How It All Goes Down
- Elphaba wanders off, furious that she missed her chance to kill Morrible.
- She has a burning desire to tell someone what she has done:
The Witch began to fret that she would be denied the credit for her deed. (5.7.3) - It seems she plans to take credit for killing Morrible after all.
- So she heads to Avaric's house to tell him that she's now a murderer.
- Yeah, she's kind of losing it.
- Avaric doesn't know who she is at first, but then his memory is jogged.
- He's still ridiculously good-looking and is now fabulously wealthy too.
- Earlier that day Avaric saw the dwarf from the Philosophy Club and he swears Elphaba was there with them.
- Elphaba makes her dramatic announcement:
"I came by to tell you that I killed Madame Morrible today," said the Witch. She was so proud of the phrase; it seemed less false when said aloud. Maybe it was true." (5.7.27) - Avaric has also developed a very dry sense of humor, and finds the idea of Elphaba coming to his house to declare herself a murderer more amusing than anything else.
- So he invites her to stay for dinner.
- The dinner guests are all very educated and wealthy and avant-garde.
- They have a big discussion about what evil is.
- Elphaba finally says she's leaving. The guests all applaud her as if her murder confession was dinner theater:
"The real thing about evil," said the Witch at the doorway, "isn't any of what you said. You figure out one side of it – the human side, say – and the eternal side goes into shadow. Or vice versa." (5.7.87)