Polychrome is a cloud fairy and the youngest daughter of the

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

, thus she is a "sky princess". She first appears in ''

The Road to Oz ''The Road to Oz: In Which Is Related How Dorothy Gale of Kansas, The Shaggy Man, Button Bright, and Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter Met on an Enchanted Road and Followed it All the Way to the Marvelous Land of Oz.'' is the fifth of L. Frank B ...

'' (1909), which is the fifth book of the original fourteen

Oz books The Oz books form a book series that begins with ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900) and relates the fictional history of the Land of Oz. Oz was created by author L. Frank Baum, who went on to write fourteen full-length Oz books. All of Baum's b ...

by American author by L. Frank Baum. She also appears several times in later Oz stories of the classic series, and has a titular role in the modern sequel ''Polychrome: A Romantic Fantasy'' by Ryk E. Spoor.

Appearances

When

Dorothy Gale Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum as the protagonist in many of his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's classic 1900 children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and reappears in most of it ...

, her pet dog Toto, the Shaggy Man, and

Button-Bright This is a list of characters in the original Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. The majority of characters listed here unless noted otherwise have appeared in multiple books under various plotlines. '' Oz'' is made up of four divisions ...

first encounter Polychrome in the fifth chapter of ''The Road to Oz'', she is seen dancing to keep herself warm, after accidentally sliding off her father's rainbow and landing on the surface of the Earth. (Her father withdrew his bow without realizing she had been left behind.) Polychrome is described as: In personality she is sweet and ethereal, very much the archetypical good fairy. She is very sensitive to cold and, while on Earth, often dances to keep warm. Polychrome states that she normally only consumes insubstantial foods such as dewdrops and mist. While on Earth, she can subsist on only minuscule morsels of human food. She is well known in the series for her daintiness and grace, and is considered to be an equal in beauty to

Princess Ozma Princess Ozma is a fictional character from the Land of Oz, created by American author L. Frank Baum. She appears in every book of the Oz series except the first, '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900). She is the rightful ruler of Oz, and Baum ...

herself. Polychrome is more a decorative than an active presence in ''The Road to Oz'', but she makes positive contributions in her subsequent appearances in Baum's fictions. In ''

Tik-Tok of Oz ''Tik-Tok of Oz'' is the eighth Land of Oz book written by L. Frank Baum, published on June 19, 1914. The book has little to do with Tik-Tok and is primarily the quest of the Shaggy Man (introduced in ''The Road to Oz'') to rescue his brother, ...

'' (1914), she summons the dragon Quox to rescue the captured Ozites from the Nome King (The Nome King is dazzled by the beautiful fairy and begs her to remain in his underground realm, which she refuses). In '' The Tin Woodman of Oz'' (1918), she rescues the rusted Captain Fyter the Tin Soldier by oiling his joints, just as Dorothy had done for the

Tin Woodman Nick Chopper, the Tin Woodman, also known as the Tin Man or—mistakenly—the "Tin Woodsman," is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. Baum's Tin Woodman first appeared in his classic 1900 book '' ...

in ''

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz afte ...

'' (1900), and she uses her magic to let the protagonists fit through a rabbit hole. She also restores Tommy Kwikstep to normal. In ''

Sky Island Sky islands are isolated mountains surrounded by radically different lowland environments. The term originally referred to those found on the Mexican Plateau, and has extended to similarly isolated high-elevation forests. The isolation has s ...

'' (1912), she provides the solution to the central characters' main problem.

Portrayals

Polychrome was played by Dolly Castles in the 1913 stage play, ''

The Tik-Tok Man of Oz ''The Tik-Tok Man of Oz'' is a musical play with book and lyrics by L. Frank Baum and music by Louis F. Gottschalk that opened at the Majestic Theatre in Los Angeles, California on March 31, 1913. It is loosely inspired by Baum's book ''Ozma of ...

'' by Baum, Louis F. Gottschalk,

Victor Schertzinger Victor L. Schertzinger (April 8, 1888 – October 26, 1941) was an American composer, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His films include '' Paramount on Parade'' (co-director, 1930), ''Something to Sing About'' (1937) with James C ...

, and

Oliver Morosco Oliver Morosco (June 20, 1875 – August 25, 1945) was an American theatrical producer, director, writer, film producer, and theater owner. He owned the Morosco Photoplay Company. He brought many of his theater actors to the screen. Frank A. Garb ...

. In the play, she sings a duet with Ruggedo titled "When in Trouble Come to Papa".The Tik-Tok Man of Oz
/ref> Polychrome appears briefly in the coronation sequence of '' Return to Oz''. Though the role is an extra, Allen Eyles's ''The World of Oz'' features a production still crediting the role to Cherie Hawkins, who later served for a time on the staff of the theatre department at University of Alaska Anchorage.

References

{{Oz Oz (franchise) characters Female characters in literature Fictional fairies and sprites Literary characters introduced in 1909 Rainbows in culture Fictional princesses