In the first book of the Time Quartet, Madeleine L’Engle indicates that Charles Wallace Murry is unusual. However, we begin to get a fuller understanding of the depths of his extraordinary abilities and what they represent in the second book of the series, A Wind in the Door. The book is more complex than its predecessor, A Wrinkle in Time. Using the same characters, Charles Wallace, Meg Murry, and their friend Calvin O’Keefe, the book follows up on the themes that L’Engle first addressed in the previous book; those of a Christian love that affirms the individual and defeats the evil in this world.
The Individual Against Evil
Once again, Madeleine L’Engle affirms the importance of the individual no matter how small or insignificant he or she may be. In the A Wrinkle in Time the characters took a cosmic travel across the universe to combat evil and save an individual; in A Wind in the Door the characters enter the microscopic world of the mitochondria to save the life of Charles Wallace because his life is important and makes a difference. While L’Engle’s themes are the same, she switches perspective.
However the lesson of importance does not stop with the need to save Charles. In order to save Charles they need to save the farandolae (fictional creatures that live within the mitochondria). In fact, they focus on saving one farandolae, in particular, named Sporos.
During their struggle to save Sporos and in turn Charles Wallace, the school principal Mr. Jenkins asks the question that nearly every human has asked at one time or the other. He wonders why one small child is so important. The cherubim Proginoskes replies, “It is the pattern throughout Creation. One child, one man, can swing the balance of the universe.”
Love that Makes Real
In A Wind in the Door, Madeleine L’Engle introduces one of the most significant themes out of the many themes that can be found in her fiction and non-fiction books; the importance of names. In A Wind in the Door, L’Engle defines people who are on the side of love as Namers and those on the side of evil as Un-Namers or Echthroi. According to Proginoskes, a namer’s job is to name something in order to help it be “more particularly” what it is meant to be.
In Genesis, Adam’s job was to name the animals. By naming the animals, he gave them an identity by which we still understand them (names are something that transcend language and time). In the book, when the trio who are trying to save Charles Wallace need encouragement they are allowed to witness the birth of a star. Meg asks if the star will be named and Proginoskes replies “He calls them all by name,” which is a clear reference to various statements in Scripture.
In John 10:3, the Bible says that “the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out” (KJV). Clearly the act of naming as well as the substance of an individual’s specific name is important to God. Madeleine L’Engle believes in the importance of the named individual and tries to enlighten readers regarding the importance of names in many of her books.
Cosmic to Microcosmic Journey
L’Engle introduces her readers to the cosmic battle of good against evil in the first book of the Time Quartet. In the second book in the series, A Wind in the Door, L’Engle makes it clear that while the scope of the battle might be cosmic, the microscopic has as much impact on the outcome as the macroscopic.
Much like A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door is not a difficult or lengthy book. In addition, it is not necessary for the reader to have read the first book in order to understand or appreciate the second book. If you liked A Wrinkle in Time, you will like A Wind in the Door even more because it is a stronger book and delves more deeply into the themes that matter to Madeleine L’Engle.
L’Engle, Madeleine. A Wind in the Door. Square Fish. 2007. ISBN-13: 978-0-312-36859-3 ISBN-10: 0-312-36859-3
Read more about Madeleine L'Engle at Suite 101.
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