Religion
The novel is highly spiritualized, with notable influences of divine intervention and prominent undertones of religious messages.[17] According to James Beasley Simpson, the overwhelming love and desire for light within the novel is directly representative of a Christian love for God and Jesus Christ.[17] Furthermore, the children encounter spiritual intervention, signaling God's presence in the ordinary, as well as the extendibility of God's power and love.[5] Madeleine L'Engle's fantasy works are in part highly expressive of her Christian viewpoint in a manner somewhat similar to that of Christian fantasy writer C.S. Lewis.[c] L'Engle's liberal Christianity has been the target of criticism from conservative Christians, especially with respect to certain elements of A Wrinkle in Time.[19]
L'Engle utilizes numerous religious references and allusions in the naming of locations within the novel. Camazotz is the name of a Mayan bat god, one of L'Engle's many mythological allusions in her nomenclature.[20] The name Ixchel refers to a Mayan jaguar goddess of medicine.[20] Uriel is a planet with extremely tall mountains, an allusion to the Archangel Uriel. It is inhabited by creatures that resemble winged centaurs. It is "the third planet of the star Malak (meaning 'angel' in Hebrew) in the spiral galaxy Messier 101", which would place it at roughly 21 million light-years from Earth. The site of Mrs Whatsit's temporary transformation into one of these winged creatures, it is the place where "the guardian angels show the questers a vision of the universe that is obscured on earth."[19](p 26) The three women are described as ancient beings who act as guardian angels.[19](p 26)
The theme of picturing the fight of good against evil as a battle of light and darkness is a recurring one. Its manner is reminiscent of the prologue to the Gospel of John, which is quoted within the book.[6] When the Mrs Ws reveal their secret roles in the cosmic fight against darkness, they ask the children to name some figures on Earth, a partially dark planet, who fight the darkness. They name Jesus and, later in the discussion, the Buddha is named as well.
Nevertheless, religious journalist Sarah Pulliam Bailey doubts whether the novel contains religious undertones.[7] Bailey explains that many readers somehow believe the novel promotes witchcraft, as opposed to alluding to Christian spirituality.[7] Bailey states that conservative Christians take offense, due to the novel's potential relativistic qualities, suggesting the various interpretations of religious allusions signals anti-Christian sentiments.[7] However, in her personal journal referencing A Wrinkle in Time, L'Engle confirms the religious content within the novel: "If I've ever written a book that says what I feel about God and the universe, this is it."[7]
Conformity
Themes of conformity and yielding to the status quo are prominent in the novel:
IT is a powerful dominant group that manipulates the planet of Camazotz into conformity. Even Charles Wallace falls prey and is hence persuaded to conform. It is thanks to Meg that she and her father and brother are able to break from conformity.[d]
According to Charlotte Jones Voiklis, the author's granddaughter, the story was not a simple allegory of communism; in a three-page passage that was cut before publication, the process of domination and conformity is said to be an outcome of dictatorship under totalitarian regimes, and of an intemperate desire for security in democratic countries.[22][23]
J. Fulton writes:
L'Engle's fiction for young readers is considered important partly because she was among the first to focus directly on the deep, delicate issues that young people must face, such as death, social conformity, and truth. L'Engle's work always is uplifting because she is able to look at the surface values of life from a perspective of wholeness, both joy and pain, transcending each to uncover the absolute nature of human experience that they share.[21](v 2, p 596)[e]
Conformity on Camazotz
Camazotz is a planet of extreme, enforced conformity, ruled by a disembodied brain called IT. Camazotz is similar to Earth, with familiar trees such as birches, pines, and maples, an ordinary hill on which the children arrive, and a town with smokestacks, which "might have been one of any number of familiar towns". The horror of the place arises from its ordinary appearance, endlessly duplicated. The houses are "all exactly alike, small square boxes painted gray", which, according to author Donald Hettinga, signals a comparison to "the burgeoning American suburbia", such as the post-war housing developments of Levittown, New York.[24] The people who live in the houses are similarly described as "mother figures" who "all gave the appearance of being the same".
W. Blackburn compared Camazotz to "an early sixties American image of life in a communist state", which Blackburn later dismissed.[25]
Feminism
A Wrinkle in Time has also received praise for empowering young female readers.[26] Critics have celebrated L'Engle's depiction of Meg Murry, a young, precocious heroine whose curiosity and intellect help save the world from evil.[27] The New York Times has described this portrayal as "a departure from the typical 'girls' book' protagonist – as wonderful as many of those varied characters are".[28]
In doing so, L'Engle has been credited for paving the way for other bright heroines, including Hermione Granger of the Harry Potter book series, as well as Katniss Everdeen of the Hunger Games trilogy.[27] Regarding her choice to include a female protagonist, L'Engle has stated in her acceptance speech upon receiving the Margaret Edwards Award, "I'm a female. Why would I give all the best ideas to a male?"[27]
