Glass Dogs and Twisted Souls

Analysis of Frank L. Baum's “The Glass Dog”

by Sweeney Todd

Frank L. Baum’s short story “The Glass Dog” is a striking commentary on the depravity of the human race. This story is all about the dangers of superficiality and materialism and the foolishness of assuming that anyone can be trusted, lessons that the naive youth of today should heed, lest they fall victim to misfortune as did I. I would recommend that it be required reading in all schools, but I fear such a measure would be largely fruitless. Few readers will have the perception and intelligence to see past the story’s appearance as a simple story for children into the enlightening darkness at its core.

According to two of the three main characters of this story, the glass-blower and Miss Mydas, the only things that matter are money and physical appearance, and these things are worth all manner of underhanded conduct. The two of them are completely selfish, and the interaction between the glass-blower and Miss Mydas is entirely based on manipulation, trickery, and the gross overvaluing of material things.

The glass-blower is motivated solely by greed. He cures Miss Mydas’ illness because she is rich, and he wants to marry her in order to escape his own poverty. Had she refused to marry him, the glass-blower would have walked away cheerfully and allowed her to die of her illness. Had she been dying but not rich, he would not have even offered his assistance, and she would have died without even the opportunity to be cured. Of course, she would have deserved it like all the rest of the miserable human race, for she herself is no better; she cares for nothing but looks. She refuses to marry the glass-blower until he uses the wizard’s Beauty Powder to make himself the most handsome man in the world, at which point she falls “in love with his beauty” and agrees to marry him after all.

Ironically--but fittingly--when the glass-blower and Miss Mydas finally have their wishes granted, they gain no happiness. Miss Mydas gets a handsome husband, but becomes “very jealous of her husband’s beauty.” The glass-blower gets the riches he wanted, squanders them, and goes into debt. The couple succeed only in making each other miserable, a fitting fate for a pair so shallow.

The wizard, in stark contrast to the other two despicable characters, shows some degree of wisdom. He occupies himself with his craft and, realizing how unnecessary and unpleasant mixing with the world is, does his best to avoid it. However, his commitment to solitude falters when he engages the glass-blower’s help in creating a dog to keep intruders away, and this one incident sets in motion the rest of the sickening events of the story, including allowing the one person with whom the wizard chose to associate to swindle him. If he had made a dog entirely on his own using magic, or had invented a spell to keep people from knocking on his door, nothing else would have happened, although seeing as how the entire human race is depraved, something else would have happened instead.

“The Glass Dog” may seem like a frivolous fairy tale fit only for children, but it speaks to all of us. It warns us that all are untrustworthy and consumed with lust, that no one will hesitate to hurt you to get what they want. It holds up the fine example of the wizard and encourages us to succeed even where he failed. It forces us to face the truth. Perhaps not all of us can or should take up the razor for the cause of justice, but by recognizing the evil in humanity, one can better protect oneself and others.

If only I had read it sooner.