KidLit Forum

The Glass Dog
By L. Frank Baum
The story begins with a wizard who is always disturbed by people and asks his neighbor, a glassblower for help. He needs a dog and the glassblower grants his wish in return for a universal healing potion to cure his rheumatism. The wizard is satisfied with his glass dog and the glassblower finds out about a lady who is terribly ill. He goes to offer his healing potion, and in return the girl has to marry him. She accepts because she says she will marry anyone if she escapes death. The glassblower gives the lady his potion and she recovers but she goes back to her previous customs forgetting about the marriage deal. The glassblower tries to keep in touch with her to make sure that her promise is kept and she questions him on the potion, more exactly how and where he procured it. The lady finds out about the glass dog and says to the glassblower she wants it. He steals the dog from the wizard, delivers it to the lady and she chases the poor man saying that she will never marry such an ugly man. The wizard comes to his neighbor and complains about his dog that was stolen. He promises the glassblower that if he finds his glass dog, he will give him a beauty potion. The glassblower manages to steal the dog from the lady and brings him back to the wizard who gives him the beauty potion. He takes it and becomes the most beautiful man alive. When she sees him, the lady immediately falls in love with him and they marry but their marriage is destructive for both of them.


This story about the bargain between a wizard and a glassblower is one in which everyone gets what he/she deserves, maybe not in the way we expect. The moral may be that you can deceive people but perhaps you can’t deceive faith.

Also, I think that is interesting the mixture of magic, fairies, wizards with a more modern setting. Frank Baum critiques the society for carrying just for money or beauty. He mocks the glassblower who thinks that if he would marry a rich lady, he would be happy. Also he makes fun of women don’t want to discover the true character of men and care only about external beauty.

I don’t see any empowerment of women, but rather the author uses irony in building the character of Miss Mydas. She is a foolish person who care only about beauty and material things. At the end she deserves her faith. Another character who deserves his faith is the glassblower who deceives the lady and the wizard to get what he wants but it turns out that even if he managed to marry the rich lady, they are not happy. What is between them isn’t love. Actually they might grow hate towards each other. I don’t think this fairy tale is about love, rather it is about getting what you deserve.