Ruth Norman Mason

Thinking about attachment styles and Attachment Theory through the Wizard of Oz, of course.

“Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairie with Uncle Henry who was a farmer and Aunty Em who was a farmers wife.”
Baum, L. F. (2008). The wizard of oz. Puffin Classics.

This is the opening lines of the Wizard of Oz in my Pop up edition. I remember them by heart, I always find the gaps in the family stories fascinating. Family stories are those stories that cast a spell over all that live within them, they can get quite rigid and constricting. Many people find that they can’t examine them and ask the questions they need to test the reality of them and yet these two snippets of family story give us location, context and a flavour of Dorothy’s life.

The holes in this family story are huge. We don’t know anything about Dorothy’s birth parents, we don’t know how old she was when she came to live with her Aunt and Uncle. We don’t know how Em and Henry felt about the addition of Dorothy to their life. Were they delighted and joyous or did she place an additional burden on a couple on the edge of poverty? Maybe a bit of both. They are both Christian, how much did this play into their decision to bring Dorothy into their small life.

How was she welcomed? Was Toto a transitional object – bridging her old and new life, he is often the catalyst for change – what is his symbolic meaning in the family?  I like to think that he was some sort of welcome gift, a way to show Dorothy that she was wanted and would have her hearts desire with her new family.

Once she was safely in the small house, her aunt stepped in to her maternal role, with Dorothy clearly recounting to Professor Marvel that Aunt Em was attentive in looking after in sickness. Aunt Em initially supports Dorothy in the conflict with Elvria Gultch. It’s Em that names her the “Wicked Witch”, showing Em’s influence on Dorothy’s internal world (the internal programming we live by).

Then the weather happens, and we know about the witches. When frightened Dorothy wants to return to her primary attachment figures. But she shows that she is also happy to be distracted and involved with other attachment figures.

It is only when she is locked in the castle and under significant stress that she becomes distressed and cries for Aunty Em. Her desire for her Aunt creates a bridge to her via the witches magic crystal, to find that Aunty Em is also searching for Dorothy. Does this small connection help motivate Dorothy to keep going? Does it give her the courage she needs to keep moving forward?

And now to the melting. Bowlby is the first person I’ve come across who articulates how threats to our attachment bonds can cause aggressive behaviour as well as anxiety. Attachment, protection and survival are all interlinked but we often over look how we protect our attachments. Now I’m not saying that Dorothy meant to melt the witch but I can see how anger and fear can motivate protective behaviour in the context of attachment. 

Thinking through Dorothy as she crosses both film and book, I’d be tempted to say that Dorothy is securely attached. She’s shows us that she’s can be in contact with a range of emotions. She is able to be comforted when she needs it. She can tolerate separation; being easily distracted by other people, seeking care when she needs it from the people around her. She is looking for her attachment figures but shows that she can rest when reunited with them.

I’m being selective of course, there are counter narrative points, especially in the later books. But using Dorothy’s experience to explore the idea of secure attachment, this is what I’m thinking about.