Other characters that are changed include Elphabas’ parents, Melena and Frex. In the musical, her father is the mayor and her mother died while giving birth to Nessa. Also in the musical, Melena had an affair, but that is about all we know about her parents. In the book, the whole first chapter is dedicated specifically to her parents and their lives. Her father was a traveling minister and her mothers’ father was the mayor of Munchinkinland. Her parents also both have affairs with the same man, Turtle Heart. Nessa was born from Melena's affair with Turtle Heart, which Frex knows about yet still dotes on Nessa and ignores Elphaba. He loved Turtle Heart too and didn’t mind the affair. Melena dies giving birth to her third child, a son named Shell, who is left out of the musical. Frex also dies later in the book.…show more content… The first major plot change is the censorship of Elphaba and Fiyero’s affair. In the book, the two characters are involved in a deep love affair that carries on for a long time. Fiyero is also married with three children. This affair allows the reader another reason to be mad at Elphaba and Fiyero for doing this to his family. In the musical, they make Fiyero a normal, young bachelor, which makes Elphaba and Fiyero’s relationship more appealing to young audiences. If he was married with children in the musical, the younger audience members were get the idea that having an affair is not necessarily bad. It also causes the two characters to become appealing with a forbidden love between the two and their struggle to stay
