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The warmth and light of the kitchen had relaxed her so that her attic fears were gone.
In the very beginning of the story, Meg is overcome by fear of the dark in her attic bedroom during a stormy night. When she enters the kitchen and is joined by Charles Wallace and her mother, her fears fade. Throughout the novel, light and darkness are indicative of good and evil, and this initial scene sets the tone for the contrast between both forces. Meg’s family and the presence of light are both elements that signal goodness through the rest of the story, and evil remains linked to cold, dark people and places.
Nothing is hopeless; we must hope for everything.
After the children tesser for the first time, they stop on the planet Uriel and Mrs. Who quotes these lines from Greek tragedian Euripides. Mrs. Who encourages Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace with these words immediately following Mrs. Whatsit’s declaration that the life of their father and the state of the universe is at stake. The hope she advocates for is an essential weapon against evil, and Meg and Calvin find within themselves a unique capacity for hope as they continue the quest to rescue Mr. Murry.
“Who have our fighters been?” Calvin asked. “Oh, you must know them, dear,” Mrs. Whatsit said. Mrs. Who’s spectacles shone out at them triumphantly. “And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
As Mrs. Who quotes the Gospel of John, Calvin realizes those who have carried light, (analogous to goodness) in the world are the world’s fighters. These fighters—including Jesus, Gandhi, Shakespeare, Beethoven, and many others—are those who have challenged the evil of conformity with the power of wonder, art, and individuality. In the battle of good against evil, Calvin realizes there are many who have gone before him and fought the fight with the powers of leadership and creativity.
It seemed to travel with her, to sweep her aloft in the power of song, so that she was moving in glory among the stars, and for a moment she, too, felt that the words Darkness and Light had no meaning, and only this melody was real.
As Aunt Beast nurses Meg back to health after a near-death freeze from The Black Thing, she sings to Meg and Meg is transported by the warmth of her healing song. This quotation illustrates the power of art and love to bring relief from the tension between good and evil. As Aunt Beast sings, she delivers Meg from the hardship of battle to a soft safe place where contrast between darkness and light is not so harsh or obvious.
We were sent here for something. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.
Mr. Murry attempts to bring Meg comfort through these words from the book of Romans in the New Testament. His statement rings of destiny and responsibility, and he tries to encourage Meg with this sense of duty coupled with theology. This quote emphasizes the role individuals may play in the conflict between good and evil, suggesting that God’s plan will call them into a plan for their good and for His purpose. However, his words fail to bring Meg hope or inspiration, as she continues to reel from her near-fatal tesser through The Black Thing.
“It was a star,” Mrs. Whatsit said sadly. “A star giving up its life in battle with the Thing. It won, oh yes, my children, it won. But it lost its life in the winning.”
As Mrs. Whatsit tells this somber story, she remembers her own sacrificial death. She was once a star who died for the sake of good in the battle against evil, and her bravery is both inspiring and sobering for the children. The gravity of the conflict between good and evil becomes more real to them in this moment, and it is made increasingly clear that the quest they face is much bigger than just rescuing Mr. Murry—the outcome of their journey carries a celestial and eternal weight.
The dark shadow was still there. It had not lessened or dispersed with the coming of night. And where the shadow was, the stars were not visible.
At their first glimpse of the The Black Thing on the planet Uriel, Meg, Calvin and Charles realize just how pervasive and dim evil is, illustrated in the way it smothers the light of the stars. This moment yields a grim realization that the battle between good and evil concerns much more than just the world of the Murry family or even Earth—it is happening at a universal level.
