How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Volume.Chapter.Paragraph) and (Volume.Chapter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #10
You want to throw down your burden, throw it down at my feet, or across my shoulders. You want perhaps to weep a little, to say good-bye, and then to leave. And when you leave here you will walk right out of the world. (4.2.2.49)
Sarima gives one of the best assessments of Elphaba's character in the book. As Fiyero once accused her, Elphaba wants to get rid of her own burdens, her sense of guilt, and her sense of personal responsibility. But all that is precisely what's holding her to the world.
Quote #11
And I think you wish me ill. You wish me ill and you don't even know it. You want to punish me for something. (4.2.2.55)
Sarima calls it once again – she would have made a rocking psychologist. Elphaba does seem to subconsciously resent Sarima for existing. But is Elphaba just punishing Sarima in all of this? It seems like she might be punishing herself as well. This idea of Elphaba harboring subconscious malice, or ill-will, is also significant; it does a lot to explain what happened to Manek.