had had the upper hand; he was in his own territory, and had at his command great magical and material forces. He himself said, “No ruler on earth has ever dared to fight me, and no ruler ever will, for I am too powerful to oppose.”[5] Northeast sees the belt, however, she deprived Roquat of the major source of his power, and limited his ability to hinder the Ozites further.
Ozma very nearly got her party trapped in the Nome Kingdom. Had it not been for Billina’s eggs and quick thinking, and Dorothy’s prompt action in securing the Magic Belt, Oz might have been left leaderless once again. However, Ozma learned quickly from her mistakes. She developed a healthy respect for Dorothy’s charisma. In addition, she began to discard some of her royal accoutrements.[6] She promoted the only private in the Royal Army to Captain-General, eliminating even the slightest possibility of the force being anything but a showpiece. She also relegated the golden chariot drawn by the Lion and Tiger to ceremonial duties, mostly welcoming important visitors (such as Dorothy) to the Emerald City.
Ozma’s first mission outside Oz was a qualified success; she made a firm ally in Evardo XV. Her birthday party, chronicled in The Road to Oz, indicates that she also established friendly relations with Merryland, Ix, Noland, and Hiland/Loland. Nonetheless, the damage had been done: the Nome King became Oz’s bitterest enemy. The loss of his most powerful tool had not curbed the Metal Monarch’s capacity to make mischief, and in The Emerald City of Oz he countered Ozma’s foreign policy with allies of his own—the Whimseys, the Growleywogs, and the Phanfasms—and launched an invasion of Oz, intent on recapturing his Magic Belt and conquering the Ozites.
Curiously enough, Ozma faced the planned destruction of her country and the enslavement of her people with a calmness approaching indifference. Roquat’s invasion was no jest; his forces and the troops of his allies represented a serious threat to the peace of Oz, a peace that Ozma had devoted herself to preserving. To think that she could surrender her country and her people without resisting belittles her abilities as a ruler. However, her attitude is understandable because she had learned of the Nome King’s plans in advance and had worked out a plan with Glinda for repelling the invaders.[7] Presumably Ozma intended to meet the Nomes and their allies when they first broke out of the tunnel and to send them back where they came from, sealing the tunnel behind them. She probably adopted the Scarecrow’s plan because, as Dorothy remarked, it caused the wicked people to forget their wickedness.[8]
Although the Nome King’s invasion was successfully repelled, it forced Ozma to review her foreign policy. She asked Glinda the Good to create a magic shield to cut Oz off from all outside contact. Although the exact nature of the barrier Glinda erected is not known, it seems that it was meant to be not only invisible to the eye, but also impervious to magic. Ozma and Glinda both stressed the fact that, since Dorothy and her relatives had settled permanently in Oz, “there is no reason why we should leave any way open for others to travel uninvited to our fairyland. Let us make it impossible for anyone ever to communicate with us in any way, after this.”[9] The isolation of Oz was to be absolute; Not even the Magic Belt would be able to penetrate the barrier. Henceforth Oz would attend strictly to its own affairs.
The Magic Belt was a powerful weapon in repelling attacks on Oz. However, it also made Ozma nearly invincible, enabling her subjects to impose on the Nomes without fear of retaliation. In “Tik-Tok and the Nome King,” one of the Little Wizard Stories of Oz, Tik-Tok marched into the Metal Monarch’s cavern, demanded new parts, and was openly rude to Ruggedo: “I dare an-y-thing…. I’m not afraid of a fat Nome.”[10] The clockwork man could afford to be arrogant; as one of Ozma’s chief courtiers, he could not be injured with impunity. His attitude unpleasantly reflects the worst aspects of Ozian imperialism. From The Emerald City of Oz on, Roquat/Ruggedo and Kaliko who ruled after him, remained fearful of possible Ozian retaliations and, when confronted by Ozites, the two rulers always backed down. For instance, when Ruggedo smashed Tik-Tok in “Tik-Tok and the Nome King,” Kaliko’s first thought was of Ozma’s inevitable reaction; He warned Ruggedo that he was likely to lose his throne. Only the steward’s mechanical skill averted another Ozian invasion.
In fact, Ruggedo’s fear of Oz proved his undoing, as chronicled in Tik-Tok of Oz. Ruggedo was perfectly willing to release Shaggy’s brother until he learned of Ann of Oogaboo’s plans to conquer him. Remembering that the army of Oogaboo at that time consisted of seventeen men, the queen, and Tik-Tok, Ruggedo’s action seems senseless. As he himself remarked of Shaggy’s party, “A dozen of my Nomes can destroy them all in a jiffy.”[11] The fact that the party came from oz, however, scared him into defying Tititi-Hoochoo. The Great Jinjin stated that Ruggedo tricked the Shaggy Man’s party into falling down the great tube because he was afraid they might succeed in conquering him.
