History Main / AWrinkleInTime

Despite the prominent Newbery medal on the cover, ''A Wrinkle in Time'' does ''not'' follow the DeathByNewberyMedal rule; in fact, it's firmly on the Cynical side of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism. [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel Though you'd never guess it.]] Sort of.

The first book in the Time Quartet series by MadeleineLEngle, ''A Wrinkle in Time'' opens with the well-honored line "[[ItWasADarkAndStormyNight It was a dark and stormy night]]" and the appearance of a stranger at the Murry household. The stranger, who calls herself Mrs. Whatsit, turns out to be much more than the dotty old lady she initially comes across as. Soon, Meg Murry, her younger and precocious brother Charles Wallace, and her schoolmate Calvin find themselves on an interplanetary and interdimensional journey with Mrs. Whatsit and her equally odd buddies Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which to rescue Meg's missing father. To tell more would spoil your enjoyment of this unusual and fantastic (in more than one way) book.

* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: What the Mrs. W's use, with the possible exception of Mrs. Which, who has problems materializing fully and doesn't look like much of anything. Even when she does briefly materialize, she's in the form a "stereotypical witch".

* CloudCuckoolander: The Happy Medium comes off as this, but may also be a BunnyEarsLawyer (at being a Medium.) Mrs. Who and Whatsit also have overtones of this.

* TheHecateSisters: Mrs. Who (matron), Mrs. Whatsit (maiden), & Mrs. Which (''very'' clearly the other one).

* ItWasAGift: The children receive gifts from the Mrs. W's, when they first land on Camazotz. Later, Meg receives three gifts from the three Mrs. W's when she returns to rescue Charles Wallace from IT.

* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Played with as far as the Mrs. W's go. We never find out what exactly they are (Mrs. Whatsit was a star once, but we don't know what she really is ''now''). At one point, though, Calvin describes them as angels for lack of a better description. Also, the first sequel, ''A Wind in the Door'', features Proginoskes, a [[InsistentTerminology cherubim]] who is much closer to [[TheBible Biblical]] depictions of angels than anything else you're likely to see in fiction.

* PhlebotinumAnalogy: Used to explain how Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which "tesser" or "wrinkle" through space. Works for both Meg ''and'' the audience.

* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Mrs. Whatsit is over 2 billion years old, and she's described as being ''very'' young compared to her two companions.

* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Mrs. Whatsit transforms into a winged being to escort Meg, Charles, and Calvin across the planet Uriel.
** Also, just for fun, Mrs. Which transforms into a witch with a broomstick at one point.
* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Charles Wallace, though Mrs. Whatsit warns him against the trap of {{Pride}} and arrogance.

** [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel "Amusing" here meaning "the human protagonists nearly died just from being there."]]

* The BigBad: IT.

* The BiggerBad: The Black Thing.
* [[strike: BigBrotherIsWatching]] [[BigBrotherIsWatching IT Is Watching]]

Despite the prominent Newbery medal on the cover, ''A Wrinkle in Time'' does ''not'' follow the DeathByNewberyMedal rule; in fact, it's firmly on the Cynical side of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism. [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel Though you'd never guess it.]]

Despite the prominent Newbery medal on the cover, ''A Wrinkle in Time'' does ''not'' follow the DeathByNewberyMedal rule; in fact, it's firmly on the left side of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism. [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel Though you'd never guess it.]]

* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: The three Mrs. W's are a couple billion years old.

* AdaptationDecay: The film version, which came out in 2003, has aspects of this. The plot is rushed, events are missing, characterization is off and things are changed. In the film, Meg's parents are named Dana and Jack, while in the books, their names are Alex and Kate. Meg has no self-esteem issues, only school related ones. In the book, her self-esteem issues are quite prevalent. In the film, Calvin is only known for his basketball ability, while in the book he was more well-known for having skipped two grades and being a high school junior at 14.
** Also, the fact that Charles Wallace is a ChildProdigy is never mentioned in the film, only glossed over during the scene with the Man with the Red Eyes. He just comes across as a precocious child with mind-reading abilities. In the book, Charles Wallace's intelligence is very prominent and is the reason he is bullied in later books.
** The film also increased Charles Wallace's age. In the book, Charles Wallace is five and not yet in school; he does not start school until ''A Wind in the Door'', where he is bullied for his intelligence. In the film, Charles Wallace is six, and already attending school.
** The film also makes Charles Wallace appear more child-like than in the book. The book portrays Charles Wallace as an old soul struggling to fit in with those his own age. He knows he's intelligent, and tries but fails to hide it. He speaks and acts far beyond his own age. It is his pride that causes him to become posessed in Camazotz, and he is warned against it beforehand. In the film, Charles acts more like a child of six, and instead of his pride, it is his child-like desire to win whatever game he's playing that causes him to become posessed.
** Also, the twins have absolutely no characterization in the film. They appear maybe three times.

* YouKeepUsingThatWord: Probably one of the more infamous examples: the definition of tesseract in this book has nothing to do with its real meaning. L'Engle tries to get cute later on in the book by saying it's "an act of tessering", but the root word of "tesser" in Greek actually means "four" and has nothing to with warping space.

** Also, the fact that Charles Wallace is a ChildProdigy is never mentioned in the film, only glossed over during the scene with the Man with the Red Eyes. He just comes across as a precocious child with mind-reading abilities. In the book, Charles Wallace's intelligence is very prominent and is the reason he's bullied.
** The film also increased Charles Wallace's age. In the book, Charles Wallace is five and not yet in school; he does not start school until ''A Wind in the Door'', where he is bullied for his intelligence.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Camazotz comes off as about one part 1950s America, two parts communist hell, and all parts bad. Although it's more just combining the worst of both the superpowers into one place.

* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: What the Mrs. W's use, with the possible exception of Mrs. Which, who has problems materializing fully and doesn't look like much of anything.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/awrinkleintime.jpg

The first book in the Time Quartet series by Madeleine L'Engle, ''A Wrinkle in Time'' opens with the well-honored line "[[ItWasADarkAndStormyNight It was a dark and stormy night]]" and the appearance of a stranger at the Murry household. The stranger, who calls herself Mrs. Whatsit, turns out to be much more than the dotty old lady she initially comes across as. Soon, Meg Murry, her younger and precocious brother Charles Wallace, and her schoolmate Calvin find themselves on an interplanetary and interdimensional journey with Mrs. Whatsit and her equally odd buddies Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which to rescue Meg's missing father. To tell more would spoil your enjoyment of this unusual and fantastic (in more than one way) book.

* UncannyValley: The people of Camazotz, and especially the Man With Red Eyes, derive their intense creepiness from this.

* ShesAManInJapan: The Happy Medium is a man in TheFilmOfTheBook, even though she's a woman in the book.