Madeleine L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time” is a book that will make you fall in love with reading all over again. The revolutionary 1960s children’s novel explores classic themes of love, good versus evil, and the rejection of conformity. This science-fiction masterpiece features a curious and intelligent 13 year old girl, Meg Murry, who constantly feels like an outsider. Meg is characterized by her yearning for her missing physicist father which forces her to confront loss at a young age.
The novel’s plot takes a decisive turn when Charles Wallace, Meg’s youngest brother and child genius, encounters Mrs. Whatsit, an old woman with supernatural powers. It turns out that Mrs Whatsit, alongside Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which, also known as the Mrs. Ws, can help Meg find her beloved father.
Readers learn that Meg’s father disappears as a result of his experiments with the space-time continuum. He was studying the concept of tessering, a process which allows for travel across space through bending time. These experiments lead to Dr. Murry being held captive on a distant planet called Camazotz, by the notorious IT, a telepathic brain which has the ability to control minds. Meg, accompanied by the Mrs. Ws, Charles Wallace and Calvin must then embark on a tesseract adventure of their own in order to rescue Dr. Murry.
Meg’s space bending journey to reunite with her father is groundbreaking because it champions a young female protagonist who uses her wit, heart and courage to defeat IT. Written in 1962, “A Wrinkle in Time” also serves as a challenge to the social expectations of the time, as young girls most likely wouldn’t have aspired to become a scientist or be as daring as Meg.
The novel criticizes fixed social norms that drive individuals to conform rather than diverge to follow their unique path. When all the characters tesser to Camazotz, the stark image of the population’s conformity is eerie and unsettling. IT, who is in control of the planet, asserts that conformity eradicates war, discrimination and inequality. Through this depiction, L’Engle condemns a superficial form of ‘equality’ which hinders individual and societal advancement.
L’Engle also brilliantly tackles the theme of good versus evil, where the latter is embodied by a dark, looming cloud, The Black Thing. The planet Camazotz is under the power of The Black Thing, as it moves closer to encapsulating Earth. The portrayal of the Black Thing is especially relevant today because it mirrors the political climate Americans are facing under a divisive administration which fosters oppression and fuels ignorance.
The primary theme of the novel however, is love. When Charles Wallace attempts to find Dr. Murry, he is brought under IT’s influence. However, Meg is able to save Charles Wallace by projecting all her love towards him. L’Engle’s message of “love conquers all” is simplistic. However, it avoids being cliche because the novel depicts familial love. This kind of love is rarely illustrated in present young adult novels as romance usually dominates all. “A Wrinkle in Time” therefore stands to be an unusually accurate portrayal of adolescent years despite the presence of monsters with tentacles or four arms and a telepathic brain.
“A Wrinkle in Time” is simply phenomenal in its concept, development, and execution. As a result of the book’s brilliance and relevance, the film adaptation is anticipated to be released in 2018, starring the outstanding Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling. Hopefully the film tugs at our heart strings and overwhelms us with nostalgia. Although most of us read this book in our childhood, it might be time to revisit Meg’s sci-fi trip once again.