The same fear haunted Kaliko when he assumed the throne. Although the Ozites approved his succession, he remained unwilling to arouse Ozma’s displeasure. Similarly, in Rinkitink in Oz, Calico agreed to hold the rulers of Pingaree for King Gos and Queen Cor only after ascertaining that they had no connection with Oz.[12] When they brought Kitticut and Garee to Kaliko for safekeeping, he immediately stated, “I dare not offend the Oz people…. If this King and Queen of Pingaree happened to be under Ozma’s protection, I would have nothing to do with them.”[13]
As it happened, the Pingarians were under Ozma’s protection, although they did not know it. Dorothy stumbled upon Prince Inga’s predicament by accident and was interested enough in his situation to follow his adventures at some length. Indignant at Kaliko’s treatment of inga and his parents, she asked Ozma for permission to intervene, and the Queen agreed. Kaliko’s worst fears came true when Dorothy and the Wizard marched into his cavern with a basket full of eggs and bullied him into releasing his prisoners. Dorothy had no excuse interfering in the Nome King’s affairs (except that his actions were immoral); Oz had no formal connection with the rulers of Pingaree. The Nome had a point when he complained, “Why didn’t Dorothy and the Wizard stay in Oz, where they belong?”[14] In essence, Ozma had assumed the power of veto over Kaliko’s affairs, further undermining the independent Nomian government.
Kaliko rarely appears in the later Oz books, but evidence suggests that Ozma continued her policy of intervention. In time, she asserted her influence more and more directly, although she never reduced Kaliko’s realm to a satellite state. Kaliko, however, remained firmly under her thumb; for instance, when Ruggedo returned in The Gnome King of Oz and briefly reclaimed the clown, his former chamberlain ‘s response was, “Ozma will never consent to this.”[15] In fact, in the aftermath of Ruggedo’s escape, Ozma’s influence over Kaliko increased. It is significant that, after Ruggedo’s capture, Kaliko “was permitted to resume his place as king” of the Nomes.[16]
Kaliko certainly resented Ozian interference in his kingdom. After Ozma’s enchantment and replacement by Skamperoo in The Wishing Horse of Oz he refused to lead his army against the Emerald City without allies to assist him; not only was Skamperoo recognized by all the citizens of Oz (with the exception of Dorothy and Pigasus) as their rightful ruler, he argued, but the Nomes were still vulnerable to eggs and some of the Ozians certainly would remember that. Such an attempt would be no more successful than Ruggedo’s invasion had been. Nonetheless, Kaliko did help Dorothy: he located the missing Ozites in Thunder Mountain and provided her with some magical implements to help rescue them. Yet he secretly hoped that her quest would be unsuccessful: “I would much rather have a man on the throne of Oz. Ozma is always involving me in wars or demanding the rights of smaller kingdoms, so long may she stay in Thunder Mountain and long Skamperoo rule in Oz!”[17]
Kaliko was never allowed to become as strong a ruler as Ruggedo had been, perhaps for fear that he might try to duplicate some of his predecessor’s ambitions. Ruggedo himself, however, proved a constant threat to the peace of Oz, and eventually had to be suppressed, one hopes for good: he now occupies the form of a cactus in the royal Conservatory. Symbolically he represents one of the greatest mistakes of Ozma’s reign: her wish to force her own standards on her neighbors.
Notes
[1] L. Frank Baum, Ozma of Oz (1907), p. 112. Ozma’s curiously aggressive behavior throughout this adventure could possibly be traced to the period she spent as a boy. Is it possible that Ozma was suffering from a hormonal imbalance? Onyx Madden, in The Mysterious Chronicles of Oz (1985), pp. 133-34, gives a convincing example of the confusion Ozma must have suffered while learning to be a girl.
[2] Ibid., pp. 159-61.
[3] Ibid., pp. 228, 166. The Nome King was not technically guilty of breach of contract in refusing to give up the royal family of Ev after Evoldo destroyed his long life by jumping into the sea. There was apparently nothing in the contract about how long the king’s life would be, and if he chose to end it, that was his own affair. One might question whether it was within Roquat’s power to bestow long life on anyone, but once Evoldo accepted the contract he was bound by it.
[4] Ibid., pp. 194-95, 224.
[5] Ibid., p. 158.
[6] Ozma promoted Omby Amby the very night the expedition returned to the Emerald City; see Baum, Ozma, p. 261. The royal chariot is used to welcome Dorothy in both Baum, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908), p. 218, and The Road to Oz (1909), pp. 187-88.
[7] Baum, The Emerald City of Oz (1910), pp. 194-95, 263-64. Ozma indicated (p. 290) that she had previously given the isolation of Oz some thought.
[8] Ibid., p. 289.
[9] Dorothy and the party guests traveled to the emerald city by means of the magic belt period since both Ozma and Glinda stressed that the isolation could take place because Dorothy had settled in Oz, we can conclude that the barrier was supposed to be impervious to the powers of the Magic Belt. See Baum, Emerald City, p. 293; and Jay Delkin, “The Trouble With… Part Two: The Barrier of Invisibility,” Baum Bugle, Spring 1977, p. 13.
[10] Baum, “Tik-Tok and the Nome King,” Little Wizard Stories of Oz (1913), p. 56.
[11] Baum, Tik-Tok of Oz (1914), pp. 95, 104-05.
[12] Baum, “Tik-Tok and the Nome King,” p. 58; Tik-Tok, p. 137; Baum, Rinkitink in Oz (1916), p. 234.
[13] Baum, Rinkitink, pp. 234-45. Notice that here Kaliko, in dealing with a fellow monarch, was forthright, assertive and self-assured. Ozma had not yet begun to put pressure on him.
[14] Ibid., p. 283. As soon as the Ozites arrive Kaliko begins to cringe and whine, in sharp contrast to his behavior with Kor, Gos, and Rinkitink. The eggs merely provided the final crushing blow to his resistance.
[15] Ruth Plumly Thompson, The Gnome King of Oz (1927), p. 88.
[16] Ibid., p. 236.
[17] Thompson, The Wishing Horse of Oz (1935), pp. 158-61, 163.
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