A Wrinkle in Time

Study Guide by Course Hero

A Wrinkle in Time uses the past tense.

What's Inside
ABOUT THE TITLE
The plot of A Wrinkle in Time involves time and space travel.
j Book Basics ................................................................................................. 1 Characters use a tesseract to move between planets and
galaxies. The characters Mrs Whatsit and Charles Wallace
d In Context ..................................................................................................... 1 explain how time can fold or wrinkle in a tesseract, bringing
together two distant points in space and time. The tesseract's
a Author Biography ..................................................................................... 4
resemblance to a wrinkle—or fold—means characters travel
h Characters .................................................................................................. 6 through a wrinkle in time.

k Plot Summary ........................................................................................... 10

c Chapter Summaries .............................................................................. 15

d In Context
g Quotes ........................................................................................................ 36

l Symbols ..................................................................................................... 39
Faith and Religion
m Themes ...................................................................................................... 40
L'Engle incorporated many elements of her Christian faith in
e Suggested Reading .............................................................................. 42 her work. She identified as an Episcopalian, and her writing
often took the form of an allegory—or a story with a symbolic
meaning. In A Wrinkle in Time, where good triumphs over evil,
many supernatural characters represent spiritual forces of
j Book Basics good and evil, and characters frequently quote the Bible.

However, L'Engle said she wasn't trying to write a Christian

AUTHOR
book: "But, of course, it is [a Christian book]. So is Robin Hood,"
Madeleine L'Engle
she said. She believed the characters Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who,
YEAR PUBLISHED and Mrs Which were "guardian angels." L'Engle felt the best
1962 children's books, such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and
A Wind in the Willows (1908), present universal truths. The
GENRE Bible, she believed, did the same: "Even the most
Fantasy, Science Fiction straightforward tales say far more than they seem to mean,"
she said about the biblical book of Genesis.
PERSPECTIVE AND NARRATOR
A Wrinkle in Time features a third-person limited omniscient Both Christian and secular readers have criticized A Wrinkle in
narrator, following protagonist Meg Murry's point of view Time. Some Christian readers think the book encourages
closely. witchcraft. They object to the inclusion of Jesus in Chapter 5's
list of heroic human leaders. Some secular readers, meanwhile,
TENSE
A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide In Context 2

think the book promotes the Christian religion too heavily. worlds. Her mother, Mrs. Murry, is a biologist. Meg herself is
gifted at math and is able to see the concepts behind the
L'Engle was confused and upset by the criticism at first: "It equations. Young Charles Wallace turns to physics to explain
seems people are willing to damn the book without reading it," the concept of "tessering"—or moving through time and space.
she said. She was especially puzzled by accusations the book
was both too religious and not religious enough. Finally, she When L'Engle wrote A Wrinkle in Time, she had dealt with
decided the controversy was "great publicity." several recent deaths. Searching for perspective and purpose,
she began reading about particle physics. Albert Einstein's
Several readers think L'Engle uses Christian ideas to represent work on relativity fascinated her. Einstein's theory of special
something more universal and applicable to everyone. For relativity argued that distance and time are not absolute, but
instance, in the Chapter 5 passage where characters name depend on the observer. It also determined that no material
famous people who have fought evil, they list Indian civil rights object could approach the speed of light. Einstein's famous
activist Gandhi, Indian spiritual leader Buddha, and German equation E=mc²—or energy equals mass times the speed of
theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, along with Christian leader light squared—describes the speed of light in mathematical
Jesus. The passage reflects a sort of "happy religious pluralism terms. Meg quotes this equation in Chapter 3. Characters later
in which Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and even refer to the impossibility of traveling at the speed of light.
scientists can live together," according to American writer Lucy
Tang. L'Engle read a quotation by Einstein in which he described
being "lost in rapturous awe at the power and glory of the mind
The book also deals with the limitations of categories, behind the universe" and decided she had found her
classifications, and names. Meg is described as "not really one theologian. Einstein's writing was the inspiration for her book,
thing or the other." Supernatural characters like Mrs Whatsit, and she later told her publisher, "I used a lot of [physics and
Mrs Who, Mrs Which, and Aunt Beast lack names or physical relativity] principles to make a universe that was creative and
forms human characters can easily understand. Writer Austin yet believable." L'Engle was also intrigued by German physicist
Allen suggests the religious vision behind L'Engle's book is Max Planck's quantum theory, a theory that explained the
similarly "unclassifiable" and not confined to the category of behavior of matter on an atomic scale. In Chapters 8 and 9 of
Christianity. He sees L'Engle's "restless imagination" as larger A Wrinkle in Time, characters walk through walls by
than the doctrine of her faith. rearranging atoms.

By using language and concepts familiar to her, L'Engle Concepts critical to the book include the tesseract, the fourth
articulates ideas everyone can relate to. She encourages and fifth dimensions, and time travel. The "Black Thing," a dark
readers to think about expansive concepts like good and evil. shadow used in the book to represent evil, is similar to the
American writer Rebecca Stead, whose book When You Reach scientific concept of "dark matter." Dark matter is an invisible
Me (2009) is inspired by A Wrinkle in Time, says "a children's substance that reveals itself through the gravitational effect of
book is really the best place to ask big questions." L'Engle its mass on other objects, like planets. L'Engle probably didn't
agreed, and explained that when young readers encounter have dark matter in mind when she wrote the book, since the
myth and fantasy, they're "responding to ... the ... universal theory was developed after A Wrinkle in Time was published.
language ... that cuts across ... barriers of time, place, race, and She may have drawn on older concepts in science and
culture." literature of an invisible substance in the universe affecting
other bodies.

Math and Science The tesseract is a key symbol in A Wrinkle in Time. The book's
space travel experts, Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which,
L'Engle liked to consider the big questions. Thus she turned use the tesseract as a portal from planet to planet. They call
not only to faith but to mathematics and science as well. A the process "tessering" or "wrinkling." A "space tesser" helps
Wrinkle in Time includes references to geometry, physics, and the characters travel great distances. A "time tesser" allows
astronomy, often as integral parts of the plot. Meg's father, Mr. them to take a long time in space, while only a few minutes
Murry, is a physicist, working on a way to travel between pass on Earth. Chapter 5 describes a tesseract as a short cut

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide In Context 3

to traveling at the speed of light. (1884), in which the main characters are flat shapes. A Wrinkle
in Time also includes a brief stop on a two-dimensional planet.
L'Engle borrowed the name tesseract from an established
mathematical concept. The word comes from 19th-century
British scientist Charles Howard Hinton. Hinton studied the
possibility of a fourth dimension beyond the first, second, and
Transcending Boundaries and
third dimensions of length, width, and depth. To visually
represent this dimension, he drew pictures of a tetracube or
Enduring Influence
hypercube. Tetra- is a prefix meaning "four." Hinton's 1888
When L'Engle and her agent tried to get A Wrinkle in Time
book A New Era of Thought introduced the word tesseract to
published, they were frequently asked, "Who is the book for?"
describe this cube.
L'Engle responded, "It's for people; I don't write for an age

On paper the tetracube is similar to the cube drawn in A group, I write for people."

Wrinkle in Time. When Charles Wallace explains the concept of

Although she is often classified as a children's writer, L'Engle
the fourth dimension to Meg, he starts by illustrating the first,
resisted this classification herself. "I'm a writer," she said. "They
second, and third dimensions. The first dimension, length, is
think you have to write differently [for children] ... You just have
represented by a straight line. The second dimension, width, is
to tell a story." She claimed not to understand the difference
represented by a square. Mrs Who illustrates the movement
between novels for children and novels for adults. In her
from the first to the second dimension by moving her skirt.
stories, she said, she was only looking for truth, and she took
First, she holds the skirt in a one-dimensional line, then brings
pains to reflect that truth in her work. In A Wrinkle in Time, for
the two endpoints of the line together to form a two-
example, she insisted that because Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and
dimensional curve. This allows the ant on her skirt to walk more
Mrs Which were "not ordinary mortals but special creatures,"
easily from point to point.
their names should not use a period after "Mrs" (although the

The third dimension—depth—is represented by a cube. In period is included in "Mrs. Murry"). This study guide preserves

Hinton's view, the fourth dimension, time, was represented by a that distinction.

tesseract, or tetracube. But since humans live in a three-

Readers have also had trouble fitting L'Engle's book into a
dimensional world, they cannot visualize a four-dimensional
genre. "It's a book. I don't like categorizing," L'Engle said when
shape. The cube in which Mr. Murry is trapped in Chapter 9 of
asked about the genre. However, A Wrinkle in Time is often
A Wrinkle in Time resembles a tetracube.
considered science fiction or fantasy. But the narrative also

L'Engle's concept of the tesseract resembles what scientists presents a realistic portrayal of family life in the Murry

call a wormhole, or "a theoretical passage through space-time." household, and it presents a coming-of-age story centered on

Wormholes provide a shortcut across the universe, similar to adolescent Meg's growth and maturity.

the shortcut a tesseract allows in A Wrinkle in Time. Although

Because of the book's many fantastical elements, A Wrinkle in
the wormhole is frequently used as a traveling device in
Time has become one of the most frequently banned books in
science fiction, none have yet been proven to exist.
the United States. It has been challenged in elementary

L'Engle is one of many writers who interpret scientific schools for promoting "witchcraft, crystal balls, and demons."

concepts in an imaginative way. Time travel is a frequent Readers—including religious conservatives—have often

literary device. And the possibility of traveling to other accused the book of "undermining religious beliefs" and

dimensions or worlds inspired English writer Lewis Carroll and portraying the Christian God inaccurately.

British writer C.S. Lewis, author of The Lion, the Witch, and the
But for a different group of readers, A Wrinkle in Time has
Wardrobe (1950). In Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,
made a positive impact. Among the book's unusual features is
for instance, Alice travels to another world through a rabbit
a female protagonist in a science fiction plot. In 1962 female
hole, and in Through the Looking-Glass (1871) she finds yet
writers and female protagonists in science fiction were rare.
another world on the other side of a looking glass, or mirror.
But A Wrinkle in Time's thoughtful and complex plot
Edwin Abbott, a 19th-century English writer, explored the
transcended genre characteristics, becoming a hit with both
possibility of two-dimensional characters in his book Flatland

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Author Biography 4

male and female readers. The emotional core of Meg's love for more about playwriting through acting.
her family gives the book an additional resonance.

Many young female readers saw themselves in Meg. L'Engle's

biographer, Leonard Marcus, says science "was not perceived
Creating a "Safe Place"
... as a suitable course of study for girls" at the time. But both
Meg and her mother, Mrs. Murry, have a passion for science
Through Fiction
and math. Mrs. Murry is a successful professional scientist, and
L'Engle earned small theater roles and saw several of her own
Meg has a gift for solving math problems. Catherine Hand, who
plays produced in New York. Her first novel The Small Rain
produced a made-for-television version of the book, says, "For
(1945) was about a determined aspiring pianist. L'Engle met
some of us, [A Wrinkle in Time] planted the seeds of the
actor Hugh Franklin during a production of Russian playwright
women's movement." She notes Meg is "stronger than her
Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (1904). The two married
father" by the end of the book, providing an inspirational role
in 1946 and moved to the rural town of Goshen, Connecticut, in
model for girls.
1951. They called their 200-year-old white farmhouse

The novel has been recognized repeatedly for its contributions "Crosswicks" after L'Engle's family estate.

to literature. In addition to the Newbery Medal, A Wrinkle in

In Goshen, the couple bought and ran a general store. L'Engle
Time won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award and the Sequoyah
said, "A lot of what I learned in our store was of immense value
Book Award in 1965, and was a finalist for the Hans Christian
to a writer ... Our customers included gypsies, carnival men,
Andersen Award.
farmers, factory workers, artists, and philosophers." The
people she met at the store became an inspiration for her
novel Meet the Austins (1960) about an eccentric family. Both
a Author Biography Meet the Austins (1960) and A Wrinkle in Time were partially
set in a rural home similar to L'Engle's own.

L'Engle later reflected on raising children in the 1950s, when

An Early Start in Writing the world seemed "poised for nuclear war." At the time, the
United States was involved in the Cold War (1947–91), a
Acclaimed author Madeleine L'Engle is known for her daring, post–World War II rivalry with the Soviet Union. Each side
imaginative works exploring expansive concepts like good and threatened to use nuclear weapons. Americans were
evil. She was born in New York City on November 29, 1918, to a frightened and unsure of the outcome. Some thought they
wealthy and artistic family. Her mother was a pianist, and her could die at any minute. Despite this foreboding atmosphere,
father was a music and drama critic for The New York Sun. Her L'Engle and her husband "tried anyway, for the children, to
father's family had a country estate in New Jersey called create that safe place." Her books echo this sense of home as
Crosswicks, which L'Engle wrote about in her autobiographies. a safe haven from danger. A Wrinkle in Time also reflects an
L'Engle was often left to herself as a child. She established her ongoing fear of Soviet communism and totalitarianism,
own "interior dream world" through reading, writing, art, and oppressive forms of government that permitted no personal
music. This dream world, she says, helped her through freedom.
troublesome periods as an adult.
L'Engle raised three children: Josephine, Bion, and Maria. She
L'Engle moved to Europe at age 12 and attended boarding stayed up late and woke early to write. Her 30s were spent in
school in Switzerland. She clung to dreams of being a writer "spasms of guilt" for writing too much and feeling inadequate
for the page and stage. "It didn't occur to me that there was an as a wife and mother. Publishing became more difficult. After a
alternative career," she said. She described writing as "an series of rejections, she nearly quit writing at age 40, but found
essential function, like sleeping and breathing." At Smith she couldn't stop. She kept getting ideas for stories. In her
College in Massachusetts, L'Engle continued to study literature journal, L'Engle recorded a "moment of decision," saying, "I had
and theater. In 1941 she graduated with a bachelor's degree in to write. I had no choice in the matter."
English, and she returned to New York City hoping to learn

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Author Biography 5

Meet the Austins became the first in a series based around the by an absolute state authority, also pervades the novel. The
lives of the Austin family. It included The Moon by Night (1963), children travel to the planet Camazotz, a society ruled by
The Twenty-four Days Before Christmas (1964), The Young leaders who insist on conformity. The fight against the evil
Unicorns (1968), and A Ring of Endless Light (1980). In A Ring represented in Camazotz is often understood as L'Engle's
of Endless Light, young protagonist Vicky Austin experiences response to the Cold War.
death for the first time and processes her feelings through
telepathic communication with dolphins. The series' Sequels A Wind in the Door (1973), A Swiftly Tilting Planet

supernatural elements, its focus on family love, and its (1978), Many Waters (1986), and An Acceptable Time (1989)

descriptions of "the cosmic battle between light and darkness" expanded on Meg and the Murry family's story. The series is

continued in L'Engle's other books. known as the Time Quintet. Characters from the Austin family
series sometimes appear in the Time Quintet, and vice versa. In
what critics have called "the long dream" of L'Engle's fiction,

A Wrinkle in Time and Time there are a few unifying elements and themes. These include
gifted children, communication with the supernatural, a loving

Quintet family, and the search for an absent father.

Meg, one of science fiction's first notable heroines, is moody,

While writing Meet the Austins, L'Engle nurtured a more impatient, and stubborn, but also caring, curious, and devoted
unconventional story idea. Her novel A Wrinkle in Time (1962) to her family. "Of course I'm Meg," L'Engle said. She made the
featured three children in a battle to save the world from character semi-autobiographical on purpose. L'Engle's
cosmic evil. The children are aided by three unusual shape- granddaughter Charlotte Voiklis sees the resemblance, saying
shifting women and creatures from other planets. "I cannot L'Engle acted "in the same impetuous, passionate, stubborn,
possibly tell you how I came to write it," L'Engle later said; "It loving way" as Meg.
was only after it was written that I realized what some of it
meant."

Publishers balked at the novel's strange plot, although one Family Life and
publisher believed he might be turning down the next Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland (1865). The book's religious Autobiographies
overtones also put off several readers. L'Engle was a devoted
Episcopalian, and her Christian faith is a recurring element in L'Engle and her family moved back to New York City in the

her work. A Wrinkle in Time quotes several passages from the 1960s. She worked as the librarian and writer in residence at

Bible. New York's Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine.

