The Dorothys of Oz: A Heroine’s Unmaking

Abstract

Many nineteenth-century Americans wrote fantasy stories for children, but it was not until the publication of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900 that America produced a fantasy story that rivalled Lewis Carroll’s 1865 classic, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.¹ Consequently, historians of children’s literature tend to focus on Baum’s pioneering work in the area of fantasy. Baum’s pioneering spirit, however, can also be seen in his portrayal of girls, especially Dorothy Gale, the most famous of his girl characters. In a time when children’s authors seldom allowed their girl characters to venture far from home, let alone go off on adventures, Baum sent Dorothy on a bona fide quest.