In The Patchwork Girl of Oz Dr. Pipt uses his Powder of Life to animate an ornamental spun-glass cat owned by his wife Margolotte; because the cat fails to serve as a useful mouser Margolotte names it "Bungle." The animated glass figure becomes a sentient companion within Oz rather than a servile mouser.
The Glass Cat is transparent—so clear one can see through it—except for a hard blood-red ruby heart, two large emerald eyes, and bright pink brains in the top of its head that look like a collection of marbles and can be seen working; it has a spun-glass tail and an overall jewel-like, ornamental aspect.
The Glass Cat is sentient and displays intelligence above that of an ordinary cat, with intimate knowledge of Oz's terrain from constant prowling. She uses her keen vision to guide characters in darkness (for example leading Ojo to shelter) and has been shown in Baum's stories to be virtually invulnerable in some episodes despite being made of glass, though she fears being shattered. Her temperament is vain, aloof, and slow to show emotion; she nonetheless can and does assist Dorothy and companions in rescue and guidance roles. In The Patchwork Girl the Wizard replaces her pink brains with clear ones to make her more agreeable, and later books show the pink brains and original personality restored.
Weaknesses
- conditionpsychological fear of being broken
Wards
None recorded.
Gitche Manitou
A term from Algonquian-language traditions referring to the 'Great Spirit' or supreme spiritual principle; used both for a highest or collective spiritual force that underlies many individual spirits (manitous) and as a name applied to a creator or giver of life in Anishinaabe contexts.
Giv (Gev)
Giv (Persian: گیو), also rendered Gev, is a legendary Iranian knight and one of the main human heroes in the New Persian epic Shahnameh. He is presented as a noble paladin of the House of Goudarz, father of Bizhan, brother of Roham, and a loyal companion of kings such as Key Khosrow.
Gjenganger
A Scandinavian revenant — a deceased person who 'goes again' and returns to the realm of the living. Historically depicted as a corporeal, often violent returning dead in saga material and later as a more ghost‑like or disease‑associated presence in post‑medieval folklore.
Gladiator (Kallark)
A historical social role in Roman civic and funerary ritual: armed combatants (Latin: gladiatores) who fought in public spectacles (munera) for commemorative, political, and entertainment purposes. The available sources treat gladiators as human performers and social actors rather than supernatural beings.
Glaistig
A figure from Scottish folklore variously described as a Green Lady, house/estate spirit, herding guardian or a dangerous female lure. Traditions portray the glaistig as ambivalent—beneficent when respected (protecting cattle, households, or bestowing favors) and harmful when offended (luring men, injuring travellers).
Glasir
Glasir is a named tree or grove in Old Norse mythic geography that stands before the doors of Valhalla in Asgard; its foliage is described as red gold and it functions in skaldic and Eddic poetry as a kenning for gold.
Glasya-Labolas
A named spirit from the grimoire/Goetic tradition (Ars Goetia) presented as a ranked demon who appears as a dog with wings like a griffin and is credited with teaching arts and sciences, revealing past and future, commanding legions, influencing affections, and authoring bloodshed.
Glauce
Glauce (Ancient Greek Γλαύκη, Latin Glauca) is a recurring female proper name in Greek myth applied to several distinct figures — sea-nymph (including a Nereid), Arcadian nurse of Zeus, and various mortal princesses (notably the Corinthian bride in the Medea cycle). The name evokes a blue‑green gleam and in some traditions personifies a sea‑color; the figures bearing it function chiefly as attendants, dynastic daughters, or tragic victims rather than as individually powerful supernatural agents.
Glaucia
In Greek myth, Glaucia (Ancient Greek: Γλαυκία) is a daughter of the Trojan river-god Scamander who, after events connected with Heracles' campaign at Troy, was taken to Boeotia where her son gave his and her names to local streams; she functions in the sources as an eponymous genealogical figure linking Trojan divine parentage to Boeotian local cults (not described as an independent supernatural agent).
Glaucus
In classical Greek myth, Glaucus is a former mortal fisherman who became a sea-associated divine figure after contact with a magical herb. He is portrayed as a prophetic sea-being who dwells among the Nereids, is consulted by sailors and voyagers for prophecy, and appears in episodic myths (Argonauts, Menelaus, the Scylla/Circe cycle).
Glaucus of Corinth
Glaucus of Corinth (Greek: Γλαῦκος), often surnamed Potnieus, is a mortal royal figure in Greek mythic genealogies. Described as a son of Sisyphus and a king (variously of Potniae in Boeotia or of Corinth/Ephyra), his principal mythic note is a violent death caused by horsemanship; he functions mainly as a genealogical ancestor in local heroic tradition.
Glenn Talbot
Glenn Talbot is a fictional human military officer in Marvel Comics who serves as a recurring supporting character and occasional antagonist in Hulk-centered stories. Portrayed as a career military man and government agent, he is notable for discovering Bruce Banner's transformations and for representing institutional responses to superhuman phenomena across comics and adaptations.
Community Record
- [1]The Patchwork Girl of Oz — The Glass Cat. L. Frank Baum, The Patchwork Girl of Oz (excerpt: The Glass Cat)literary
- [2]Glass Cat — Wikipedia. Wikipedia entry 'Glass Cat' (summary and analysis of Baum's character)wiki
- [3]The Magic of Oz — The Glass Cat Finds the Black Bag. L. Frank Baum, The Magic of Oz (episode featuring restoration of pink brains and further exploits)literary