The novel was rejected 26 times before L'Engle's agent sent it Although she is best known for her fiction, L'Engle wrote in

to John Farrar of the publishing house Farrar, Strauss & multiple genres. She had what one critic called "a peculiar

Giroux. Farrar had misgivings—the book was unusual. But he splendor" in her body of work. Her writing includes plays,

took a chance. The book's editor agreed with L'Engle that "the poetry, spiritual meditations, and autobiographies.

capabilities of young readers are greatly underestimated." The

L'Engle's memoirs, The Crosswicks Journals, were divided into
gamble paid off. Readers and critics loved the book. In 1963 A
four books: A Circle of Quiet (1972), The Summer of the Great-
Wrinkle in Time won the Newbery Medal, the publishing world's
Grandmother (1974), The Irrational Season (1977), and Two-
highest honor for children's literature. It became L'Engle's best-
Part Invention (1988). Other works of nonfiction include The
known work.
Genesis Trilogy (2001). The memoirs often contain "idealized,"

A Wrinkle in Time's uniqueness made an impression on or fictional elements.

readers. The novel combines common science fiction and

L'Engle claimed her real truths were in her fiction. According to
fantasy devices, moral concepts of good and evil, and the
her family, L'Engle's blending of fiction and nonfiction spilled
coming-of-age quest of the awkward, but brilliant, protagonist
over into real life. Some family members say her many works of
Meg Murry. Imagery associated with totalitarianism, or control

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Characters 6

autobiography are more imagination than fact. Her children

feel she reinvented their childhoods for her memoirs, h Characters
presenting an inaccurate portrayal of their lives.

L'Engle's children have complicated feelings about "a mother

who was not just a celebrity but an institution." They feel she Meg
didn't always relate well to reality. L'Engle's gifted son,
Bion—the inspiration for A Wrinkle in Time's precocious Meg is a gifted mathematician, but her very high intelligence
character Charles Wallace—died of alcohol-related interferes with her school performance. She struggles to follow
complications. L'Engle's daughter, Maria Rooney, said Bion rules, and resists authority figures. Meg is stubborn, impatient,
struggled with being "the magic child." L'Engle, Charlotte and can't help expressing her emotions. She considers herself
Voiklis claimed, refused to acknowledge the reason for Bion's unattractive and clumsy, and she wears glasses and braces.
death. She loves her family and is fiercely devoted to them. Meg
develops maturity, self-confidence, and independence through
L'Engle believed there was little difference between fiction and the events in the book. She realizes her faults can be her
nonfiction in writing. Recalling her struggle to get publishers to strengths.
understand A Wrinkle in Time, L'Engle said, "It's very difficult
for people to understand ... a story can be truthful and not
factual." Charles Wallace
Charles Wallace is insightful and clever, and possesses
Influence and Legacy wisdom far beyond his years. He has an uncanny
understanding of math and science, and his mind reading skills
Women who read L'Engle's work in the 1960s often describe give him exceptional knowledge of human behavior. He is
her—and her revolutionary character Meg—as important particularly close to his mother and sister, Meg. Despite his
formative influences. Meg was an intellectual oddball and a intelligence, Charles Wallace cannot read and doesn't attend
heroine in an era in which women had few fictional role models. school. He deliberately hides his intellect so people in town
Leonard S. Marcus, who wrote a biography of L'Engle called consider him "dumb." Charles Wallace is well aware of his gifts,
Listening for Madeleine: A Portrait of Madeleine L'Engle in Many and can sometimes be arrogant, and overestimate his own
Voices (2013), said L'Engle's memoirs offered "guidance abilities.
through the minefields of mid-twentieth century American
womanhood."

L'Engle's approach to writing has also inspired fans. When she

Calvin
wrote, she felt she was taking dictation for her subconscious.
Calvin is outgoing and friendly, and has a gift for
She said fantasy authors should tap into "something both
communicating with all kinds of people. He enjoys English and
deeper and wider" than their own experiences. However, her
reading but struggles in math. Despite his popularity in school,
connection between storytelling and faith went beyond
Calvin secretly feels alone and longs to be accepted. He acts a
Christianity. Stories, said L'Engle, indicate "faith that the
certain way to fit in with others, but this behavior doesn't
universe has meaning ... that what we ... say or do ... matters
reflect his true self. His large family ignores him, and he envies
cosmically." Showing her love for scientific metaphors, L'Engle
the close Murry family. Calvin and Meg realize they have more
compared a book to a star in its "explosive material, capable of
in common than they thought and become romantically
stirring up fresh life endlessly."
interested in each other.
L'Engle died on September 6, 2007, after having written over
60 books. The St. James Guide to Children's Writers called her
"one of the truly important writers of juvenile fiction in recent
decades."

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Characters 7

Mrs Whatsit
Mrs Whatsit is wise and good-natured. Although she is around
two billion years old, she is the youngest of the children's three
guides. Her relative youth allows her to communicate in a way
the children understand. She can adopt different physical
forms, including the form of a magnificent winged horse. Mrs
Whatsit was once a star who died in an explosion, or
supernova, and her true nature is "beyond human
understanding."

Mrs Who
Mrs Who is well read and speaks multiple languages. She finds
it challenging to verbalize her own thoughts, since she sees
language as an imperfect medium of communication. Before
the children embark on a dangerous mission, Mrs Who gives
them literary quotes to inspire, motivate, and empower them.
She also gives Meg a pair of glasses to help rescue her father.

Mrs Which
Mrs Which is the eldest of the three guides and has the most
experience in tessering, or time traveling. Because of her
physical distance from the children, her words sound as if she
is coming from far away. Mrs Which enjoys playing practical
jokes to entertain Mrs Whatsit and Mrs Who, and likes dressing
up as a witch. However, she takes her responsibilities seriously.

IT
IT functions as a symbol of conformity and control. The large
brain rules a planet like a totalitarian leader, allowing its
residents no freedom. The power of IT also shows the
consequences of the brain ruling without a heart. IT is
physically repulsive, gives off bright red light, and has a loud,
rhythmic pulse that drowns out independent thought.

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Characters 8

Character Map

Charles Wallace
Insightful, sensitive,
sometimes arrogant Father
child prodigy Friends

Mrs Who Calvin

Well-read supernatural Outgoing, athletic, but
being; speaks in literary lonely high schooler;
quotations Siblings gifted in English

Guide

Friends

Meg
Insecure, stubborn, and
Guide emotional teenager; gifted
in math Mrs Whatsit
Mrs Which Guide Wise supernatural
Ancient supernatural
being; changes
being; lacks physical form
physical forms

Antagonist
Father

IT Mr. Murry
Disembodied brain; Gifted physicist;
ruler of Camazotz victim on Camazotz

Main Character

Other Major Character

Minor Character

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Characters 9

Full Character List Happy

The Happy Medium is a fortuneteller the
time travelers visit. She has an upbeat
Medium personality and can see visions through
her crystal ball.
Character Description

Mr. Jenkins is the principal of Meg's

Meg Murry is a teen girl, and the oldest
school. He criticizes her poor
of four siblings. She is tasked with Mr. Jenkins
Meg performance in school and assumes her
rescuing her father and, later, her
father isn't coming back.
younger brother, Charles Wallace.

The little boy on Camazotz is a child

Charles Wallace Murry is a five-​year-​old
Little boy in who drops his ball while the other
prodigy, and the youngest child in the
Charles Camazotz children play. He is later punished for
Murry family. He has supernatural
Wallace not conforming to the town's pattern.
abilities, including the ability to read
minds.
The man in the office building is a
worker at Camazotz's CENTRAL
Calvin O'Keefe is a tall, athletic 14-​year- Man in the
Central Intelligence building. He speaks
old boy with red hair. He travels with the office building
Calvin to Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace
Murry children on their mission to find when they visit.
Mr. Murry.

The man with red eyes is an authority at

Mrs Whatsit is a supernatural being who Man with red the CENTRAL Central Intelligence
used to be a star in the universe. She eyes building. He is controlled by IT and
Mrs Whatsit takes the form of an old woman and is encourages his visitors to give in to IT.
one of the children's three guides on
their celestial journey.
The middle beast is one of the beasts
Middle beast who encounter Meg, Calvin, and Mr.
Mrs Who is a supernatural being and Murry on Ixchel.
one of the children's three guides on
Mrs Who
their celestial journey. She frequently
speaks in literary quotations. Dennys is one of Meg's twin brothers.
He is easygoing, athletic, and an
Dennys Murry average student. He worries about
Mrs Which is a supernatural being and Charles Wallace being bullied when he
one of the children's three guides on starts school.
Mrs Which their celestial journey. She has no
physical form and appears as a
"shimmer" of silver light. Mr. Murry is Meg and Charles Wallace's
father. He is a gifted government
Mr. Murry
physicist trapped on Camazotz after a
IT is the disembodied brain ruling
time-​traveling mission went wrong.
Camazotz. IT traps the man with red
IT
eyes and Charles Wallace, forcing them
to speak with IT's thoughts and words. Mrs. Murry is Meg and Charles
Mrs. Murry Wallace's mother. She is a biologist who
works in a lab at home.
Aunt Beast is the creature who cares
for Meg on planet Ixchel. She chooses
Aunt Beast
the word "Aunt" to describe their Sandy is one of Meg's twin brothers. He
relationship. is easygoing, athletic, and an average
Sandy Murry
student. He encourages Meg not to take
things personally.
Mrs. Mrs. Buncombe is the Murry family's
Buncombe neighbor.

Fortinbras Fortinbras is the Murry family's dog.

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Plot Summary 10

The paperboy is a teenager delivering

papers on Camazotz. He meets Meg,
Chapter 3|Mrs Which
Paperboy
Calvin, and Charles Wallace and tells
them about the city's virtues. Meg and her mother discuss Charles Wallace, whose genius-
level abilities set him apart from others. Mrs. Murry says she
The tall beast is the beast who doesn't understand Charles Wallace, but she accepts him. Meg
Tall beast communicates with Mr. Murry and and Calvin go for a walk in the woods, where Calvin asks Meg
Calvin on Ixchel.
about her father. When Meg breaks down crying, Calvin
understands.
The woman in Camazotz is the mother
of the young boy who drops his ball. She Charles Wallace finds Meg and Calvin, and tells them they
Woman in
is nervous about the arrival of Meg,
Camazotz need to leave for a mission. He is not sure where they are
Calvin, and Charles Wallace because
they are strangers. going, but the mission has something to do with their father,
Mr. Murry. Joining the three children are Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who,
and their companion, Mrs Which, whom the children see as a
"shimmer," without physical form.
k Plot Summary
Chapter 4|The Black Thing
Chapter 1|Mrs Whatsit
Meg feels herself yanked into a cold, dark nothingness. When
she emerges she is on a field of grass surrounded by
Teenager Meg Murry sits in her attic bedroom in the family's
mountains. Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which explain they
large farmhouse, while a storm rages outside. She is worried
are on the planet Uriel, where they have stopped to rest. Mrs
about her performance in school, but is more concerned about
Whatsit transforms into a winged horse. The children ride on
her father, who has been missing for over a year.
her back over Uriel. As the sun sets they observe a dark,
Meg goes to the kitchen where her mother, Mrs. Murry, and menacing shadow over the planet. Mrs Whatsit explains Mr.
younger brother, Charles Wallace, are having a midnight snack. Murry is fighting this shadow, called the "Black Thing." The
The three are visited by an old woman named Mrs Whatsit, a children have been sent to rescue him.
friend of Charles Wallace. Mrs Whatsit can't stay long, but she
tells Mrs. Murry, "there is such a thing as a tesseract." Mrs.
Murry is shocked. Chapter 5|The Tesseract
Mrs Whatsit and Charles Wallace explain to Meg that they
Chapter 2|Mrs Who have used a device called a tesseract to travel through space-
time. They travel to another planet to visit the Happy Medium, a
The next morning Meg asks her mother what a tesseract is. fortuneteller. The Happy Medium shows the children that the
Mrs. Murry says it's a concept she will explain later. Meg is Black Thing has shadowed planet Earth. Mrs Whatsit
distracted in school and sent to the principal's office. The reassures them that forces throughout the universe are
principal, Mr. Jenkins, warns Meg her father might not come fighting the Black Thing. Some of the greatest fighters have
home. been scientists, artists, and religious leaders on Earth.

In the afternoon Meg and Charles Wallace meet Mrs Who, a

woman who lives with Mrs Whatsit in a farmhouse people
Chapter 6|The Happy Medium
believe is haunted. The Murrys run into Calvin O'Keefe, a
popular older boy from Meg's school. Calvin says he felt a
Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which send the children to the
"compulsion" to come out to the woods. He reveals he is lonely,
planet Camazotz, which has "given in" to the Black Thing. Each
and happily joins the Murry family for dinner.

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Plot Summary 11

of the children receives a gift to help them fight. Meg is given "heartbeat." Calvin and Meg almost fall into IT's power. At the
her faults—anger, stubbornness, and impatience. Charles last minute, Mr. Murry hurls Meg and Calvin through a
Wallace is warned not to let "pride and arrogance" betray him. tesseract.

On Camazotz the children discover a suburb where all the

mothers and children move in synchronized robotic ways. They
travel to urban Camazotz and enter a mysterious building
Chapter 10|Absolute Zero
called "CENTRAL Central Intelligence."
When Meg resurfaces, she is trapped, frozen, and on another
planet with Mr. Murry and Calvin. Mr. Murry explains to Calvin
that he and his fellow scientists were experimenting with
Chapter 7|The Man with Red interdimensional time and space travel, but the experiment
went wrong. Mr. Murry realized he knew much less than he
Eyes thought. Meg slowly recovers the ability to speak. She is
furious with her father for not rescuing Charles Wallace. Mr.
In CENTRAL Central Intelligence the children find a man with Murry tells her he is an imperfect human being, but he still has
red eyes, who encourages them to give in to Camazotz's hope everything will work out.
powerful leader, a being called IT. He says this is the only way
they will find Mr. Murry. Three large beasts with tentacles find Meg, Mr. Murry, and
Calvin. They see that Meg needs immediate treatment and
Meg and Calvin resist, but Charles Wallace feels he has the take her back with them, despite Mr. Murry's protests.
brainpower to learn more about IT. He also wants to find his
father, whom he hasn't seen since infancy. Charles Wallace
draws closer to the man with red eyes. Then Charles Wallace's
behavior changes. Meg realizes Charles Wallace has been
Chapter 11|Aunt Beast
taken over by IT.
Meg bonds with the beast who takes care of her, naming her
Aunt Beast. Meg learns the beasts don't need sight—they know
the way things are, not the way things look.
Chapter 8|The Transparent
When Meg recovers, she reunites with her family. The beasts
Column have been discussing a plan to recover Charles Wallace but
haven't found a way. Meg grows increasingly frustrated.
The children continue through CENTRAL Central Intelligence
to find Mr. Murry. Charles Wallace, now in the power of IT, tells
Meg that conformity and obedience on Camazotz have solved Chapter 12|The Foolish and the
all the people's problems. He claims differences and
individuality make people unhappy. Meg tries to argue with him, Weak
and Calvin tries to coax the real Charles Wallace out.
Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which return and reveal that
they can't save Charles Wallace either. Meg learns she will
Chapter 9|IT have to return to Camazotz on her own. She knows Charles
Wallace best. Meg forgives her father and sets off on her
Meg then sees her father trapped in a transparent column. She journey. Mrs Which advises Meg that she has a secret weapon
is able to reach him, using a pair of glasses Mrs Who gave her. IT doesn't have, but she needs to discover this weapon on her
Meg hopes her father will solve everything. But when Mr. Murry own.
is helpless and unable to talk to Charles Wallace, Meg is
disappointed. Charles Wallace leads Meg, Mr. Murry, and Meg returns to Camazotz and IT. Charles Wallace, trapped in

Calvin to IT, a large, disembodied brain with a rhythmic IT's power, is waiting. Meg feels hate, anger, and resistance but
realizes that IT has all those things. After Meg reflects on Mrs

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Plot Summary 12

Whatsit's love for her, she knows IT doesn't have love. Meg
feels her love for Charles Wallace, and slowly her brother
breaks free from IT's hold on him.

Meg and the recovered Charles Wallace move through a

tesseract, back to their home on Earth with Mr. Murry and
Calvin. The Murry family joyfully reunites, and Mrs Whatsit, Mrs
Who, and Mrs Which leave for another journey.

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Plot Summary 13

Plot Diagram

Climax

7
Falling Action
6
Rising Action
5 8

4
9
3
Resolution
2
1

Introduction

7. Meg volunteers to save Charles Wallace.

Introduction

1. Meg meets Mrs Whatsit and Mrs Who.

Falling Action

8. Meg rescues Charles Wallace from Camazotz.

Rising Action

2. Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace travel to Uriel.

Resolution
3. The children learn about the fight against the Black Thing.
9. The Murry family is reunited on Earth.
4. Charles Wallace is taken over by IT on Camazotz.

5. Meg rescues Mr. Murry from Camazotz.

6. Meg, Calvin, and Mr. Murry meet the beasts on Ixchel.

Climax

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Plot Summary 14

Timeline of Events

Evening, first day

Mrs Whatsit arrives at the Murry home.

Afternoon, second day

Meg and Charles Wallace meet Calvin in the woods.

Evening, second day

The children use a tesseract and land on planet Uriel.

Evening, second day

Meg learns about tessering.

Second day

The children learn about the Black Thing, and visit the
Happy Medium.

