The Christian Imagery of The Wizard of Oz

From an address to the Conference of Catholic Women at Ascension Church, Boca Raton, Florida, February 20, 2024.

Madame President, Board Members, Honored Guests and Council Sisters:

Last Tuesday, one of my students gave me a bulletin from the Catholic Church up in Lake Wales, Florida. He thought I might find it interesting. I always like to see other parishes’ bulletins. One the thing I found very interesting was the announcement for an upcoming woman's retreat with the theme of the “Wizard of Oz.”

You’re probably reacting the same way I did – rather confused. Now, if the theme were the writings of CS Lewis? Okay, that's easy you could take a whole theology class on that – I should know I actually took that class; it’s taught by Dr. Michael Dauphinais, Chair of the Theology Department at Ave Maris University. Even J.R.R. Tolkien is known for the Christianity that weaves through his writing. But L. Frank Baum? He is actually known to have rejected Christianity.

But, if you look deeply into the Wizard of Oz, you find the Christian themes – for, no matter what we claim to believe. God has written His law on our hearts, and it cannot help but influence us.

At first, I looked for the obvious - well, the Tin Man wants a heart and the heart is love and blah blah blah - but that analogy quickly falls apart; you can’t make Dorothy’s three companions fit into pretty little boxes.

But on further reflection (and yes, some research), I began to understand how one could develop an entire retreat on the Wizard of Oz. For what is Dorothy's journey but a journey of faith? She wants to go home; she yearns for home, for the place where she knows she belongs. Clearly, this may be read as an allegory of our own search for our true home of heaven – as Saint Augustine said, our hearts won't rest until we rest in God.

Dorothy’s search takes her on a journey what she meets three strangers: the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. Without those strangers, nameless other than a statement of what they are, nameless and unlike anyone Dorothy has ever met; strangers who become friends - Dorothy would not have fulfilled her task.

We see both faith and hope in Dorothy's journey. She never loses the faith that she will find a way home; she never loses the hope that her faith will be fulfilled. But we also see faith in Scarecrow whose belief that he has no brain has left him stunted. Yet, as the journey progresses, we see that the Scarecrow, in spite of his self-perceived lack of a brain, is in fact quite smart: he quickly figures out how to outsmart the trees into giving them some apples; he quickly understands the Tin Man's dilemma and directs Dorothy as to how to oil the Tin Man's joints. Throughout the journey, he shows his intelligence again and again. Despite his belief that he doesn't have a brain, he has the faith in himself to believe in himself despite his own perceived weakness.

We find the Christian value of hope in both Glinda the Good Witch and the Tin Man. The Tin Man, knowing the emptiness of his chest, knowing that he has no heart, still yearns for the connection to others. His search reminds us of our deepest search, our hope to someday be with God forever. Glinda the Good Witch also exemplifies hope, as she reminds Dorothy of her own abilities and strength.

We find the Christian value of charity in the character in the Cowardly Lion. Despite his fears, he steps out of his comfort zone to threaten anyone who threatens Dorothy. He shows his love for Dorothy and his fellow travelers, even marching into the witch’s domain despite his fears.

Charity is the act of love the act of putting oneself secondary to the other. Every one of the characters in this drama put others before themselves again and again and again.

The Cowardly Lion is first motivated by the idea that the wizard will give him courage. The Tin Man is first motivated by his yearning for a heart; the Scarecrow motivated by his desire for a brain. Even though they all first join Dorothy out of their own self-interest, as the tale progresse,s their self-interest becomes secondary to the interest of the group. Even once the Wizard gives them what they desire, they do not abandon Dorothy but speak up for her, and show a great desire to help Dorothy get home.

Home is where the heart is.  This sentiment is generally attributed to Gaius Plinius Secundus, a Roman Naval commander better known as Pliny the Elder. He lived about the time of Christ, from about 23 to 79 AD. An historian and author, he may have known of the teachings of Christ. Whether he did or not, his teaching that home is where the heart is, informs Dorothy’s search, and our own: we yearn to be where we truly belong. For all of us, then, we yearn to live in heaven with the Lord. As the Baltimore Catechism taught us years ago, “God made [us] to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in heaven.”

May we all search for heaven as persistently and faithfully as Dorothy searched for her way home from Oz. For, like Dorothy in the end, our way home is found within our own hearts, our own desires, and our personal faith in God.