A Wrinkle in Time

Meg learns about the inadequacy of words in A Wrinkle in Time. Communication has so many layers, and nonverbal communication can drown out the sound of words just as certainly as words can cause misunderstandings. This theme is also explored in The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry when the little prince tells the fox that “words are often the source of misunderstandings.” Meg finds that her words are useless in rescuing Charles. It is only the magnitude of her love for him that can save him from his fall to his pride. Her rote knowledge of the Declaration of Independence and math are inconsequential, and the words are meaningless to IT. However, The Declaration of Independence has some obvious symbolic significance in Meg’s quest for self acceptance. It alludes to the right to pursue happiness and the stand against blind conformity to someone else’s whims. Meg’s happiness lies in her acceptance of her uniqueness. What is essential to Meg is an understanding that her individuality is a prize, not a curse.

IT lacks the individuality that feelings, whether joyful or painful, add to a personality. Because IT is a disembodied brain, IT lacks the essence of being human. IT cannot be conquered intellectually, which is the reason Charles’s pride in his own intelligence nearly destroys him. If A Wrinkle in Time espouses a Christian theory, then I believe it is this battle of wits between IT and Charles that most closely resembles the human struggle against Satan. In our arrogance, we humans sometimes believe that we can outwit the devil himself. Like Charles, we fall to temptation because we are prideful beings. The Devil’s Advocate, starring Keanu Reeves, depicts this theme as it shows a lawyer who tries to avoid falling to the temptation of caring more about winning than about justice. At first, the young lawyer is clothed in light clothing. When he begins to work for the devil, he wears a black overcoat over a light colored suit, signifying that he is still good at the core. He is eventually cloaked in black from within and without. When he finally appears to be escaping the clutches of the devil, Satan reels him back in by flattering him. The movie closes with the devil winking and saying, “Vanity: definitely my favorite sin!” The lawyer and Charles Wallace both seek goodness, yet both are lured toward darkness by an overzealous belief in themselves.

The nature of faith is in believing without proof that Someone mightier than ourselves exists. Charles does not believe that IT is stronger than he is. An atheist does not believe in the devil, because how can an angel fall from a god who does not exist? Like the human emotions that IT lacks, faith requires more than knowledge or intelligence. In fact, knowledge and intelligence could argue against the tenets of the Christian faith quite easily. It is only through faith that one can believe that Jesus was immaculately conceived, performed miracles, and rose from the dead. These beliefs would be extremely difficult for a person who lacks faith. Some people need everything to make sense just as Meg tries to make sense of tessering by applying her knowledge of mathematics. Aunt Beast, though she has no eyes and cannot see, offers great insight on this subject: “We look not at the things which are what you would call seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal. But the things which are not seen are eternal” (L’Engle 179). Christians live by the principle that avoiding temptation in this life, which is fleeting, will pay dividends in eternal life. This concept comes from a monster-like figure whom Meg calls “Aunt Beast.” Aunt Beast, like Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs.Which, portrays the idea that appearance has little to do with core values or goodness or love.

The theme of love permeates the novel. The analogy at the end of the book is my favorite part of the book. Mrs. Whatsit compares life to a sonnet, telling Meg and Calvin, “You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself. What you say is completely up to you” (190). Since many sonnets are love poems, the implication that what we do with our lives is completely up to us, but that love is one theme to consider. In order to fit the rigid structure of the sonnet, we must include the fourteen lines and the rhyme scheme, but we determine the topic and the theme. In essence, we choose or do not choose love.

A Wrinkle in Time