Second day

The children travel to Camazotz.

Second day

Charles Wallace is taken over by IT.

Second day

Meg rescues Mr. Murry from Camazotz.

Second/third day

Meg, Calvin, and Mr. Murry arrive on Ixchel and meet the
beasts.

Third day

Meg returns to Camazotz and saves Charles Wallace.

Third day

Meg and Charles Wallace return to Earth, and reunite

with Mr. Murry and Calvin.

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Chapter Summaries 15

Charles Wallace mentions that he will talk to his friend Mrs

c Chapter Summaries Whatsit about Meg. He won't reveal much about Mrs Whatsit,
however. He says she lives in an abandoned house in the
woods with her two friends. He met them "by accident" while

Chapter 1 exploring the woods with Fortinbras.

The storm grows louder and Fortinbras begins barking.

Someone is at the door. Mrs. Murry lets in a person bundled in
Summary a coat, scarves, and a hat. Charles recognizes the visitor as
Mrs Whatsit, a pleasant old woman. Mrs. Murry offers Mrs
On a "dark and stormy night" teenager Margaret (Meg) Murry Whatsit a sandwich.
shivers in her farmhouse attic bedroom. The storm outside may
turn into a hurricane, and Meg can't sleep. She worries about Meg doesn't trust Mrs Whatsit. Did she steal Mrs. Buncombe's
her poor performance in school. Kids tease her for being sheets? Why is she friends with Charles Wallace? Mrs Whatsit
immature, and tease her five-year-old brother Charles Wallace says she has just moved to the neighborhood. Charles Wallace
for being "dumb." When Meg got in a fight defending Charles criticizes her for stealing the sheets—he would have given her
Wallace, her 10-year-old twin brothers Sandy and Dennys were sheets if she had asked. Mrs Whatsit praises the Murry family
upset with her. for understanding Charles Wallace, and letting him be himself.
Mrs. Murry admits no one in the family is "quite up to Charles."
Meg is also concerned about her father, who has mysteriously
disappeared. Meg's mother thinks he is coming back, but Mrs Whatsit, with help from Mrs. Murry, pulls off her wet boots.
townspeople are gossiping about him viciously. Unlike her She politely declines Mrs. Murry's offer to let her stay the night,
mother, Meg can't help showing her emotions when people talk saying, "Wild nights are my glory." Mrs Whatsit says she will
about her family. leave in a moment but tells Mrs. Murry, "There is such a thing
as a tesseract."
The family dog, Fortinbras, barks downstairs. Meg remembers
there is an intruder in the neighborhood who stole sheets from Mrs. Murry is stunned. As Mrs Whatsit leaves, Mrs. Murry
their neighbor Mrs. Buncombe. Is the intruder in their house? wonders aloud, "How could she have known?"
Meg walks downstairs in the dark to find out. Still
apprehensive, she joins Charles Wallace in the kitchen for a
late-night snack. Charles Wallace has already warmed milk for Analysis
her cocoa. Meg wonders how her little brother can read minds.
The book begins with a familiar phrase. Edward George
Charles Wallace rarely speaks around others. People think he Bulwer-Lytton, a 19th-century novelist, is considered the first
and Meg aren't very bright, but their mother, Mrs. Murry, a to write the phrase, "It was a dark and stormy night." The
scientist, has reassured Meg she will learn at her own pace. phrase is now a well-known and clichéd beginning to scary
She and Meg's father gave their children IQ tests and know stories. L'Engle wants to evoke the feeling of a scary tale told
how smart Meg and Charles Wallace are. Charles Wallace around a campfire. The phrase invites the reader in, and warns
proved them right when he spoke in complete sentences the them about what is to come.
first time he talked.
The setting won't move from planet Earth for a few more
Mrs. Murry joins Meg and Charles Wallace in the kitchen for chapters, but the anxiety of the storm outside creates a feeling
sandwiches. The room is warm, dry, and familiar, and Meg feels of the menacing unknown. Meg sees "wraith-like shadows,"
comforted. But she is bothered she didn't inherit her mother's and the reader pictures a wraith, spirit, or ghost. Powerful
good looks. Mrs. Murry, looking at Meg's bruises, advises her to verbs such as "scudded," "ripped," and "raced" describe the
find a "happy medium," and avoid fighting at school. Meg storm's progress. Meg feels at the mercy of a force larger than
wishes she weren't such an "oddball." Mrs. Murry tells Meg to herself, one she cannot control or understand.
give herself time.
Meg's inner state is also tumultuous. Her strong emotions are

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Chapter Summaries 16

established as a dominant character trait. So is her aggressive travels toward a goal. The journey of a quest narrative is both
desire to defend her family. external and internal. Meg travels to many different locations,
and goes through changes on the inside.
She begins the book as someone who feels she is "doing
everything wrong." She has a sense of being judged by At the beginning, Meg struggles to curb her overwhelming
"everybody else," and found wanting. She knows what she emotions. The "happy medium" her mother suggests means a
lacks, not what she has to offer. Although Meg's exact age is more moderate response to stressful situations. A "happy
never given, she is probably between the ages of 11 and 14. Her medium" is just the right amount of something—neither too
social status, academic performance, and outward appearance much nor too little. L'Engle will bring up the phrase "happy
are all important to her. And she feels she is failing in each medium" again with a different meaning in Chapter 5. It's one
area. example of the wordplay or puns she uses throughout the
novel. Mrs Whatsit later struggles to get to her feet "with a
There are two main aspects to Meg's journey and growth sprained dignity." The wordplay comes from the idea of dignity,
throughout the book. One is her quest to find her father and to an inner trait, being a physical body part.
save Charles Wallace. The other is her exploration of her own
identity. In Chapter 1 Meg sees herself as a "monster," Mrs Whatsit's name is also a play on words. Her name returns
someone noticeably different. She envies how easily her to the novel's questions about identity. Who or what is Mrs
brothers Sandy and Dennys fit in. She lives in a world where Whatsit? In the book, she will adopt the disguises of an old
conformity and obedience equal success. If she were like woman and a winged creature. She will be called a star and a
everyone else, she would do well in school and no one would guardian angel. Neighborhood children might fear she is a
gossip about her. She feels being different is her weakness. ghost. With each new identity, she takes on different
characteristics. On Earth, she disguises herself as an old
Mrs. Murry tells Meg, "You're much too straightforward to be woman—an identity representing wisdom, comfort, and
able to pretend to be what you aren't." The theme of identity sometimes eccentricity. Her unusual outfit and enjoyment of
and appearances begins with Meg's discomfort with her "wild nights" already suggest she is different from other
identity. Many characters take on disguises. They may assume people.
different physical forms like Mrs Whatsit does. Or they may
alter their actions and personality like Calvin O'Keefe and Charles Wallace frequently functions as a go-between with
Charles Wallace do. But Meg cannot alter or hide anything. She human characters and supernatural characters. His own
is who she is. This genuineness will later prove to be one of her identity involves a little of both. In Chapter 1 he explains to Mrs
strengths. Whatsit that in order to navigate the human world, she cannot
steal from people. As a member of the human world, Meg feels
The reader also learns how Meg relates to the eccentric, loving a natural distrust for the strange visitor. She hasn't yet
Murry family. Fortinbras, the family dog, is named after a learned—as her mother has—to accept things she cannot
character from 16th-century English playwright William understand.
Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, highlighting the family's love of
intellectual pursuits. He was an abandoned stray the family The reader doesn't yet know what a tesseract is, but Mrs
took in, establishing the Murry house as a home for those who Whatsit's revelation and Mrs. Murry's reaction suggest that a
don't have homes. The vegetation, bright colors, and glowing tesseract is something significant. Readers also sense Mrs
lights in the Murry home establish it as a place of comfort and Whatsit already knows a lot more about the Murrys than they
warmth. have told her.

Charles Wallace is an "oddball" like Meg. He reveals his most

significant character traits—intelligence, sensitivity,
vulnerability, and a little too much self-assurance.
Chapter 2
The Murrys also deal with a sense of loss. The search for Mr.
Murry drives the novel's plot forward. It provides the first
motivation for the "quest narrative"—a story in which a hero

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Chapter Summaries 17

Wallace isn't sure. He invites Calvin to the Murry house for

Summary dinner. But first they will visit Mrs Whatsit's house.

When Meg wakes the next morning, she wonders if the The house has boards nailed across the doors and rats and
previous night's events were a dream. In the kitchen her crows surrounding it. Charles Wallace reassures Meg and
mother tells her the night was real. "You don't have to Calvin that his friends enjoy "using all the typical props." The
understand things for them to be," Mrs. Murry says. She tells three enter a kitchen where a bubbling pot hangs over a
Meg a tesseract is a "concept," but doesn't explain further. At fireplace. An old woman with large glasses sits in a rocker,
the breakfast table, Sandy and Dennys accuse Meg of not busily sewing Mrs. Buncombe's stolen sheets. She tells an
having much common sense. indignant Charles Wallace she wanted to make ghosts for the
haunted house.
Exhausted all day in school, Meg is sent to the principal's office
for being rude to her teacher. The principal, Mr. Jenkins, tells Charles Wallace introduces the woman as Mrs Who. Mrs Who
her to improve her grades. He asks if Meg is unhappy at already knows the children's names. She frequently uses
home—has she heard from her father? Meg thinks Mr. Jenkins quotes from other languages to make her points. Mrs Who tells
isn't concerned, but rather curious. The whole town must know the children, "It's getting near time," and their father needs their
her father hasn't written them a letter for a year. Mr. Jenkins help. Meg and Charles Wallace want to know more, but Mrs
asks what line of work Meg's father was in. Meg retorts, "He is Who sends them away. They head to the Murry home for
a physicist." Although Mr. Jenkins wants Meg to "face facts" dinner. Calvin feels he is going home for the first time in his life.
about her father, Meg insists her father is alive and coming
home.

When Meg arrives home from school, Charles Wallace is

Analysis
waiting for her. He has packed food and tells her they are
As a scientist, Mrs. Murry is comfortable with what she doesn't
going to see Mrs Whatsit. Charles Wallace wants to know
understand. This is the nature of science, L'Engle
more about the tesseract, which he is sure is something
implies—encountering new and inexplicable concepts all the
important. Meg, Charles Wallace, and Fortinbras set off for Mrs
time. Mrs. Murry tells Meg to accept her changed reality
Whatsit's house in the woods. Charles wants to warn Mrs
instead of hoping it was a dream. Meg is learning to accept
Whatsit and her friends they will get in legal trouble for
that reality is larger than what she knows.
stealing. He isn't sure why they wanted the sheets in the first
place. The breakfast scene establishes how the Murry family
members protect one another. Male family members like Sandy
Meg tells Charles Wallace about her awful day at school. He
and Dennys are used to protecting female family members.
says he already knows, because "everything about you tells
However, this dynamic may be less one of gender than of
me." Meg is curious about how Charles Wallace knows so
normalcy—Sandy and Dennys both function well socially, while
much. He tells her he can "understand a sort of language." He
Meg is seen as vulnerable and lacking common sense. In later
can hear nature communicating, too.
chapters, this dynamic will change when she has to save and

At the edge of the woods, Meg and Charles Wallace find Calvin protect male relatives.

O'Keefe, a high-schooler a few grades above Meg. He is tall

The scene with Mr. Jenkins reveals two important aspects of
and thin with blue eyes. Calvin is in the woods to get away from
the journey to come. First it shows Meg's trouble with the
his large family. He is surprised to hear Charles Wallace speak
organized and ordered world of school. She is defiant and
intelligently. Calvin himself is unusually bright, in 11th grade
sullen. She questions the validity of what authority figures have
classes at age 14.
to teach her. While this attitude doesn't serve her well in

Calvin cautiously asks if anyone told Meg and Charles Wallace school, it will be useful later when she faces powerful enemies.

to go to the woods. He explains that he felt a "compulsion" to

The scene also demonstrates the common lack of faith that
enter the old house everyone thinks is haunted. Was Calvin
Meg's father will ever return. But despite evidence to the
meant to meet Meg and Charles Wallace, he wonders? Charles
contrary, Meg believes her family will be restored. She trusts

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Chapter Summaries 18

her mother. Later in the book, she will also have to believe in quotes also reveal both the uses and the limitations of human
success in the face of great odds. But she will have to trust words. Her quote, "The heart has its reasons," coined by 17th-
herself instead of the adults in her life. century French philosopher Blaise Pascal, refers to Mrs.
Murry's hope—despite "reason" or evidence—that her husband
Charles Wallace is also revealing skills he will use later. He will return. The words do not express all she means to say, but
cannot read, but he is an astute observer of other nonverbal they come close.
languages. He observes his sister's body language and
understands she has had a bad day at school. He can Information is revealed slowly and methodically to keep the
understand the trees, which communicate in a language more reader wanting more. Meg isn't yet sure how she will be able to
universal and primal than words. Charles Wallace is also much help her father, but she knows she will be involved in whatever
better than Meg at adopting disguises. He protects himself by comes next.
assuming the identity of someone who is not very bright.

The Murry children meet Calvin O'Keefe, another character

who has adopted a false identity. On the outside, Calvin is a
Chapter 3
popular athlete. He has the markers of social success Meg
lacks. He is more at ease with verbal communication—he uses
more colloquialisms or slang in conversation than the other
Summary
characters. But Calvin knows his intelligence sets him apart
Meg wonders why she feels so happy after such a confusing
from others, and he is searching for someone who
afternoon. Calvin says he is glad they finally met—they've only
understands him.
seen each other in school. At the Murry house Mrs. Murry is
He and Charles Wallace are "sports" in the biological sense. A experimenting in her lab and cooking dinner. Calvin is
"sport" in biology, as Charles Wallace explains, is an organism impressed by the house, and tells Meg she is lucky to be loved.
inexplicably different from others of its type. Calvin is also an Meg shows Calvin a picture of her father.
athlete who excels in school sports—another play on words.
Mrs. Murry reminds Meg and Calvin to finish their homework.
Calvin and Charles Wallace differ from their biological families.
Calvin is struggling in math. Even though Meg is in a lower
As a result, Calvin doesn't feel at home anywhere, and is on a
grade in school, she helps Calvin with his homework. She
quest for family, home, and belonging.
shows him an easier method for solving his problems, and he
In Chapter 3 Meg calls herself a "biological mistake," echoing suddenly understands. Mrs. Murry says Meg learned "too many
the idea of a variation or mutation in biology. Charles Wallace shortcuts" for math problems with her father. Now Meg gets
says she is "not really one thing or the other." Meg is intelligent frustrated in school when teachers require her to solve
enough to stand out from the pack, but not gifted enough to be problems "the long way around." Calvin quizzes Meg and
in Charles Wallace's league. She has no secure sense of self. realizes she has exceptional knowledge of math and science.

Meg and Calvin both learn that people can be different from Meanwhile Calvin is amazed at how welcome he feels in the
how they appear. Calvin has trouble getting over his "pre- Murry home. He can fit in at school more easily than Meg, but
conditioned" ideas about Charles Wallace's abilities. Mrs he has no one to talk to.
Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which enjoy giving people a false
After dinner Meg sits alone with her mother in the kitchen. Mrs.
impression of their appearance. They use the fantasy or horror
Murry reveals that she misses Mr. Murry. She tells Meg things
tropes of witches and haunted houses to scare visitors. These
always have an explanation, but sometimes humans are unable
"typical props" show how the women approach their world with
to understand what the explanation is. Meg and her mother
good humor.
discuss how Charles Wallace is different from other people in a
Mrs Who's name, like Mrs Whatsit's, is an identity question. She way they can't define. Charles Wallace gave Mrs. Murry the
is the book's representative of literature and language. Her ability to accept Mrs Whatsit's visit with "a willing suspension of
quotes from various authors show language—like science and disbelief." Meg asks her mother again about the tesseract. Mrs.
the cosmos—is a fascinating mystery filled with surprises. Her Murry says it's not the right time to tell her.

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Chapter Summaries 19

Meg and Calvin go for a walk in a nearby apple orchard. Calvin his mother courage to accept the unfathomable.
wants to know more about her father. Calvin has heard Mr.
Murry is a physicist and a Ph.D. who has worked at Princeton's But Mrs. Murry still isn't sure who Charles Wallace really is.

Institute for Higher Learning. Now Mr. Murry is working for the He's "new" and there's no category for him yet. Meg feels she

government. Meg knows only that his work is "classified" and is "not flesh nor fowl nor good red herring"—an old saying

secret. Mr. Murry used to write to his wife regularly. Then the referring to something impossible to identify or classify. When

letters stopped coming. Calvin accepts Meg for who she is and doesn't need an
explanation, it's a gift to her. Calvin assumes an identity unlike
When Calvin asks if Mr. Murry could be dead, Meg starts his true self. He understands.
crying. She is sure someone would have told them if her father
died. Calvin suggests the government scientists may not know Meg and Calvin's dialogue brings the two of them closer

where Mr. Murry is either. Meg criticizes herself for crying, but together. It also answers readers' questions about Mr. Murry.

