A Wrinkle in Time Summary: Plot, Characters and Ending
A Wrinkle in Time follows Meg Murry, an awkward, stubborn teenager whose scientist father has vanished. Guided by three mysterious beings, she, her little brother Charles Wallace and her friend Calvin travel across the universe by tesseract to rescue him from a dark power called IT.
It is the first book of Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Meg Murry | Stubborn, insecure teenager |
| Charles Wallace | Her brilliant, unusual little brother |
| Calvin O'Keefe | Popular older boy who joins them |
| Mr. Murry | Meg's missing physicist father |
| Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, Mrs Which | Ancient beings who guide them |
| IT | A huge disembodied brain |
| Aunt Beast | Gentle creature who heals Meg |
How does the adventure begin?
On a stormy night, an odd old woman named Mrs Whatsit appears at the Murrys' kitchen and mentions a tesseract, startling Meg's mother. Mr. Murry disappeared while working on that very idea. With Charles Wallace and Calvin, Meg meets Mrs Whatsit's friends, Mrs Who, who speaks in quotations, and Mrs Which, who barely appears at all.
↑ Back to the topWhere do they travel?
The three beings take the children by tesseract, a fold in space and time. On the planet Uriel, Mrs Whatsit transforms into a winged creature and shows them a dark shadow spreading across the universe, the Black Thing. The Happy Medium shows them Earth partly covered by it, and that people across history have fought it.
↑ Back to the topWhat is Camazotz like?
Mr. Murry is held on Camazotz, a planet entirely under the Black Thing's control. Children bounce balls in perfect rhythm, and anyone who is different is punished. In the central building a man with red eyes hypnotizes Charles Wallace, who gives in so that he can understand IT, and is taken over. He leads Meg and Calvin to their father, imprisoned in a clear column. Meg frees him using Mrs Who's glasses.
↑ Back to the topWhat is IT?
IT is a giant pulsing brain that controls the planet. Its rhythm nearly takes over Meg's mind too. Her father tessers away with her and Calvin, leaving Charles Wallace behind. Meg is badly frozen by the trip and is nursed back to health on the planet Ixchel by Aunt Beast, a gentle, eyeless creature.
↑ Back to the topHow does A Wrinkle in Time end?
Meg realizes that she alone can rescue Charles Wallace, because she loves him most. Back on Camazotz, she discovers what she has that IT does not: love. She concentrates on loving her brother, and the hold on him breaks. Charles Wallace runs into her arms, and they tesser home to the Murry garden, where the family is reunited and the three Mrs Ws vanish.
↑ Back to the topMore about A Wrinkle in Time
This summary reveals the whole plot, including the ending.