Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) is the iconic hero of The Wizard of Oz, but an intriguing theory suggests she is really the Wicked Witch of the East. The musical adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s novel was released in 1939 and is a cinematic landmark that hugely impacted popular culture. Dorothy stands out as Garland’s most memorable role – except this fan theory proposes that the character makes another brief, villainous appearance.
When a tornado tears through the Kansas farmland, Dorothy and her dog, Toto, find themselves transported to the magical Technicolour world of Oz. In her quest to return home, Dorothy meets various eccentric characters who accompany her to the Emerald City. The Wizard of Oz popularized color in film and featured one of cinema’s best villains in the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton), who is determined to capture Dorothy and take her ruby slippers.
There is more than one witch in the land of Oz, with the good-natured Glinda (Billie Burke) helping Dorothy on her journey. However, the Wicked Witch of the East is never fully seen, leading to a theory (via dark Wizard of Oz theory does hold some weight but is complicated by the witches’ family ties and the titular wizard.
The Wizard of Oz ends with Dorothy returning home after clicking the heels of her ruby slippers together three times. Her friends and family believe she was simply dreaming, but Dorothy is convinced her adventure was real. Only then does she realize the Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), Tin Man (Jack Haley), and Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr) were versions of the farmhands she sees every day. The theory argues that Dorothy wasn’t dreaming but instead sent to an alternate reality where she encounters the doppelgangers of her loved ones. However, because she never meets her own double, the theory claims Dorothy is a Wizard of Oz witch. The Wicked Witch of the East is crushed by Dorothy’s house crash-landing in Munchkinland, with the theory speculating “one copy is drawn to destruction in order to avoid paradoxes.” Only the Wicked Witch of the East’s striped legs and ruby slipper-adorned feet are visible. Conveniently, these slippers fit Dorothy’s feet perfectly. Therefore, the Redditor believes Dorothy merely “replaced” her evil counterpart.
It's a compelling theory, especially as the Kansas characters and their Oz doubles were played by the same actors. The theory also notes that The Wizard of Oz’s sequels and spinoffs suggest Oz was not a dream. The idea of Sam Raimi's prequel Oz the Great and Powerful. Although made over 70 years after the original, the prequel's depiction of Glinda as her mother's double makes perfect sense.
The theory complicates these parental and sister dynamics, but fortune teller Professor Marvel and the Wizard (both Frank Morgan) discredits it even more. The Wizard would be Marvel's Oz counterpart were it not for the fact he is originally from Kansas. This exception to the doppelganger motif casts doubt on The Wizard of Oz Dorothy theory.