Calvin encourages her to cry. Calvin tells Meg she is the best The mysterious nature of his government work reflects 1960s

thing to happen to him in a long time. fears about government secrecy and the Cold War. The
silence as tangible as "a measurable weight" between Meg and
Charles Wallace finds Meg and Calvin. He says it's time to go. Calvin is a prelude to a more universal fear—death. Unsure
He isn't sure where, but he thinks they're about to find their where her father is—or if he's even alive—Meg has to contend
father. Mrs Whatsit and Mrs Who appear behind Charles with the terrifying unknown.
Wallace. A stammering and distant voice speaks in the
moonlight, emanating from "a circle of silver." Charles Wallace The chapter ends with readers and characters uncertain of

introduces the new voice as Mrs Which. what will happen. The reader meets the most perplexing of the
three old guides—Mrs Which. The word which refers to things
or objects, not to people. Mrs Which doesn't take on human
Analysis form. Her words take a while to reach human ears, as if she
were speaking from a faraway distance.
The theme of the power of love is introduced in this chapter.
The extraordinary nature of the three characters is revealed
Calvin's love for his family keeps him going, even though they
slowly. Readers learn Mrs Who is "a paltry few billion years"
don't love him back. Meg realizes she has something the
older than Mrs Whatsit. This detail implies they may all be
popular and enviable Calvin wants. For the first time, she sees
billions of years old. Where do they come from?
family love as something rare and special.

The idea of taking shortcuts will recur later when the

characters experience time travel. Meg sees the result of math Chapter 4
problems—not the process—as the goal. She doesn't work well
with restrictions. She is already familiar with the concept of
light years, and Einstein's famous equation. The inclusion of Summary
these concepts tells the reader they will resurface later on.
The children and their companions are plunged into complete
Calvin's more confident in literature and the humanities. His
darkness. Meg reaches for Charles Wallace and Calvin but
skill in these school subjects foreshadows his gift of
can't find them. For a moment she can't even feel her body.
communication.
Her surroundings are "a horrifying void" more empty than

Meg's conversation with her mother in Chapter 3 indicates how darkness or silence. The only movement she feels is the earth

characters approach the unknown. Mrs. Murry's study of turning.

science teaches her humility, not arrogance. She knows

Then she hears Charles Wallace's voice, and light begins to
enough to know what she doesn't know. And she trusts an
return. Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin slowly return to their
explanation exists even if she hasn't seen one. Charles
physical forms. Meg emerges suddenly "as though she had
Wallace's skills aren't seen as a handicap, even though they
been thrust through a wall of glass." The children find
make him different from others. Instead, Charles Wallace gives

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Chapter Summaries 20

themselves in a grassy field surrounded by mountains and

birdsong.
Analysis
Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which appear giggling. Mrs The reader experiences tessering the way Meg does. They
Which briefly takes the form of a witch with a broomstick just plunge into it before it's fully explained. The close third-person
for fun. When Charles Wallace scolds the three women for perspective from Meg's point of view allows readers to
scaring Calvin and Meg, Mrs Which says they need to keep experience the journey with her.
their sense of humor in dangerous times. Mrs Whatsit reminds
L'Engle repeatedly challenges human conceptions of sensory
them their father's life, and much more, is at stake.
experience, forcing readers to stretch their imaginations. The
They've arrived at the planet Uriel "in the spiral nebula Messier silence and darkness of tessering aren't just the absence of
101." Calvin doesn't believe it. Even at the speed of light, he light and sound. They are alienating and divorced from the
says, it would take years to get there. Mrs Whatsit explains, senses, completely different from the way humans experience
"We tesser. Or you might say, we wrinkle." Meg wonders if the world. Meg isn't even aware of her physical body.
tessering has anything to do with the tesseract. Substances, too, aren't what they seem. Meg breaks through
what feels like a wall of glass to enter Uriel. Characters will
Mrs Who and Mrs Which criticize Mrs Whatsit, the youngest of walk through walls and barriers at several points in the book.
the three, for using words to explain the journey. Charles
Wallace reminds them that Calvin and Meg need a verbal L'Engle also drops hints about the relationship between space
explanation. Mrs Whatsit says they've stopped at Uriel, a safe and time. Calvin takes longer than Charles Wallace to arrive on
planet, to rest. Meg is impatient to see her father, and Mrs Who the new planet fully formed, since he is older. And the three
tells her to learn patience. women take even longer. Younger people, who have lived
shorter lives thus far, can move through space more quickly.
To travel around Uriel, Mrs Whatsit transforms into a
magnificent winged horse with a clear voice. The children are The children and the reader learn more about the three
in awe. Mrs Whatsit invites them to climb on her back. They mysterious women. First of all, they enjoy pretending to be
ride over mountains, rocks, and gardens. Meg hears winged witches. Mrs Who recites, "When shall we three meet again, In
horses and other creatures in the garden singing in a language thunder, lightning, or in rain," a quote from the witches in
she doesn't understand. Charles Wallace and Mrs Whatsit Shakespeare's play, Macbeth.
translate the words of the song for Calvin and Meg.
The reason Mrs Who speaks in quotes becomes clear. Like the
Soon Mrs Whatsit says they need to leave. She gives each of other women, she doesn't find spoken language the ideal form
the children flowers to hold and use later. They fly further of communication. Since she cannot verbalize her own
upward toward the clouds and into light. As the atmosphere thoughts, she uses the words of writers and philosophers. The
thins, Mrs Whatsit tells the children to breathe through their book investigates many kinds of languages, verbal and
flowers for oxygen. They arrive at one of Uriel's moons. otherwise. It asks readers to imagine the existence of ideas
Although they want to watch the moon set, Mrs Whatsit makes their language has no words for.
them look straight ahead.
During Mrs Whatsit's transition to her winged form, concrete
A shadow darkens the sky. Stars surround the children, more images help convey abstract concepts to the reader. The
stars than they've ever seen. Mrs Whatsit says the thin metaphors used to describe her voice's "warmth" and
atmosphere lets them see more than they would at home. The "mystery" use music as a comparison. The images of
shadow plunges the children into darkness. They begin to feel "rainbows" and "light upon water" describe her wings. Although
terrible fear. Calvin can tell the shadow is "evil," and Meg none of these metaphors truly describe what the children are
worries Charles Wallace is too young to see it. seeing, they create an impression in the reader's mind.

Mrs Whatsit flies the children back to the field on Uriel. Mrs The novel explores translation across different mediums—for
Who and Mrs Which are waiting for them. Meg asks if the "Dark instance, translating wordless music into the English language.
Thing" is what her father is fighting. The descriptions combine sight, sound, and touch, showing the

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Chapter Summaries 21

children's sensory experiences on Uriel are out of the ordinary. the line together, the ant is simply there without having to make
Meg feels she can "reach out and touch" the words of the the journey through space.
creatures' song.
"We travel in the fifth dimension," Mrs Whatsit explains to Meg.
Music can communicate what words can't. The words L'Engle Humans, Mrs Whatsit says, are used to thinking of space in
uses for the creatures' song come from Isaiah 42 in the Old only three dimensions. Mr. and Mrs. Murry were working on a
Testament. L'Engle uses praise to the Judeo-Christian God to way to travel from the fourth to the fifth dimension. Charles
evoke admiration of a wonder beyond human understanding. Wallace had asked his mother about the process. He tells Meg
to picture the first, second, and third dimensions. The first
The song also reflects a musical and philosophical concept dimension is a straight line. To illustrate the second dimension,
known as the "music of the spheres." Ancient thinkers like one would "square the line." Thus, the second dimension
Pythagoras and Aristotle believed planets and stars produced becomes a square. The third dimension is a square with "a
musical tones as they rotated through the sky. Music made by bottom, and sides, and a top." Meg isn't sure how to picture the
human beings was an attempt to imitate the harmony of those fourth dimension. She knows it has "something to do with
tones, or their "participation in the harmony of the universe." Einstein and time." She calls the fourth dimension "Time."

As the children listen, Mrs Whatsit encourages Charles Charles explains the fifth dimension is a tesseract. It enables
Wallace to use his powers to the fullest extent. Meg sees her them "to travel through space without having to go the long
brother taking on his true form and becoming "more and more way around." Meg has a brief flash of understanding.
one with whatever kind of being" the women were. Who is the
real Charles Wallace? What kind of being is he? His identity is They begin the process of tessering. The women go first. Meg
never explained. The reader learns to be content with the is prepared for her body to dissolve this time, but then she
mystery. feels herself squeezed, "flattened out," and unable to breathe.
She hears words resembling "printed words on paper," saying
Like the beauty on Uriel, the Black Thing is something the they're on a two-dimensional planet where the children can't
children cannot fully respond to, or comprehend. They can only survive. She returns to nothingness, and feels relief.
feel it on an instinctual, physical level. It is beyond anything
they have ever experienced. It is complete darkness, similar to The travelers arrive at a planet on Orion's belt. Charles Wallace
the darkness Meg felt while tessering. is angry at Mrs Which for endangering their lives on a two-
dimensional planet. Mrs Whatsit explains that because Mrs
Which has no physical body herself, she cannot always "think
Chapter 5 in a corporeal way"—a way related to physical bodies.

The women have a friend on this planet. They want the

children to see the friend's home. Meg is afraid the rest of her
Summary family will worry about their absence. Mrs Whatsit assures her,
"We took a time wrinkle as well as a space wrinkle." The
Mrs Which tells the children Mr. Murry is fighting the Black
travelers will be back a few minutes before they left.
Thing. He is hidden behind it so no one can see him. Mrs
Whatsit tells a crying Meg that saving her father will be difficult The planet they are on is gray and foggy with no plant life.
but she can do it, because her father may be able to do for his They enter a deep cave in a stone hill to visit the Happy
children what he cannot do for himself. Medium, a friend of the three women. When Mrs Which calls
Mrs Whatsit young, the children ask about Mrs Whatsit's age.
Mrs Which and Mrs Whatsit tell the children they will travel
She is over two billion years old according to Earth's calendar.
behind the Black Thing in short stages by tessering, or
Mrs Whatsit says she was honored to be chosen for their
wrinkling. Mrs Whatsit says traveling at the speed of light
mission despite her young age.
would take too long. Thankfully, they have a shortcut. The
women demonstrate how an ant can take a long time to walk Inside the cave a woman in a purple gown and turban sits near
across a straight line. But if someone brings the two ends of a bonfire. She is staring into a crystal ball, and laughing with

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Chapter Summaries 22

delight. The women introduce themselves and the children to the observer. Hermann Minkowski, a 19th-century German
the cave-dweller, the Happy Medium. Mrs Whatsit explains mathematician, clarified the concept of space-time—the union
they want to see planet Earth. The Medium complains she of time and space. The first three dimensions can describe a
doesn't want to look at "unpleasant things." Mrs Which reminds person or object's physical location. But to determine when a
her there will be more unpleasant things unless responsible person or an object occupies the location, a sense of time is
people can fix them. needed. Minkowski's theories introduced the possibility of an
object moving through time the same way it moves through
The children look into the crystal ball and see the Milky Way space.
galaxy. The Happy Medium focuses on Mars, and then
reluctantly moves the view toward Earth. A "smoky haze" L'Engle's version of a tesseract resembles something
covers planet Earth, and Charles Wallace guesses correctly scientists call a wormhole, or a portal connecting two different
the haze is the "Dark Thing." Mrs Whatsit explains the Dark points in time and space.
Thing, or Black Thing, has surrounded Earth for a long time,
adding "That is why your planet is such a troubled one." The Charles Wallace tells Meg she will need to think outside of

women prepared the children for the Dark Thing on Uriel, not "old-fashioned plane geometry." Greek mathematician Euclid's

wanting to introduce them to it through their home planet. geometry deals with shapes in two dimensions, on a flat
surface—or "plane"—like a piece of paper. In two dimensions, a
Mrs Which refers to the Dark Thing as the "Powers of straight line is the shortest distance between two different
Darkness" and says they will continue to fight it. Mrs Whatsit points. But in Mrs Who's demonstration with the ant on the
adds that the battle has been going on throughout the cosmos. skirt, the straight line actually takes longer to travel. When she
Some of the strongest fighters have come from Earth. Calvin brings the points on the line together she creates a two-
asks who the fighters are. As the women prompt them, Calvin dimensional curve. Meg gets the idea: the more dimensions,
and Charles Wallace excitedly name historical and religious the more possibilities for movement.
figures as fighters. They name Jesus, Michelangelo,
Shakespeare, Madame Curie, Gandhi, Buddha, Beethoven, and L'Engle introduces the idea that time can "wrinkle," or fold in on

more. Mrs Whatsit asks Meg to think of some. She names itself. The "time tesser" or "time wrinkle" the women use means

Euclid and Copernicus, but she is distracted by thinking of her time doesn't pass on planet Earth the way it does in space.

father. Mrs Whatsit says Mr. Murry is "on a planet that has Only five minutes will go by in the Murry household while the

given in." children travel. Time is represented as a substance with

physical movement. In Chapter 10 Mr. Murry will describe time
The Happy Medium is weeping as she looks into the crystal in Camazotz as "inverted, turned in on itself" until time has no
ball. She implores the children to watch. meaning.

As objects move into different dimensions, they can also

Analysis change forms. L'Engle imagines what traveling to a two-
dimensional planet would be like for people who are used to
The use of illustrations in the text gives the book another existing in three dimensions. For Mrs Which, two dimensions
dimension of language. Images make complex and forbidding are easy. She is not made of "protoplasm," or cells, but from a
concepts simpler. different substance, which explains why she can't physically
materialize the way the other women can. No one is quite sure
A tesseract in mathematics is a four-dimensional hypercube. "which" form she is.
The illustrations of a line, a square, and a cube reveal the first
three dimensions—length, width, and depth. A cube in the Mrs Which is the oldest of the three women. Her advanced age
fourth dimension would be a tesseract, tetracube, or and flexible physical form means she can travel easily between
hypercube. As Meg explains, it cannot be drawn on paper. planets and galaxies. Each of the three women has a
Humans can't even conceptualize the fourth dimension. weakness she can turn into a strength. Mrs Whatsit is the
youngest. Her youth helps her communicate in spoken English
The idea of the fourth dimension as time is a common one in more easily. Mrs Who finds it hard to talk without using famous
physics. Einstein discovered that space and time are relative to sayings. Her ideas depend on "who" she is quoting, but her

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Chapter Summaries 23

knowledge gives her a world of wisdom. Mrs Whatsit tells the respects mathematical and scientific knowledge, names the
children the strengths themselves don't mean much, but "it's mathematician Euclid and the scientist Copernicus.
how we use them that counts." She gives the children valuable
advice for the next chapter. What do all these people have in common? They all forged
revolutionary paths. Their discoveries changed the world
Shakespeare's play The Tempest, quoted by Mrs Who in this forever. Several presented ideas unpopular at the time. It takes
chapter, will return as a reference in Chapter 6. The Tempest moral courage to go against the prevailing thought of a culture,
includes inhabitants of the spirit, or supernatural world, or field of study. The list of fighters prepares the children to
particularly the angelic spirit Ariel. The quote, "We are such display this kind of moral courage.
stuff as dreams are made on," emphasizes the fleeting nature
of life, which can soon dissolve into "dreams." In A Wrinkle in
Time the quote shows humans are more expansive than their Chapter 6
physical bodies.

