In L. Frank Baum’s original Wizard of Oz series of books, the Gnomes (spelled “Nomes” by Mr. Baum) are a nasty breed of creatures who live to the east of the Land of Oz, across the Poisonous Desert. This places them opposite of Munchkin Land, former home of the Wicked Witch of the East. The Gnomes first appear in the third book of the original series, “Ozma of Oz” (1907).
One of their more peculiar traits is their absolute immortality. It is almost impossible to kill them, except for touching them with the inside part of an egg. Very weird, that. Now mind you, we never actually see a Gnome hit with an egg so we can’t prove it would kill them. Nevertheless, the narrator assures us this is a fact.
Understanding Immortality in Baum’s Oz
The hope of immortality has fascinated philosophers, religionists, storytellers, and story readers for centuries. In the Land of Oz, immortality takes on some unique features that don’t normally appear in our thinking about the subject. For example, in the sixth book of Mr. Baum’s series, “The Emerald City of Oz,” we see an officer in the Gnome Army, sentenced to “death” by his King Roquat for refusing to obey orders. Roquat has the soldier sliced into thin pieces with a very sharp knife. However, each piece of the poor fellow remains alive. Next, Roquat has the pieces fed to a pack of ravenous seven-headed dogs. We are given no word as to whether the soldier ever actually dies. Personally, I can’t quite wrap my head around that one.
The Dark Side of Living Forever
The Reverend Billy Graham once said, “Eternal death lasts just as long as eternal life.” What Billy meant was that people either go to a terrible hell forever or they go to a blessed heaven forever, depending on the choices they make about Jesus Christ in this life. The Gnome sliced up and fed to the dogs might have an interesting perspective on that, don’t you think?
The Gnome King’s Eternal Reign?
At the heart of the Gnome Kingdom lies the Gnome King, Roquat. He may be immortal, but his reign is not necessarily eternal. The Gnome world is in a constant state of turmoil because of their obnoxious, greedy, selfish nature. In my new book, “The Lost Wizard of Oz,” we see a Gnome Chieftain by the name of Rockpounder, working on a plan to overthrow his king. Read the book and discover how this works out for him.
Conclusion
The Gnomes give us a lens through which we can look at some of the trickier aspects of immortality. Their eternal existence serves as a metaphor for the human condition, a reflection of our desires to transcend mortality’s limitations.
