Emily Gale

Aunt Em is a fictional character from the Oz books. She is the wife of Uncle Henry and the aunt of Dorothy Gale, who lives together with them on a farm in Kansas. In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, she is described as having been a "young, pretty wife" when she arrived at Uncle Henry's farm, but having been "grayed" by her life there, implying that she appears older than her years. Baum writes that when Dorothy came to live with her, Em would "scream and press her hand upon her heart" when startled by Dorothy's laughter, and she appears emotionally distant to her at the beginning of the story. However, after Dorothy is restored to her at the end of the book, her true nature is seen: she cries out, "My darling child!" and covers her with kisses. There is no question about Dorothy's love for her aunt: her request to the magic Silver Shoes is "Take me home to Aunt Em!"