The three women show how humor and joy help them cope.
Practical jokes and lightheartedness—like dressing up as
Summary
witches—give them the spirit they need to take on serious
In the crystal ball a light bursts through the Darkness. The Dark
responsibilities. Genuine happiness can be a refuge and a
Thing disappears, revealing a starry sky. The Happy Medium
weapon against evil.
says this is proof the Dark Thing can be overcome. Mrs
Despite their jokes the women know they are facing danger. Whatsit sadly explains what they saw was a star "giving up its
While they want to be honest with the children about the risks life in battle with the Thing." The star won, but died in the
they're up against, they do not want to encourage despair. Mrs process. Charles Wallace guesses, and Mrs Whatsit confirms,
Which warns them all "responsible people" need to take action. that she was once a star and died in a similar way. Meg realizes
Mrs Whatsit's true self is "beyond human understanding."
The name of the "Happy Medium" is another play on words. In
Chapters 1 and 2 Meg's family wanted her to find a "happy Meg is eager to go to her father, and the Happy Medium is
medium," or the ability to be moderate in her behavior. getting tired. Before they leave, the Happy Medium asks if Meg
"Medium" is also a word to describe a psychic or fortuneteller. and Charles Wallace want to see their mother. Meg asks if
And the first time the children meet the Happy Medium, she Calvin can see his mother too. The view from the crystal ball
truly is happy. focuses on Calvin's mother, who is screaming and hitting her
children. Meg holds Calvin's hand to comfort him.
The Medium's mood changes when she faces darkness. Mrs
Which uses the term "the Powers of Darkness" to describe the The ball then focuses on Mrs. Murry, who is writing her
shadow. This term is often associated with a moral idea of the husband a letter. She is sad in a way she never allows her
universe, and concrete concepts of good and evil. Religions children to see. Meg becomes angry and desperate to take
such as Christianity often use this language. But the scene action, but she is grateful to the Happy Medium, since now she
makes the characters' quest universal. Mrs Whatsit tells the feels too mad to be scared. The Happy Medium asks where
children they are in a "grand and exciting battle." She the travelers are headed. Mrs Whatsit says they are going to
empowers them to be warriors actively engaged in the fight. the planet Camazotz. The word sounds ominous to Meg.
The term also raises the stakes. Now the Murrys aren't just
As they leave the cave, Mrs Which tells the children not to be
searching for their father—they're helping save the planet.
frightened. Mrs Whatsit tells Meg to stay angry, as she will
The list of great "fighters" on Earth begins with a biblical quote need her anger.
referencing the "light" of the Christian deity, Jesus. The
The children go through the process of tessering again. This
children also name Buddha, the religious figure at the center of
time they arrive on a hill in the middle of autumn. The town they
the Buddhist spiritual practice. Other spiritual leaders like
see below resembles a suburban town on Earth. Everything
Gandhi and St. Francis earn recognition as well. So do artists,
looks normal.
musicians, writers, scientists, and mathematicians. Meg, who

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Chapter Summaries 24

Mr. Murry is on Camazotz, but the children will have to wait stops them, and says only route boys are allowed outside. He
until the right moment to see him. The women can't stay with is bewildered by the presence of newcomers. Charles Wallace
or help the children on Camazotz, although they will be asks the boy to tell him more about the town.
watching. Mrs Whatsit gives each child a "talisman," or gift.
Calvin's gift is his ability to communicate. Meg's gift is her The boy says their city's Central Intelligence Center is the

faults, which Mrs Whatsit promises will come in handy. Charles planet's best, with the most productive factories and machines.

Wallace's gift is "the resilience of [his] childhood." They also have several artists "all perfectly channeled." He is
quoting statistics from a book called the "Manual." The city's
To help Calvin, Mrs Who quotes a passage from perfect record makes them the capital city of Camazotz, home
Shakespeare's The Tempest. In the passage, a delicate spirit is of CENTRAL Central Intelligence and IT.
confined to a "cloven pine." Mrs Who reminds Charles Wallace
he doesn't know everything. She gives Meg her glasses but The boy rides off, worried he will have to explain his delay to

tells her to use them only as a last resort. "the explainer." Charles Wallace points out the boy talked in a
strange way, "as though he weren't really doing the talking."
Mrs Which advises the children to go into the town together The children continue into the city. They notice the purposeful
and not to separate. Mrs Whatsit tells Calvin to take care of way adult residents walk.
Meg. Charles Wallace protests he can take care of Meg
himself. Mrs Whatsit warns Charles Wallace he will be in the In a row of office buildings, the children see the largest, tallest

most danger "because of what you are." He should watch out building they have ever seen. Charles Wallace suggests this is

for "pride and arrogance," and shouldn't go off on his own. The CENTRAL Central Intelligence. He thinks they should enter.

women disappear, and the children start down the hill. Meg would rather avoid the building, but Charles Wallace
thinks going in is the only way to find the information they are
The houses in the Camazotz town are identical. Children play looking for. Calvin thinks they need proper paperwork. When
in the front yard of each house. Meg senses something is Charles Wallace protests that Mrs Whatsit would have given
wrong. Charles Wallace notices what it is. The children are all them papers if necessary, Calvin replies that Mrs Whatsit
skipping rope and bouncing balls in rhythm. The doors of all the doesn't know much about the human world. The Camazotz
houses open simultaneously. Women come out of the houses residents are unusual, but they know more about "ordinary
simultaneously to call the children inside. Meg wonders what people." Meg asks if they are robots. Charles Wallace doesn't
this rhythm means. Calvin has seen enough and wants to go think so. He can feel minds within the residents, even if he can't
back, but Meg urges him on. read them.

In front of one house a boy bounces a ball awkwardly without The children watch Camazotz residents enter and exit the
rhythm. His mother runs out of the house, horrified, and pulls rhythmic doors of the office buildings. Charles Wallace is
him inside. The boy's ball rolls into the street. Charles Wallace scared because he can't read anyone's mind. He worries he
suggests taking the ball back, and the children go up to the won't recognize his father, since he was a baby when his father
house together. left. Meg assures Charles Wallace he will know his father.
Charles Wallace decides they should go to CENTRAL Central
The woman who answers their knock is confused. What do Intelligence, but Calvin has another compulsion. This time he
they want? It's not paper time, milk time, or time for a donation. feels they are headed toward danger.
Charles Wallace says her little boy dropped his ball. The
woman protests. The children on the block are all trained, and
"haven't had an Aberration for three years." She says she can't Analysis
let the children in unless they have papers. The boy, standing
behind his mother, sees the ball in Charles Wallace's hand. He Despair in A Wrinkle in Time is always counterbalanced by
runs out to grab it and runs back inside. hope. A supernova—the fiery death of a star—shows the Happy
Medium that good can triumph over evil. Supernovas do have a
The children walk further into the city. They start to see
scientific purpose. They release carbon and oxygen, elements
apartment buildings instead of houses. A boy on a paper route
that allow for life on Earth. In fact, the elements in the core of
rides a bicycle and throws papers in rhythm. The paper boy

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Chapter Summaries 25

stars compose a lot of matter—including the matter that make ruling state doesn't allow individual freedom. The Cold War, a
up human beings. Stars give people life, but only after their military standoff between the United States and the Soviet
own deaths. Union, was still in full force when L'Engle wrote A Wrinkle in
Time. Americans feared the encroachment of Soviet
Charles Wallace can handle the mystery of Mrs Whatsit's true communism, a government system with "public ownership and
identity. His instinctive reaction is one of love and physical communal control." Americans feared Communism meant the
comfort. Meg doesn't fully understand what Mrs Whatsit's loss of personal liberty.
experienced, but now she can accept something "beyond
human understanding," and be awestruck by the possibilities. Camazotz illustrates what a totalitarian state might look like.
She is still impatient and eager, however. She and Calvin are The goals of this type of government include "to rule
still learning to be comfortable with the unknown. Mrs Whatsit unimpeded by legal restraint ... and to refashion human nature
and the other women refuse to tell the children what will itself." The odd behavior of Camazotz residents shows how
happen next. human nature has changed. Residents appear human, but they
are fearful, robotic, and seem controlled by something other
Another important change happens early in this chapter. Meg than themselves.
feels an urge "to help and protect Calvin" the way she helps
Charles Wallace. Calvin is on his way to being included in the Even in a free society, Camazotz can serve as a warning.
Murry family. Calvin and Meg realize their surface identities Pressure to conform to social standards is very strong. Those
don't reveal who they truly are. Even though Calvin is "popular who stand out face exclusion and gossip, like the gossip the
and important," he has doubts and insecurities like Meg. And Murry family had to endure at the beginning of the book. As a
Meg has more to offer Calvin than she thought she did. result, people lose a sense of who they are. The absence of
individual expression restricts honesty, compassion, and
The overwhelming emotions Meg wanted to get rid of in genuine human connection.
Chapter 3 are becoming her strong points. Her anger rids her
of any apprehension, and mobilizes her to action. Her fear is The Camazotz neighborhood is unnerving because it's so
acceptable. Even Mrs Whatsit felt fear when she died. Mrs recognizable. The children have a vague sense of unease. The
Whatsit adds, "Only a fool is not afraid," pointing out fear is a setting looks normal and comforting, but something is not quite
natural, normal reaction. When Mrs Whatsit gives Meg her right. The language immediately makes readers wary. The
faults, she implies that perceived weaknesses can become houses have "harsh angular patterns" and "dull-looking
strengths if they are used correctly. flowers." The neighborhood is designed to instill nervous
obedience. Child's play is regulated and orderly, not chaotic
Calvin is the expert on verbal communication and literature. and free. The rhythm of L'Engle's short, similar sentences, such
Mrs Who gives him another quote from Shakespeare's play, as, "All in rhythm. All identical," depicts a recurring process
The Tempest. This quote refers to the supernatural spirit Ariel similar to a machine and reinforces the unnatural behaviors.
being imprisoned in a "cloven pine"—or tree—by a witch. The
character of Ariel often represents the "creative imagination." Most disturbing of all, the people in Camazotz look human, and
The Tempest quote alludes to the way creative and inventive speak English. Calvin points out that the Camazotz citizens are
minds—like the exploratory scientist Mr. Murry—are restricted "lots more like ordinary people than the [creatures] on Uriel."
by oppressive regimes. They are not robots. Charles Wallace can tell they are
human—or life forms similar to humans—but they are trapped.
Charles Wallace learns his strength—his brilliant mind and They could be the children's neighbors, or friends back home.
confidence—may actually be a weakness. His self-assurance The children sense whatever happened to Camazotz could
comes with a tendency toward "pride and arrogance." Meg and also happen to Earth.
Charles Wallace's roles are reversed. Charles Wallace is used
to protecting Meg. Now Meg will protect her little brother. Despite their human identities, the people on Camazotz are
treated like machines. As a result, they begin to operate like
The symbolism of the planet Camazotz can be interpreted in machines. The emphasis on regularity leaves no room for the
several ways. It is often understood to be a warning against unexpected. Identities in Camazotz are defined by paperwork,
totalitarianism, an oppressive form of government in which a performance, and regulation. Everyone has a role to play. Even

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Chapter Summaries 26

people's movements are choreographed with an "odd, other. Meg assures Charles Wallace a father will know his son
automatic stride," possibly reminiscent of goose-stepping even if they haven't met in years.
Nazis. The idea of Aberrations—mistakes—isn't permissible.
The children learn the things they see as negative—like
mistakes or faults—might be what makes them human. Chapter 7
Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace all feel they are "sports," or
biological variations. They would never fit in on Camazotz.
Charles Wallace is less guarded than the older children. He is
Summary
driven by compassion and an eagerness to learn more. He
Calvin wants Charles Wallace to stay outside, since the danger
reminds Meg and Calvin they've come "to help [Mr. Murry], not
will be greatest for him, but Charles Wallace and Meg want the
just to find him." Their task is bigger than they imagine.
group to stay together. They decide to enter CENTRAL
As the children venture into the city, they see more cues Central Intelligence as a group.
indicating a totalitarian government. None of the people in
The building is a "dull, greeny marble" inside. One blank wall
Camazotz have their own voice. The paperboy who describes
feels solid and cold. Charles Wallace asks a man in the building
the city's virtues seems to be speaking from a recorded script.
how they can find whoever's in charge. The man is impatient
He is delivering propaganda—misleading information used to
and surprised they don't know the procedure. He runs a
promote a political cause. Totalitarian governments frequently
spelling machine, and has come to report a jammed letter.
use propaganda to influence what people think.
Charles Wallace makes jokes and projects a false confidence
Through the machines on Camazotz, L'Engle reveals a even when the man threatens to report him. Meg wishes
lingering anxiety in 1960s America about government secrecy Charles Wallace "wouldn't act so sure of himself," but she
and technology. The United States and the Soviet Union knows he is putting on a front. The man worries about being
threatened each other with powerful but secretive nuclear sent to IT. He enters a card into a wall, and the card slides
weapons. The Central Intelligence Agency, or CIA—possibly through the marble. He warns the children they may be
the basis for CENTRAL Central Intelligence—was created in detained and advises them to "relax and don't fight."
1947. In the 1960s the CIA was fairly new. The agency
The blank wall gives way to a room full of computing machines.
governed information crucial to national security. Citizens were
Frightened, the children enter. They walk through the long
nervous about the authority the CIA might have. If important
room until they see an end. Charles Wallace begins to panic.
data on national security was kept secret from the public, it
He feels someone trying to reach him and begs Calvin and
could be used to control the public by inducing fear.
Meg to hold his hands.
CENTRAL Central intelligence is also shrouded in secrecy. Mr.
At the room's end a man sits on a chair raised on a platform.
Murry, the children know, is working for the government.
His red eyes glow, and he has an aura of the Black Thing's
Because of the nature of his work, they can't know much. On
"coldness and darkness," but he greets the children in a gentle
Camazotz there is an "unseen source of power" guiding the
voice. Above him a light glows "pulsing, throbbing, in steady
paperboy's bicycle. Where does this power come from? What
rhythm." Charles Wallace closes his eyes, and tells Calvin and
is the object or who is the person mysteriously named IT?
Meg to do the same. The man with red eyes says "there are
The children can still use their gifts to negotiate their new other ways" for him to hypnotize them. Charles Wallace
situation. Calvin is the most attuned and flexible to the threatens to kick him.
guidelines of whatever world he is in. He points out in this
As four men in dark smocks surround the children, the man
society the rules are different. He recognizes that Mrs
with red eyes tells them they don't need to fight. Soon they
Whatsit's human appearance set her apart when she needed
won't even want to oppose him. He is only here to help them
to blend in.
and save them from trouble. He will make all the decisions.
Meg uses her knowledge of her family to help her. She feels Charles Wallace says they can make their own decisions, but
identity can be defined in the way family knows and loves each the man with red eyes says it will be easier if they make all

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Chapter Summaries 27

their decisions together. He encourages the children to recite Charles Wallace makes the man promise to reveal Mr. Murry's
the multiplication table with him. location if Charles comes in. Meg protests the man is stronger
than Charles, but the boy wants to know his father. And they're
While the man recites, the children shout nursery rhymes and not just finding Mr. Murry—they're fighting the Black Thing.
the Gettysburg Address to distract themselves. At the end of Meg turns to Calvin for help, but Calvin thinks they should let
the recitation, Meg screams involuntarily for her father. The Charles go.
man with red eyes congratulates them on passing their
"preliminary tests." Meg tries to look straight at the man. She Charles Wallace approaches the man again. This time
can't tell if his face is "young or old, cruel or kind, human or Charles's pupils contract. His smile becomes artificial, and he
alien." invites Meg to eat. He speaks in a flatter version of his old
voice. Meg realizes Charles Wallace has been taken over by
Meg asks to be taken to her father. The man with red eyes the same power controlling the man. She smashes a dinner
asks why she wants to see him. Meg insists she doesn't need a plate in anger. Charles tells her to stop being so uncooperative.
reason—she wants him because he's her father. But Mr. Murry Meg screams to Calvin that Charles is gone.
abandoned the family, the man reminds her. He tells the
children they don't need to "vocalize verbally" since he can
understand them. Analysis
Charles Wallace runs forward and hits the man, to everyone's
The "sickly green" and "bilious" people and marble inside
shock. The man calmly asks for an explanation. Charles
CENTRAL Central Intelligence is a reflection of the illness and
Wallace says he didn't think the man was real. Now he realizes
sickness on planet Camazotz. Threats are constant. The man
the man himself isn't doing the talking. Someone or something
in the office building threatens the children with the "Process
else is speaking through him. The man invites Charles to "try to
machine" and "reprocessing." The idea of relaxing and giving in
find out who I am." Charles focuses on the man's eyes and
to authority also recurs. The man warns the children to "relax
goes closer.
and don't fight." But the reader already knows Meg has trouble
As Charles Wallace approaches the man with red eyes, Meg with authority. She tends to resist authority in school. How will
flings herself onto her brother to pull him back. Displeased, the she handle threats in this new environment?
man tells Meg she will need to cooperate if she ever wants to
Citizens fear the power of machines like the "Process
see her father again. Sullenly, Meg says they should have
machine." An array of "computing machines" in CENTRAL
something to eat. The man is amused and replies, "Starvation
Central Intelligence makes the children wary. Meg knows her
does work wonders." He tells Meg they have only synthetic
father sometimes uses a computer, among other mysterious
food anyway.
tools he uses for his work. Charles Wallace assures himself
Charles Wallace wants to "get on with it." Meg pleads to go in that the computers aren't radioactive. The motif of
his place. The man says Charles Wallace's neurological system frighteningly powerful machines occurs frequently in science
is the only one complicated enough to survive, but Meg fiction. The 1960s were marked by anxiety about new and
persists. Can she and Calvin not know who the man really is? constantly improving computing technology. The potential of
The man says they can't know him in the same way, "nor is it as these machines was exciting, but like any new technology,
important to [him] to have [them] know." their capabilities were a little frightening at first.

