treated as a theosophical allegory. In a 2020 edition of the Rose Croix Journal, an article written by Timothy J. Ryan argues The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is "an allegory of the mystic's journey, using classic alchemical symbols and operations as Dorothy sojourns along the golden path toward reintegration and the discovery of the Philosopher's Stone." L. Frank Baum was a member of the Theosophical Society and a student of Helena Blavatsky, along with his mother-in-law Matilda Joslyn Gage, the famous American suffragist. The paper draws parallels from theosophical teachings and Baum's own life to suggest the Emerald City is an allusion to the Emerald Tablet, and that Dorothy's journey through Oz closely follows the seven stages of alchemy, from calcination to coagulation. In 1993, W. Geoffrey Seeley recast the story as an exercise in geo-political treachery, suggesting the supposed "Good Witch Glinda" took advantage of the Witch of the East's sudden and unintentional death. Seizing on an opportunity for all-power, Glinda used the innocent Dorothy to unseat the remaining powers of the land, the Witch of the West and the Wizard of Oz, leaving herself as undisputed master of all four corners of Oz: North, East, West and South (and presumably the Emerald City). She even showed her truest "Machiavellian brilliance" by allowing the story to be entitled after the weakest of her three opponents. Glinda could have told Dorothy that the "silver slippers would easily do the job [of returning Dorothy to her beloved home] but decided that a destabilizing force such as Dorothy might be just the thing to shake up her other rival [The Wizard of Oz]." References Bibliography Baum, L. Frank. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), online edition with black and white illustrations; online version from Gutenberg, without illustrations; online version with color illustrations chapter 10 Leach, William. Land of Desire: Merchants, Power, and the Rise of a New American Culture (1993), pp. 248–260. excerpt and text search Leach, William. "The Clown from Syracuse: The Life and Times of L. Frank Baum. " introduction to Leach, ed. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 1991. pp. 1–34. Maceda, María Teresa Gibert. "Margaret Atwood’s Visions and Revisions of 'The Wizard of Oz'." Journal of English Studies 17 (2019): 175-195. Further reading The Yellow Brick Road to Utopiaa comparison of the book and film Pros and cons of Oz as an allegory Children's literature criticism Metallism Oz studies