Four men in smocks bring a table set with a turkey dinner. Meg The man with red eyes exudes the "coldness and darkness" of
and Calvin reluctantly eat. The food tastes fine to them, but it a machine. He can communicate with telepathy, or mind-
tastes like sand to Charles Wallace, the only one who has "shut reading. However, he has some human traits, like a soothing
[his] mind entirely" to the man with red eyes. With a horrible- and kind voice. The threat is heightened by the looming
looking smile, the man tells Charles he should trust him enough presence of IT before the reader or the children know what IT
to discover what he is. Charles can leave afterward, the man is.
says, but he probably won't want to.
The man with red eyes keeps his identity vague. Is he himself

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Chapter Summaries 28

IT? Is he an ordinary person trapped by IT? Are the thoughts Meg's "dogged tenacity that had so often caused her trouble"
he expresses his own? Meg is not even sure what his face turns out to be an important tool for finding her father. She
looks like. Charles Wallace has to make physical contact never gives up. When another family member seems lost, she
before he realizes the man is human like him, a vessel for IT. will persist in getting him back too.
When the man tells Charles Wallace, "Try to find out who I am,"
it's a sinister inversion of their discovery of Mrs Whatsit's
identity. Charles Wallace is going forward into pure evil. But he Chapter 8
is propelled by drive to understand, and he wants to know
more.

The theme of moral courage and responsibility comes into play

Summary
in this scene. Charles Wallace reminds the others they can't
Charles Wallace eats the prepared food. He looks the same,
base decisions on fear. Choosing how to act is an essential
but Meg can tell he is only a copy of his real self. She demands
part of being human, and so is taking responsibility for this
to know where her brother is. The man says he is right in front
choice. Worry and fear can result, as the children worry over
of her. Calvin whispers to Meg they have to hold onto Charles
what to do next.
Wallace. His real self is still there somewhere.
The man with red eyes wants to "assume all the pain, all the
Meg and Calvin hold Charles Wallace's arms tightly. Charles
responsibility." He offers to do all the hard work, promising
says the man is their friend, and Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and
ease and rest. The offer is tempting. In Camazotz, everyone
Mrs Which are their enemies. Meg feels "someone, something
knows their place and identity. Meg and Calvin's anxiety over
else" is looking through Charles's eyes, which are now cold and
who they are, where and how they fit in, would disappear. The
strange. The men in smocks grab Calvin and Meg, forcing them
children wouldn't agonize over decisions. All the choices would
to let go of Charles.
be made for them. A scripted life is easier, but L'Engle argues
it's not worth it.
Charles Wallace tells Meg to stop fighting. He wants her to
realize Camazotz is "a wonderful place" where "everybody has
With the script of Camazotz there is no real room for scientific
learned to relax, to give in, to submit." While Meg struggles,
discovery. The man with red eyes recites the multiplication
Calvin asks the man with red eyes to tell them who he is. "I am
table as a repetitive device. Unlike Meg he doesn't care about
the Prime Coordinator," the man replies. Calvin asks if he and
learning more, or finding a solution. He cares about the routine.
Charles Wallace are hypnotized. The man answers that
Charles Wallace still has the mind of a scientist. He and his "hypnotized" is "too primitive a word." When Calvin asks about
father share a flaw stemming from their scientific curiosity. Mr. Murry, the man says Charles Wallace will escort them.
They think they can delve deeper into a dilemma without
Meg and Calvin follow Charles Wallace down a long white
becoming personally affected. Charles Wallace thinks he can
hallway. Meg suggests Calvin use his gift of communication to
go into IT and come back. He is the one IT really wants. The
talk to Charles Wallace. Calvin tries to engage Charles in
man with red eyes recognizes this vulnerability in Charles
friendly conversation, and for a moment Charles's eyes appear
Wallace, as well as his uniquely complex "neurological system."
to see clearly, but he quickly returns to his rhythmic
But the reasons Charles Wallace gives Meg are "marionette's walk." He tells Calvin and Meg they should turn to
understandable and sympathetic. He wants to know his father. IT if they need a father.
He feels responsible for defeating the Black Thing. Meg and
Charles Wallace tells Meg and Calvin of the virtues of
Calvin cannot enter IT without their neurons exploding, but
Camazotz. The planet has conquered illness by putting any
Charles Wallace can. In a way Charles Wallace, unsure of what
sick people to sleep. "Murder," he says, "is a most primitive
will happen, sacrifices himself. However, both his gift—the
word." Charles Wallace moves through a wall into a small
resiliency of his youth—and his fault—his pride—prevent this
square-shaped room, explaining he simply rearranged the
"sacrifice" from being truly sacrificial: he believes he is stronger
atoms in the wall. The square room moves upward like an
than IT.
elevator.

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Chapter Summaries 29

The people of Camazotz are happy because they are all alike, chilling. His ability to rearrange atoms, and his statement that
Charles Wallace continues. He tells Meg she is unhappy at humans "consist mostly of empty space" imply pride and
school because she's different. Calvin claims he likes being control. He calls humans "low, individual organisms," implying
different, and Meg says she would rather not be like everyone that he has achieved a higher life form. But this life form has no
else. Charles Wallace moves quickly through a wall, almost conscience or concern for others. When he calls IT "the
leaving Calvin behind. He threatens to take Meg and Calvin to Happiest Sadist," it's a sinister pun. The phrase uses the
IT if they cause more trouble. When Meg asks what IT is, contrast of "happy" and "sad." The word sadist also means a
Charles giggles in a sinister way. He describes IT as "the Boss," person who enjoys harming others, and Charles Wallace
or "the Happiest Sadist." clarifies that this is the meaning he intends.

Meg refuses to see IT. Charles Wallace, continuing to speak in Charles Wallace explains the appeal of Camazotz by referring
a monotone voice, says "individual lives" are to blame for wars to Meg's social situation. He implies Meg's unhappiness at
and unhappiness. Camazotz uses only one mind—IT—and school is her own fault. His ideas show why the argument for
everyone is happy and organized. "Old witches like Mrs conformity is so compelling. People who are different can often
Whatsit" want to keep people confused. Calvin says Mrs feel lonely and unhappy, as Calvin did before he met the
Whatsit isn't a witch—it's just her way of "laughing in the dark." Murrys. People with different goals and opinions frequently
Meg protests that Earth isn't perfect, but it's better than come into conflict. Camazotz attributes trouble to the
Camazotz. No one is unhappy on Camazotz, but no one is uncontrolled freedom offered by individuality, and thus offers a
happy, either. society without the troubles of war and illness. Camazotz also
removes the possibility of emotion, but as Meg points out, even
The children see the boy in the Camazotz town who dropped unpleasant emotions are crucial to the human experience.
his ball. He is in a small room bouncing a ball in rhythm,
screaming in pain each time it bounces. Charles Wallace Meg knows the world has problems. But she cannot imagine
explains, "He'll never desire to deviate again." He leads Calvin totalitarian control as "the only alternative." She believes there
and Meg to another small room with a "large, round, must be a happy medium. Calvin and Meg also gain a new
transparent column" in the center. Meg recognizes her father perspective. As adolescents, they are figuring out where they
trapped inside. fit in a power structure. Hierarchy and fitting in are important to
survival. Still they both realize they wouldn't choose conformity
even if they could. Being different is important to their survival.
Analysis
Meg and Calvin then see the torture being inflicted on the boy
Appearances frequently deceive. Charles Wallace looks like his with the ball. His isolated environment, and the way Charles
old self in many ways. He still uses his "calmest, most Wallace observes him without sympathy, recall a lab
reasonable voice." Like the people on Camazotz, he is just experiment. The boy isn't treated as a human being, but rather
similar enough to a human to be terrifying. But since Meg as a malfunctioning tool in a machine. This image shows what
knows the real Charles Wallace, the difference is more tragic. is at risk if scientific discovery does not include a human,
compassionate element.
Calvin nearly reaches him through friendly communication.
Calvin's straightforward kindness and determination—in his
attempt to reach the real Charles Wallace—borders on love, Chapter 9
but he doesn't quite get there.

As IT speaks through Charles Wallace, the propaganda IT

spreads tells the reader more about Camazotz. The ill and Summary
infirm are "put to sleep," or "[taken] care of"—a euphemism for
murder. Meg rushes to the column but can't go through the transparent
wall. Charles Wallace laughs when she stumbles backward.
Charles Wallace is operating with IT's superior scientific She notices her father's hair has grown long and gray, and his
knowledge. But when Charles Wallace recites facts, they are glasses are missing. Calvin explains that Mr. Murry can't see

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Chapter Summaries 30

them. Meg pleads with Charles Wallace to let her in, but her to use her faults of "anger, impatience, stubbornness."
Charles tells Meg she will have to go to IT first.
Meg tries to recite the Declaration of Independence. When she
Calvin recalls the lines from The Tempest Mrs Who gave him in says, "All men are created equal," Charles Wallace says
Chapter 6. He realizes Charles Wallace is the spirit trapped in Camazotz has equality with "everybody exactly alike." Meg is
the cloven pine and urges him to come out. When Charles confused for a moment but then responds, "Like and equal are
shudders and falls to the floor, Calvin realizes he was almost not the same thing at all!" Her father praises her from a
successful. Meg encourages Calvin to try and release their distance.
father. Then she remembers she has Mrs Who's glasses.
Meg still knows she is no match for IT's power. A voice within
As Meg puts the glasses on, Charles Wallace lunges toward her says if she destroys IT, she will destroy the real Charles
her to grab them. Meg barely has time to run through the Wallace. Meg wonders if everyone on Camazotz will die if IT
transparent door inside the column with her father. Charles dies. At her father's urging, she recites the periodic table of
Wallace tries in vain to stop her. elements, but her recitation becomes "too rhythmical" to resist
IT. She switches to reciting square root functions. She still
Meg reaches her father and they have a warm, joyful reunion. feels her concentration breaking as IT absorbs her.
However, Meg discovers her father can't see her, Charles
Wallace, or Calvin. She gives her father Mrs Who's glasses, and Calvin tells Mr. Murry to tesser. Mr. Murry grabs Meg, and she
he can see the atoms rearranging in the wall. He recognizes is yanked into darkness.
Charles Wallace but can tell something is wrong with his son.
Mr. Murry goes through the column, leaving Meg alone briefly
before he comes back for her. As they exit the column, Meg Analysis
feels the presence of the Black Thing, but she knows her
father will keep her safe. Vision and sight are often synonymous with power and
knowledge. Mrs Who calls this knowledge "virtue." With Mrs
Outside the column, Charles Wallace waits, saying, "IT is not Who's glasses in her possession, Meg has power combined
pleased." He rejects Mr. Murry's greeting, disrespectfully with love. She can walk through barriers to get to her father.
calling his father "Pop." Meg tries to explain Charles Wallace
isn't his ordinary self. Charles Wallace prepares to take both of The glasses also reveal how science lets people see things in a
them to IT. Mr. Murry, who has seen IT before, protests that new way. When Meg's father puts them on, he can see atoms
Meg couldn't hold out against IT's strength. rearranging in the wall. Meg is also fascinated by how atoms
work. She compares the wall to a curtain of rice, giving the
They leave the column and enter the hallway, where Calvin reader an image to illustrate the concept.
waits. Meg is discouraged—she thought everything would be all
right once she found her father, and hoped he would make all When Mr. Murry is trapped, his sight is limited. He appears to
the decisions. Instead the situation is growing more be "frozen in a column of ice." Evil and IT are associated with a
complicated. She resists going any further to IT, but Calvin darkness and cold that transcends the senses. The darkness is
says they need to stay with Charles Wallace. so thick that Meg can feel its surface.

The group leaves the CENTRAL Central Intelligence building. The significance of the name IT becomes more apparent as
They walk toward a dome glowing with light. Meg feels a well. "It" is used as a pronoun to describe an inanimate object,
"rhythmical pulsing," similar to a heartbeat. She feels things not a human. "It" can also describe an action, as when Charles
can't get any worse. Wallace says, "I wouldn't have done IT if IT weren't the right
thing to do." The capital letters signify authority. Calvin sees
Inside the domed building is IT, a large disembodied brain, another reason why IT wanted to trap Charles Wallace before
surrounded by a "red fog." The brain is a horrifying sight, and it trapping Meg or Calvin. Charles, like his father, is a delicate
transfixes Charles Wallace. Meg dimly hears her father telling spirit who thinks too freely. He resembles "Ariel in the cloven
Calvin not to give in. She worries she will lose consciousness pine."
and fall into IT's rhythm, but remembers that Mrs Whatsit told

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Chapter Summaries 31

Getting through the trials of Camazotz and saving her father Meg's combative nature helps her fight IT, but so does her
was the first part of Meg's journey. Now the second part intellectual curiosity. She is not a well-behaved student, but
begins. She becomes focused on saving Charles Wallace. She she memorized the Declaration of Independence "simply
also has to take charge and make decisions herself. because she liked it." She doesn't enjoy the step-by-step math
at school, but she can perform square root functions in her
When Mr. Murry meets the "bewitched" Charles Wallace, Meg head. Her intelligence, however, isn't enough to save her from
thinks, "Everything will be all right now." But her father has no being absorbed by IT. And when her father tries to rescue her,
luck. Mr. Murry reveals that he knows no more than Meg does. he makes a dangerous mistake.
Meg's narrative then takes a turn she doesn't expect. Her
father has always helped and guided her. In the first few
chapters, she idealized him. Now she has to guide her father
out of the column when he can't see. She silently pleads for
Chapter 10
him to save them, but he does nothing. Meg is going through a
common coming-of-age process, realizing parents are
imperfect human beings who aren't "omnipotent," or all-
Summary
powerful.
When Meg returns to consciousness she is freezing, and
What Meg wants is similar to the peace offered on Camazotz. unable to move. She can hear her father and Calvin in the
She wants problems and responsibility taken out of her hands. distance. They thought she was dead at first but noticed her
But instead of the "happy and expected outcome," she gets slow heartbeat. Meg tries to call out to them, but she can't
the unexpected problems of a real adult life. speak.

Before IT's form is revealed, the reader learns that IT has Calvin asks how Mr. Murry managed to get them all away from
control over breathing and the beating of a heart. Meg feels IT. Mr. Murry explains that no one has tried to resist IT for
her heart and lungs "worked by some outside force." She feels centuries, so IT is not used to refusal. Mr. Murry almost gave in
new experiences—like tessering—as physical transformations right before Meg rescued him. He was tired, and IT offered
and sensations. The descriptions bring the reader close to rest.
Meg's experience, and show the vulnerabilities of having a
Why was Mr. Murry on Camazotz in the first place, Calvin
human body. Breath and heartbeat keep people alive, and IT
asks? Mr. Murry says he ended up there by accident. He meant
has complete control over life. Appropriately, IT turns out to be
to go to Mars, but tessering proved harder than he thought. He
a brain, the body's control center of movement, thought, and
thinks IT captured Charles Wallace first, because Charles
speech.
Wallace trusted his own strength to protect him. Meg, listening,
IT is surrounded by a "red fog" and glow, similar to the man wonders where Charles Wallace is.
with red eyes. The choice of red, an abrasive color, may also
Mr. Murry tells Calvin they need to take their time. He doesn't
reflect fears of communism. Red is a color associated with
know how much time passed while he was on Camazotz. Time
revolution and blood. The American fear of communist control
there is "inverted, turned in on itself."
in the 1950s was referred to as the "Red Scare."

Calvin wants to know more about Mr. Murry's project. There

The brain demands conformity, and Meg likes to argue. She
were several scientists working on the project at once, Mr.
fights Charles Wallace's assertion that "like" and "equal" are
Murry explains. He came to Camazotz alone, and wasn't
the same things. She believes people do not have to be
certain he would survive. Traveling through the fifth dimension
identical to deserve equal treatment under the law. The
was risky, since "playing with time and space is a dangerous
political system of communism promised equality, suggesting
game." One scientist, Hank, went before Mr. Murry and never
that without the class divisions of rich and poor, everyone
returned. Mr. Murry is both afraid and excited by what he has
would have the same opportunities. But this system also
learned about matter, energy, size, and time. He can know
required everyone to conform to the same ideas. There was no
these concepts, but he cannot understand them. One thing he
room for disagreement or dissent.
plans to tell his fellow scientists is, "We know nothing."

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Chapter Summaries 32

During Calvin and Mr. Murry's dialogue, Meg has been trying to own radical experiments are "nothing but a madman's dream."
make noise. They finally hear her and check to see if she can
move. Meg discovers she is completely frozen. She looks Through the details Mr. Murry provides about his project, he

around at a "rusty and gray" planet. Although she can tell the gives credibility to the idea of traveling within the fifth

air is warm, she still shivers. dimension. L'Engle, through Mr. Murry, acknowledges, "It's not
really a new idea." Despite extensive research, government
Mr. Murry doesn't know where they are. Meg tells him he backing, and accountability, Mr. Murry still got lost. He realized
shouldn't have tried tessering if he didn't know how. Calvin and humans experimenting with the fundamentals of the universe
Mr. Murry explain they couldn't take Charles Wallace out of can be like "children playing with dynamite." Like Meg, Calvin,
Camazotz without damaging his brain. Meg and Calvin would and Charles Wallace, Mr. Murry has confronted forces he
have succumbed to IT if they hadn't left when they did. cannot comprehend. His message to his fellow scientists will
be one of humility and caution.
Meg is still disappointed and angry. She insists her father
return to Camazotz to save Charles Wallace. She thought Mr. Murry has also learned that science can change everything
finding her father would solve everything, but now she feels no people know about themselves and the world around them. For
hope. Her father can't save her or her brother. She briefly instance, "Size is an illusion, and ... time is a material
succumbs to hate and despair, certain they will never make it substance." Size, something often encountered visually
home, and doesn't realize the Black Thing has overcome her. through appearances, is misleading. Time is more complex
than many people imagine. The statement "Matter and energy
Meg's father explains he is only a human being. But he and are the same thing" refers to Einstein's famous theory that
Calvin think they are on this new planet for a purpose. Calvin mass and energy are equivalent, represented by the equation
reminds Meg that she has had more trouble with tessering E=mc². Although Mr. Murry is deeply familiar this concept, he
than the others did. doesn't fully grasp its implications. And he is okay with knowing
there's always more to learn. He thinks future
As feeling returns to Meg's limbs, she sees three large, strange
generations—represented by Calvin and Charles Wallace—will
beasts approaching them. The beasts are gray, with several
discover more and more about physics.
long tentacles for fingers. They have "soft indentations"
instead of eyes and facial features. Meg is too terrified to Mr. Murry hasn't mastered tessering either. He had to make a
speak, but Calvin greets the beasts, explaining they have quick decision to save lives, weighing the costs and benefits.
accidentally landed on the planet and Meg is paralyzed. One of The results weren't perfect. Meg sees the difficulty of making
the beasts lifts Meg with its tentacles, and she begins to feel adult decisions. There are no guarantees of a happy ending.
sleepy and safe. The beast tells Mr. Murry that it is taking Meg.
As her frustration and worry take over, Meg's faults of anger
and impatience become prominent. She falls into the traps of
Analysis blame and despair. Her inner state parallels her outer state,
and she becomes paralyzed by cold and fear. The phrase
In A Wrinkle in Time, sensations of cold and warmth function "Teetered on the seesaw of love and hate" implies Meg can still
like darkness and light, respectively. They are outward symbols choose how she reacts. Although her fear and anger are
for inner conditions of the body and soul. The cold Meg is normal, she is letting them take control.
trapped in is a reflection of her confusion and anger.
Mr. Murry realizes he has failed his daughter. When he says,
Meanwhile Mr. Murry reveals his journey to Calvin. He almost "All things work together for good," he's quoting from the
fell into the trap of conformity himself. As he observes, IT is not biblical book of Romans. The quote reveals his sense of
used to resistance because resistance is rare. It's easier for purpose and hope in something larger than himself. Even when
people to do what they are told to do. Thinking independently Mr. Murry makes mistakes, he doesn't give up. He knows
takes risks. Passionate scientists who don't always follow there's a bigger goal, or "purpose" ahead.
convention—like the fighters the children listed in Chapter
5—can face staggering obstacles. Their choices may defy Meg, like her father, has to surrender control when she meets
common sense, because they have a vision. Mr. Murry fears his the beasts. They are the first supernatural creatures who

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Chapter Summaries 33

physically resemble animals, or alien life forms. As the Wallace. For the moment, Meg needs to recover.
creatures they meet become less familiar, the travelers have to
adapt. For the first time, they have no idea where they are. Meg Meg asks what to call the beast. Reading Meg's mind, the

is physically helpless, and needs to trust more completely than beast decides Aunt Beast would be a good name—better than

she ever has. mother, acquaintance, or monster. As she drifts off to sleep,
Meg asks Aunt Beast to sing to her. The song is more glorious
than anything she's ever heard. The beasts, she thinks, have

Chapter 11 senses she can only dream of.

When Meg wakes she asks what the planet is called. Aunt
Beast isn't sure how "to put things the way [Meg's] mind
Summary shapes them." She decides to call the planet Ixchel. She tells
Meg the inhabitants of Ixchel are fighting the Black Thing
Mr. Murry asks the beast to put Meg down. The beasts are diligently, with help from the forces of good, from the stars,
curious—do they frighten him? They prefer talking to Calvin, and from love. Aunt Beast struggles to explain life on her
and ask him how they would be treated on his home planet. planet to Meg. The beasts focus on "the things which are not
Calvin guesses they would be shot, but he hopes the beasts seen."
won't hurt him. The smallest beast suggests Earth isn't used to
visitors from other planets. The middle beast asks if the Aunt Beast takes Meg to a large banquet hall. Calvin, Mr.
humans are from a dark planet. Calvin says Earth is Murry, and several beasts sit around a stone table. Meg is glad
"shadowed. But we're fighting the shadow." Mr. Murry explains to see her father, but she is still disappointed in him and
he was a prisoner on Camazotz, and his young son is still there. worried about Charles Wallace. She looks to the beasts for
help. At Calvin's invitation, Meg eats the food on the table,
The beast holding Meg says Meg needs immediate care to which is dull-looking, but delicious.
fight off the Black Thing's damage. Meg protests at first. She
doesn't want to be taken from her father, but she feels secure Mr. Murry tells Meg they have discussed how to rescue
in the beast's soft fur, as if she is a child again. She senses the Charles Wallace. Mr. Murry can't go back to Camazotz himself,
beasts have good intentions, and quickly falls asleep. since he would likely get lost. Mrs Who's glasses kept him in
the solar system, but they've lost their power now, and the
When she wakes up, a beast is taking care of her. The beast beasts can't tesser onto a dark planet like Camazotz.
says Mr. Murry and Calvin are resting nearby. Meg asks why
the chamber she is in is so dark. The beast is confused. It Meg thinks they need to call Mrs Whatsit for help. She accuses
doesn't know what light and darkness are. They live in an her father of not caring about Charles Wallace, and she can tell
atmosphere Mr. Murry calls "opaque," and they can't see the her father is hurt by the comment. Aunt Beast explains that
stars. But the beasts know more about the stars, "their music Meg may still have "spiritual damage" from being trapped by
and the movements of their dance," than humans do. When the the Black Thing. She senses anger, blame, and guilt coming
beast asks what seeing is, Meg explains it's knowing what from Meg.
things look like. The beast says they prefer knowing what
Calvin insists he has been trying to explain the three women to
things are.
the beasts. Meg tries, but she knows she can't use physical
Meg tries to explain sunlight and artificial light to the beast. descriptions. Aunt Beast urges her to think about what the
She realizes the beasts see and understand on a higher level women are, not what they look like. Meg thinks and thinks, but
than humans. Remembering Charles Wallace, she asks if the she can't get away from "a visual concept." Calvin describes
beasts will help get him back. The beast says they are the women as "guardian angels" and "messengers of God."
discussing what to do right now. They have never spoken to This still isn't clear to the beasts. Aunt Beast explains that
anyone who escaped a dark planet before, and it will be Earth never communicates with other planets.
challenging to get back to Camazotz. They can't let Meg make
Suddenly, Mrs Which's voice announces the arrival of the three
her father return, since he might not escape a second time.
women.
The beast reassures Meg that they won't abandon Charles

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Chapter Summaries 34

learned how limited their worldviews can be. Earth may be an

Analysis impressive planet, but it's isolated. Meg discovers that the
beasts' different senses are more enhanced than her own. She
In this chapter the human characters gain an even broader
doesn't fully understand how their knowledge is greater than
perspective on their role in the universe. Earth is not the center
hers, but she accepts it.
of the universe, and humans aren't the highest life-forms. Other
creatures might see them as strangers to shoot. Aunt Beast's song—like the song on Uriel in Chapter 5—shows
the power of music to transcend thought and sensory
Meg and Aunt Beast have trouble communicating. However,
experience. Aunt Beast sings "a music more tangible than form
Meg recognizes the beasts' goodness as the universal
or sight." The multiple metaphors put readers' imaginations to
language of unconditional love. The beasts care for her the
work.
same way a mother cares for a child, and Meg is told to "be as
an infant again." This relationship reinforces the importance of Meg will have to rise to the occasion, but she is still struggling
love and family bonds. The first way many people learn about with disappointment and fears of inadequacy. She feels she
love is through a parent, and Aunt Beast is reminding Meg what has been "measured and found wanting" by the beasts. Her
this affection feels like. Meanwhile, Meg is learning a new way character growth and mission aren't complete.
to relate to her own father, with a sense of pride and
appreciation.

The symbolism of light and darkness becomes more complex.

Chapter 12
The beasts do not have sight. They don't experience light as
physical illumination the way Meg does. But they are still
familiar with what light represents. They appreciate the sun Summary
and stars, and use temperature—warm and cool—to distinguish
between night and day. The three women emerge, blurred, but still recognizable. They
heard the children calling them. Meg pleads with Mrs Whatsit
Most significantly, the beasts know the difference between to save Charles Wallace. Mrs Whatsit coldly reminds her they
"what things look like," and "what things are like." Physical cannot go to Camazotz themselves. Mr. Murry and Calvin both
appearances, they believe, provide only a superficial offer to go, but Mrs Which and Mrs Whatsit say they won't be
knowledge. Meg has spent the whole book negotiating new successful. Charles Wallace has retreated deeper into IT.
terrain based on its appearance, and seeing characters take
on different physical forms. She learns that the truth about A long silence follows, and Meg begins to sob. She realizes the
people lies beneath the surface, just as Charles Wallace's true only solution left is for her to go to Camazotz alone. Mrs
self is still somewhere within him. Whatsit explains that Meg shouldn't do anything without grace
or understanding.
Meg is learning how to observe the world from different
perspectives. She struggles to describe things to Aunt Beast Meg says she understands it has to be her, as she has known
without using a physical frame of reference. She and Calvin Charles Wallace the longest. Mr. Murry angrily refuses to let
both think in terms of categories and classifications. They can't her go. Calvin accuses Mr. Murry of being "in league with IT,"
describe Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which to the beasts. and says he'll go himself. Mrs Whatsit warns Calvin and Mr.
The names Whatsit, Who, and Which are wordplay, implying Murry they are making a hard task even harder for Meg. If Mrs
the women don't easily fit into any categories. Meg tries the Which goes with Meg, Mrs Whatsit believes she will succeed.
language of mathematics, and Calvin tries the language of Meg admits she doesn't have the courage to go alone, but
religion, but neither language is good enough. Meg and Calvin she'll do it anyway.
learn they may not fully understand a concept just because
Mrs Whatsit understands that Mr. Murry doesn't trust her. She
they use words to describe it.
acknowledges Meg might face mortal danger, but she and the
Meg is also opening her mind to someone whose experience is Happy Medium believe Meg will survive. Doesn't the Happy
entirely new to her. Both Meg and her scientist father have Medium know what will happen, Calvin asks? No, Mrs Whatsit

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Chapter Summaries 35

says. If they knew the future they would live like the people on fall to Earth, and land in Sandy and Dennys's vegetable garden.
Camazotz, "with everything all planned and done for us." Her father and Calvin are there to greet them, and the family
has a joyful reunion. Meg can feel the presence of Mrs Whatsit,
She gives Calvin the example of a sonnet in poetry. To Mrs Who, and Mrs Which, but the women leave for an unknown
compose a sonnet, a poet must follow a strict form and rhyme errand before they have a chance to say goodbye.
scheme but can say whatever he or she wants within those
lines. Life is similar, Calvin realizes, as "a strict form, but
freedom within it." Analysis
Meg says goodbye to the beasts and apologizes to her father
Even the all-powerful Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which
for blaming him. Mr. Murry offers to go in her place, but Mrs
can't solve every problem. Mrs Whatsit tells Meg, "This is not
Whatsit tells him to "allow Meg the privilege of accepting this
our way." They are guides and leaders, but they don't do the
danger." Mr. Murry advises Meg not to be afraid of fear.
hard work for humans.
The women give Meg parting gifts. Mrs Whatsit gives Meg her
No one tells Meg she will have to save Charles Wallace. She
love. Mrs Who gives her advice in a quote, saying, "The
accepts the task herself, which is an important step for her.
foolishness of God is wiser than men." Mrs Which then takes
Meg has to prove to Mrs Whatsit that she has "grace" and
Meg to Camazotz.
"understanding." As Meg takes a step toward responsible
As Meg stands on the hill looking over the town in Camazotz, adulthood, her feelings toward her father change. She realizes
Mrs Which gives Meg her gift. She says Meg has one his job isn't easy either.
weapon—something IT doesn't have—but she needs to
However, Meg is still her father's child, even if Mr. Murry can't
discover this weapon herself.
protect her anymore. His resistance and anger stem from his
Meg walks through a quiet Camazotz toward the domed love for Meg, and Mrs Whatsit doesn't blame him. Calvin is also
building where IT lives. She wonders what her weapon is. adjusting to the fact that his age and physical strength can't
Resistance? No, IT can resist. Mrs Who's advice was meant to protect Meg. He is used to seeing her as "backward" and
make Meg appreciate the way she is, although she isn't as vulnerable.
smart as IT. Mrs Whatsit's love is "quite something" coming
Human emotions come to the forefront under stress. Calvin
from a being like Mrs Whatsit.
and Mr. Murry accuse others of betrayal. Meg acknowledges
Meg reaches the dome and sees Charles Wallace still she is terrified. How should people act in terrifying times when
crouched beside IT. Charles Wallace greets her and says, "We the future is uncertain?
have been waiting for you." He knew Mrs Whatsit would send
Mrs Whatsit offers one solution. Using Calvin's interest in
her. Meg feels herself almost succumbing to IT. She
language and poetry, she gives him a message of
experiences feelings of anger and hate, and wonders if those
independence, strength, and responsibility. The "strict form" of
are her secret weapons. Her hatred nearly consumes her, but
the sonnet can represent situations people are unable to
then she recalls, "IT knew all about hate."
control. Although people may not choose the circumstances of
Charles Wallace then says, "Mrs Whatsit hates you." Meg their lives, they can choose how to react to these
replies that Mrs Whatsit loves her, and she discovers this is her circumstances. They are empowered to determine their own
answer. She has love from several people in her life, whereas futures and can shape their own identities.
IT doesn't have love. She thinks of her little brother, and how
Life on Camazotz may be comfortable, and Camazotz
much she loves him. As her love grows stronger, Charles
residents do not experience fear of the unknown. But not
Wallace slowly stops his strange behavior. He walks toward
knowing what will happen is a risk humans accept in exchange
her and then runs into her arms, calling her name. Charles
for freedom. A Wrinkle in Time encourages readers to view the
Wallace is back.
unknown with wonder and anticipation.
Meg feels the two tessering again. She and Charles Wallace
Before Meg leaves, she reaches a new understanding with her

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Quotes 36

father. She accepts the fact that he is simply human, and he — Mrs. Murry, Chapter 3
accepts the fact that she is growing up. Meg has learned that
her own humanity and "foolishness"—weakness, insecurities,
Mrs. Murry possesses the logical, rational view of a scientist.
and fallibility—can help her. The passage Mrs Who quotes from
She believes everything has an explanation, but admits the
the first book of Corinthians in the Bible is meant to encourage
explanation may be beyond her understanding. This statement
followers of God who think they are foolish or weak. They don't
reveals a laudable combination of curiosity and humility. Meg
have to feel powerful to do powerful things.
learns to apply this exploratory spirit to her own investigations

Meg sees herself as weak compared to the powerful IT and of the universe with Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which.

the wise Charles Wallace. IT has intelligence, knowledge, and

control, which Meg lacks. She may think she has "nothing that
IT hasn't got," but the book likes to upend expectations. "Explanations are not easy ...
Weaknesses become strength and power.
about things for which your
The nature of Meg's "weapon" becomes an important question
civilization still has no words."
near the end of the book. Weapons are usually associated with
violence and force, so Meg initially thinks of her weapon as
— Mrs Whatsit, Chapter 5
resistance, hate, and anger. Instead, she comes to understand
that her weapon—love—is simple and humble, something she
took for granted in Chapter 3. Mrs Whatsit struggles to explain tessering to Meg. She points
out the failure of human communication to identify and explain
Meg loves Charles Wallace even though he can't return her certain concepts. Readers are challenged to think outside the
love in his current state. Her love is selfless. She brings "all her parameters of language when they picture the tesseract. They
weakness and foolishness and baseness and nothingness" to also imagine a world beyond three dimensions. By bringing up
IT, and doesn't try to hide who she is. Charles Wallace concepts Meg and the reader cannot fully understand, the
responds to the genuineness of her love, and love is the last book encourages exploration. It allows readers to think about
transition the book needs. The tessering back to Earth an experience different from their own.
happens quickly.

The story ends on a joyous note. The description of the garden

and its "sweet smelling autumnal earth" recalls the pleasures of "A straight line is not the shortest
nature and the human world. Characters have traveled all over
distance between two points."
the universe, but planet Earth is still home.

However, not every question is given an answer. The reader — Charles Wallace, Chapter 5
doesn't know the fate of Camazotz, or whether the Black Thing
still shadows Earth. They never learn where Mrs Whatsit, Mrs
As a mathematician, Meg has learned to find results through
Who, and Mrs Which go when they leave, but the book shows
shortcuts or unexpected ways. She understands how rules can
that the Murry family's happiness is enough.
change as needed to produce a more efficient result.

Greek mathematician Euclid pioneered a form of geometry

g Quotes called "plane geometry," using figures in two dimensions. On
paper a straight line is the shortest way to get from Point A to
Point B. But in the fifth dimension, distance isn't so simple. To
"Just because we don't understand traveling in space-time, Meg has to think outside
established concepts like Euclid's straight line. On her journey
understand doesn't mean that the through space, she learns that the rules of math can be

explanation doesn't exist." different from what she was taught. She sees the world in a
new way.

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Quotes 37

Meg has just learned Mrs Whatsit used to be a star. She has
"There's very little difference in the
seen Mrs Whatsit take on two different forms, that of a human
size of the tiniest microbe and the and that of a celestial creature. Now Meg realizes how
expansive and flexible identity can be. The question of what
greatest galaxy."
category Mrs Whatsit fits into becomes irrelevant. Meg is
confronted with an identity she cannot understand, and she
— Mrs Whatsit, Chapter 5 meets it with curiosity and wonder.

Mrs Whatsit's appearance also doesn't show her true nature.

The children have just learned the universe is battling the Black
As human characters learn, everyone can be more complicated
Thing. They know the stakes are high, and they have seen the
and nuanced than their appearance reveals.
Black Thing's power. As humans confronted with the sheer
scale of the universe, they are tempted to feel helpless, but
Mrs Whatsit reminds them that size doesn't determine
influence or strength. Tiny microbes, for instance, can be "I am peace and utter rest. I am
incredibly powerful. Besides, some extraordinary fighters have freedom from all responsibility."
come from the comparatively small planet Earth.

When the children gain this perspective, they are filled with — Man with red eyes, Chapter 7
awe and confidence, not fear.
IT is speaking through the man with red eyes. He is offering
Camazotz's human visitors the tempting proposition of
"All your great artists. They've "freedom," where someone else will make all their decisions for
them.
been lights for us to see by."
Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace have already struggled with
— Mrs Whatsit, Chapter 5 responsibilities and the unknown. L'Engle shows how
totalitarianism can offer the false promise of "peace and utter
rest," and how this promise can be seductive.
Light represents good, clarity, and knowledge. The characters
identify art as an essential weapon against evil, and the book
praises scientific discovery and innovation.
"Differences create problems."
L'Engle comments here on the important role of art, literature,
and music in human development. Art expands human — Charles Wallace, Chapter 8
understanding, and truly great art has a universal appeal. Mrs
Whatsit implies that the painters, musicians, and writers Calvin
and Charles Wallace name made an impression beyond planet IT speaks through Charles Wallace, explaining how society

Earth. "Us" includes the whole universe. runs smoothly if everyone is identical. Both Meg and Calvin can
attest to the problems of being different, as they both feel
lonely and isolated.

"The complete, the true Mrs Meg's teachers and her brothers Sandy and Dennys wish she
were more like everyone else, but Camazotz shows how
Whatsit ... was beyond human
people can lose everything without individuality. The people of
understanding." Camazotz have no goals, dreams, or true joy and happiness.
Calvin, who tries to fit in at school, declares "I like being
— Narrator, Chapter 6 different" for the first time.

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Quotes 38

"Maybe if you aren't unhappy "We do not know what things look
sometimes you don't know how to like ... We know what things are
be happy." like."

— Meg, Chapter 8 — Aunt Beast, Chapter 11

The society Camazotz presents is one in which no one feels Meg cannot imagine how the beasts experience their world
disappointment, loss, or any change in circumstance. without sight. And Aunt Beast cannot imagine relying on
Meg—who despised her strong emotions in earlier physical appearances to understand or experience anything.
chapters—sees the importance of emotions now. She learns
there is a purpose to unhappiness and pain. This realization will The beasts cannot see the stars, for instance, but they know

help her cope with the emotional task of saving her family. the stars' true nature. This quote points out the crucial
difference between appearance and identity. It reminds Meg
there is always more to learn about the world.

"Like and equal are two entirely

different things." "The things which are seen are
temporal ... the things which are
— Narrator, Chapter 9
not seen are eternal."
When Meg says, "All men are created equal," IT—speaking
through Charles Wallace—says Camazotz has equality. — Aunt Beast, Chapter 11
Everyone on the planet is alike. Meg has a revelation spurred
by a language she is comfortable with—the language of math. Aunt Beast's words here are based on a verse from the second
Likeness or similarity is different from equality. book of Corinthians in the Bible. L'Engle uses the quote to
emphasize the importance of intangible qualities.
In human terms, equality provides everyone the same
opportunities, while allowing them freedom to pursue individual Aunt Beast cites "love" and "good" as forces helping their
lives. If everyone is exactly alike, freedom and choice are lost. planet in the fight against evil. Qualities like love may not be as
obvious as visible qualities, like light, but they are stronger.
Invisible qualities, or "things that are not seen"—like Meg's
"We know nothing ... We're stubbornness, Charles Wallace's unique essence, or the
family's love—will ultimately save them.
children playing with dynamite."

— Mr. Murry, Chapter 10

"You're given the form, but you

Mr. Murry's experiment with traveling to the fifth dimension has

have to write the sonnet yourself."
gone wrong. The study of physics—which he calls "a
frightening as well as an exciting thing"—taught him how little — Mrs Whatsit, Chapter 12
he knows. This quote shows how humans should approach
science and technology with humility and respect. People cannot live a full life on the controlled, regulated planet
Camazotz. They also cannot use their freedom irresponsibly
Mr. Murry, like his son Charles Wallace, has overestimated his
without consequences. Here Calvin wonders if the Happy
own ability to confront forces larger than himself.

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Symbols 39

Medium can predict the future. Mrs Whatsit explains how he children how the Dark Thing can be overcome. Light often
and the other characters can take control of their own futures. comes with warmth, as in the warmth of the Murry kitchen
during the storm, or the warmth of the daytimes on Ixchel.
Life has "a strict form"—certain responsibilities and a limited Light is also associated with the illumination of knowledge.
number of years. But within this form people can create their When Meg understands concepts, she has a "flash" of
own lives. This empowering statement leads Meg to her final comprehension. The biblical quote Mrs Who uses in Chapter 5
challenge. says the darkness doesn't comprehend or understand the light.

Darkness stands for evil, ignorance, and obscurity. The

"Love. That was what she had that ambient force of evil in the book is represented by a shadow
called the Black Thing, or the Dark Thing. When the Black
IT did not have." Thing is first revealed in Chapter 4, it obscures the stars.
Darkness is often associated with cold—Meg's trip through the
— Narrator, Chapter 12 Black Thing in Chapter 10 leaves her frozen. Mrs Whatsit, Mrs
Who, and Mrs Which are referred to as "laughing in the dark."
Facing the terrifying "dark" of uncertain outcomes, they find
Meg has spent much of the book thinking about what she
humor in dressing up as witches.
lacks. She doesn't feel accomplished, attractive, or adequate.
But she has learned her faults of anger and impatience can be
strengths when used in the right way.

Now she faces IT, a force with seemingly unlimited power and
IT
intelligence. She cannot outsmart or resist IT. Instead, she
draws on a simpler, more primal force—her love for her
brother. IT, the mighty brain on Camazotz, stands for conformity and
authoritarian control. This symbol shows the human brain's
This is the moment when Meg's journey comes full circle. She
capacity for progress and discovery, but also for evil and
knows how lucky she is to be loved. She expresses her
destruction.
emotions freely, and they become an asset, not a drawback.
Meg ultimately saves the younger brother who has always IT gives off a compelling rhythmic pulse, similar to a heartbeat.
taken care of her. Conformity has reached the hearts of the people on Camazotz.
Meg feels the rhythm "control the systole and diastole of her
heart." The damage of unchecked power penetrates deep into
the body. IT controls the speech of the man with red eyes, and
l Symbols eventually takes control of Charles Wallace. They cannot
communicate their own thoughts, and their speech is similar to
propaganda—incorrect information spread to help a political

Light and Darkness cause, often used by dictators to control their subjects.

IT reveals the dangers of trusting intelligence to the exclusion

of the heart and the soul. Even Charles Wallace, with his
The symbolism of light and darkness provides an instantly extraordinary brain, cannot fight IT with his intellect. He needs
recognizable metaphor for good and evil. These symbols help humanity and love as well.
the book work on an allegorical or symbolic level, representing
large, universal concepts.

Light stands for good, knowledge, visibility, and clarity. Strong

universal forces of good—like stars—give off light. The light of
a star in the Happy Medium's crystal ball clarifies for the

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Themes 40

4, Mrs Whatsit tells the children to "look straight ahead," so

Tesseract they can see the Black Thing. If they know what they are
fighting, they can overcome it. It is also important for them to
choose to be on the side of good instead of evil. Calvin and
The tesseract stands for freedom, possibilities, and the Meg learn IT will take over people's minds unless they actively
unknown. As the device allowing characters to travel through resist.
time and space, the tesseract represents a vehicle to other
Showing courage is still challenging. Mrs Whatsit admits she is
worlds.
asking Meg "to do a difficult thing, but we are confident that
Tessering terrifies Meg the first time. Her mind feels separate you can do it." Mrs Which proclaims they will "continue to fight"
from her body, but the more she learns about the unfamiliar even when the outcome is uncertain. The stakes can be high.
process, the more she discovers about the universe. Mrs The children witness a star beating the Dark Thing in Chapter
Whatsit encourages her to think of space outside the three 6, but the star sacrifices its life. Meg returns to Camazotz to
dimensions represented on Earth. Tessering allows characters save Charles Wallace, unsure if she will succeed or even
to travel faster than the speed of light. The tesseract survive. Her fear is a logical response, but she persists in spite
challenges everything Meg knows about math and geometry. of it.

Whenever characters tesser, they end up in a completely new The novel shows the consequences of giving up and giving in.
world. Sometimes the world is magical and illuminating, like On Camazotz, IT encourages citizens to rest, relax, and avoid
planet Uriel. Sometimes it is frightening and evil, like planet making decisions. Life is planned for them. Their life is
Camazotz. Sometimes it is a strange learning experience, like easy—they know exactly what to do. But it's not a life any of
planet Ixchel, but it always surprises. Tessering shows how the the children want. The process of figuring out independent
process of scientific discovery can lead down paths no one solutions, rather than having others solve problems, is part of
could previously have imagined. the transition from childhood to adulthood. Meg learns her
father cannot solve problems for her anymore. She figures out
her weapon against IT on her own. No one gives her the
answer. Similarly, Mrs Whatsit explains to Calvin that humans
m Themes have the freedom to make choices in their lives as well as the
responsibility to determine what happens next.

Moral Courage and

Scientific Discovery
Responsibility
A Wrinkle in Time uses scientific discovery as a crucial part of
A Wrinkle in Time depicts good and evil as active, conflicting the human endeavor. When Calvin, Charles Wallace, and Meg
forces. Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace are empowered to list their planet's greatest fighters, they name revolutionary
make sure the good side wins. But the outcome isn't certain. scientists like German theoretical physicist Albert Einstein,
They have to make tough decisions and take on increased French-Polish physicist Marie Curie, and Polish mathematician
responsibilities. Meg's quest to find her father becomes a and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. Science helps Meg and
challenge to do the right thing. Charles Wallace make sense of the world. It also allows Mr.
and Mrs. Murry to learn more about the universe, including
Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which play the role of moral
their human limitations.
counselors. They urge other characters to confront problems
instead of avoiding them. When the Happy Medium hesitates to When Meg understands something new, greater possibilities
look at the "unpleasant" and shadowed planet Earth, Mrs open up to her. She grasps the concept of the tesseract "for a
Which says it's up to responsible people to face evil. In Chapter brief, illuminating second" in Chapter 5. Her discovery is

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Themes 41

portrayed as a light—or illumination—that helps her see the complicated. The women enjoy dressing up in disguise, and
world differently. She notices Charles Wallace has a look "of even their names suggest flexible identities. Similarly, Aunt
probing, of listening" on his face when he hears the music on Beast and the creatures on the planet Ixchel do not trust
planet Uriel. Meg has the same look when she solves a tough appearances at all. They believe physical descriptions are a
math problem. Calvin has a similar moment of discovery when poor way to describe someone. They do, however, understand
Meg helps him with his math homework in Chapter 3. And Mr. what things really are—something Meg realizes is a deeper
Murry has a familiar look of "excitement and discovery" on his knowledge than what things look like.
face when he sees the atoms rearrange in the transparent
column.

Mr. and Mrs. Murry, both seasoned scientists, share what they The Power of Love
have learned about the process of discovery. Mrs. Murry has
learned she doesn't have to understand things for them to
exist, and, as much as she has learned, there will always be
Love is the strongest form of communication described in the
more to learn. This knowledge makes her more invested in her
book. It is also the characters' most powerful asset. Calvin
career. Mr. Murry realizes he and his colleagues can be wrong.
respects the "plain, ordinary love" of the Murry parents, as well
They took a risk traveling to the fifth dimension, and didn't get
as their professional accomplishments. Meg sees love break
the results they wanted. Experiments can come with great
through interplanetary barriers. She knows nothing about the
risks, and scientists should be informed and responsible before
beasts when she lands on their planet, but she feels their love.
undertaking them. Mr. Murry has grown more humble and
Although Meg doesn't always feel she has much in common
admits the physics concepts he is studying are "far more than
with her own family, their love gives her security and
[people] can understand with [their] puny little brains."
confidence.

Love gives characters strength to do what seems impossible.

Mrs Whatsit suggests Mr. Murry can accomplish for his
Identity and Appearance children what he cannot accomplish for himself—freeing
himself from IT, and defeating the Black Thing. Meg's love for
Charles Wallace defeats a much more powerful adversary. The
Human characters in A Wrinkle in Time struggle to hide their title of Chapter 12—The Foolish and the Weak—implies love
true identities, afraid they won't be accepted. Meg is an may seem "foolish" and "weak," compared to the more
"oddball" and an outsider at school. She and Charles Wallace frightening forces of anger, hate, and oppression. But love
both hide their true intelligence from others. Calvin has earned reaches something human in Charles Wallace, and the simplest
social acceptance at school in part by pretending to be force becomes the strongest.
someone he is not.

When the children travel to Camazotz, they see the perils of

blending into the crowd. In Camazotz, everyone's identity is The Danger of Conformity
defined by their role in a group hierarchy, while individuality is
punished. The citizens know their roles, but they've sacrificed
freedom and happiness. The children also learn more about
Camazotz shows conformity taken to its extreme. Everything is
their personal strengths and weaknesses through the gifts
done in a certain way at a certain time. The man with red eyes
their three guides give them. Meg finally conquers IT by staying
and Charles Wallace point out the temptations of this life. The
true to herself—her stubbornness, her impatience, and her love
society is perfectly functional, no one gets into disagreements,
for Charles Wallace.
and there is no conflict. Nothing unexpected happens, and no
Appearances, the children learn, don't always portray the truth one makes mistakes. Conformity is presented as "peace and
of someone's nature. Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which utter rest" without the responsibility of making decisions.
appear as old women, but their real selves are much more

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A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide Suggested Reading 42

Meanwhile Meg and Calvin struggle to make independent

decisions. But they learn that the challenges they face—doubt,
the unknown, failure, being different—can also make life worth
living. The faults that set Meg apart from her classmates also
help her save her brother. Earth's great "fighters"—the artists,
scientists, and religious figures named in Chapter 5—are all
people who refused to conform. They were curious and willing
to seek the unknown, even when it meant resisting cultural,
societal, religious, or scientific norms. The book shows how
nonconformity leads to true progress and achievement.

e Suggested Reading
Hettinga, Donald R. Presenting Madeleine L'Engle. Twayne,
1993.

L'Engle, Madeleine. Do I Dare Disturb the Universe?: The

Celebrated Speech. Farrar, 2012.

L'Engle, Madeleine. Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and

Art. Convergent, 2016.

Maloney, Jennifer. "A New 'Wrinkle in Time'." The Wall Street

Journal, 16 Apr. 2015.

Marcus, Leonard S. Listening for Madeleine: A Portrait of

Madeleine L'Engle in Many Voices. Farrar, 2012.

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